Broome Part 3 - Shopping, 4WDing and Sunsets

I also loved the mix of shops at Broome. Having grown rapidly in the 1800s owing to the discovery of pearls. A big pearling industry was born, that attracted many people from countries as far away as China and Japan. Following its historical ties, Broome has its very own Chinatown, complete with Jimmy Chi Lane. There is a beautiful and eclectic mix of old and new, art galleries, cafes and the “usual suspects” of Coles, Target etc. We wanted to go to Sun Cinemas – the world's oldest picture garden still in operation – but there were no movies on that we could all go and watch as a family. A peer in through the open door looked so inviting though!

I enjoyed strolling around the Chinatown area and the pearl shops. At the Cygnet Bay pearl shop we got to see the world's largest fine quality round pearl. This shop is interesting as it provides quite a bit of information about pearls and pearl growing. We also visited the pearl luggers (pearling boats) which is run by Willie Creek Pearls. At the shop we got to hold the world's 5^th largest perfectly round pearl. Quite a long time ago it was valued at $100,000. Today it would be worth more and yet the lady in the shop let us hold it. We didn't let Rory touch it, given his ability to break and ruin just about everything! The lady in the shop was so helpful answering questions and pointing out things that would be interesting for the kids and us, including Tahitian Pearls (black), the outside shell colour determines the colour of the pearl, the polished pearl shells and so much more. She was so lovely to help us given pretty much everything in their shop was out of our price range, and that was probably obvious. We also visited one of the other jewellery shops to see the Argyle Diamonds.... oh my gosh!!! These little pink gems are soooo expensive! We saw a pair that was worth $46,000 and they were tiny, as in teensy, tiny. The pair of “so small as to be almost invisible” ones were worth $6700. I knew they were expensive and highly prized but had no idea just how much!

Sam Male Pearl Lugger (restored)

We made the decision not to go to Cape Leveque. Everyone raves about Cape Leveque – how beautiful it is with the red cliffs, white sand and turquoise-blue crystal clear water – and it is something I wanted to do, and have done since before we even left on our journey, but we thought about it and talked about it and I reconsidered. I would have loved to go and see what all the fuss is about, but it's a 2.5 – 3 hour journey one way, we couldn't take our van so we would have had to leave that in the caravan park ($20/night), accommodation in our own tent was $30-$40+ per night, the reviews indicated that the sites at the cheaper end of the spectrum were in full sun all day and given that it is crocodile territory, there is no guarantee there wouldn't be salties and with the saltie on Cable Beach thereby ruining all chances of me being willing to swim at Cape Leveque, we decided not to make that journey. I wonder if I will always regret that? Probably no point in regretting it – we made the best decision for us, based on what we knew, read and had heard and based on what we thought would work best for us. I think if we had lots of money to throw at some of the tours (pearl tours and Indigenous tours) then maybe it would be worth it, but one thing I've learned on this journey is that we have to pick and choose as we just can't do everything. So, as a consolation prize, we decided to go 4WD to Willie Creek, Quandong and James Price Point. This was a good option for us.

We got to 4WD along deep red dirt roads, some of them more of a U – shape than a road, and to see some beautiful coastline. You can free camp at Quandong Point and I can see why you would. There is no way we could tow our van there, and taking the car and tent wasn't an option as you need to be fully self-contained. But to spend a couple of days, on the cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean, in peace and quiet... it's not hard to see the appeal. There were quite a lot of vans and campers set up along the cliff. We climbed down onto the beach and explored some of the rocks, but didn't stay too long as it was very hot and we didn't want the kids (or us) getting burnt even though we had sunscreen on.

The beach near Quandong Point

Willie Creek is stunning. I was tempted to do a pearl tour but it was too expensive for us, and the main reason I wanted to do it was to explore the stunning river on a boat. Instead we had lunch on the banks and just enjoyed the view. The water was so clear and so inviting, but there is a resident saltie in it so we weren't tempted to try.

And of course, any trip to Broome wouldn't be complete without nightly (or almost nightly) sunset viewings from Cable Beach. Living on the east coast, our chances of seeing the sunset over the water are pretty limited so we made the most of this opportunity. One night we drove on to the beach so we could watch the camels come passed, which is the quintessential Broome postcard type of picture.

Broome Part 2 -Dinosaur Footprints and a crocodile (near miss) experience

One of the key things to do in Broome is to find the dinosaur footprints at Gantheaume Point. I was a bit dubious about it but it was SO COOL to find a bunch of very clear, very obvious dinosaur footprints preserved in the rocks. They aren't marked out but there is a map in the tourist information booklet that can help you find them. We got lucky – as we scrambled down the rocks a man pointed out to us where some people were crouched looking at one of the sets of prints, so they were easy to find. From there we just followed the map to figure out where else to look to find the other 2 sets and managed to find them all.

Megalasauropus broomensis footprint

Stegosaur hand

A trail of footprints

Megalasauropus broomensis footprint

Sauropod footprint

Theropod footprint

The rocky outcropping at the Point is worth exploring in its own right. The colours in the cliff face are amazing; the reds and the layers in the rocks are so pretty, set against the backdrop of either the turquoise sea or the blue as blue sky just make it much more stunning. And I still can't believe I saw and touched dinosaur footprints!

We went 4WD on Cable Beach. I can't believe they allow it... back home things like that get stopped all the time. It is incredibly popular at Broome, which is why I can't believe they haven't put a stop to it. It was really nice to get further up the beach and stand on the beach, isolated from everyone else. We enjoyed a swim and the kids played and splashed about in the shallows, jumping waves, racing against the waves and generally having a great time. It was lovely to be alone on the beach, swimming in the crystal clear water. Occasionally a car drove up the beach but as the tide was out there was a far gap between them and us. I was puzzled when a couple of retirees decided to come and set up about 30m from us to fish. I mean, there was no one probably 5kms either side of us but they had to set up right there. Still, I wondered if they knew something about a good fishing spot that we just happened to be swimming in, or if they felt more confident being close to other people rather than alone on such a large stretch of beach. Regardless, it was a lovely time at the beach.

Imagine my surprise when, the next morning, another family posted a picture of a saltwater crocodile they spied on Cable Beach the same day we were there. Still, I consoled myself that it could have been there at any time of the day and not when we were there, so imagine my surprise and consternation when we went to Cable Beach that afternoon and it had a sign up saying a crocodile had been spotted at 10:30am.... the exact same time we were swimming, alone and isolated on the beach! All I can do is console myself with the fact that we didn't see it, so it was at some other part of Cable Beach (hopefully a long way from where we were), and that we didn't get eaten! It certainly hasn't helped my fear of being in the ocean that I am trying to conquer ever since the Coffin Ray zap.

Broome Part 1

I fell in love with Broome, and Cable Beach in particular.

It was a combination of a whole lot of things... the turquoise water, the red, red dirt, the perfect weather and the eclectic mix of shops. The days were so beautiful. After sweltering from Katherine – Kakadu – Darwin – Litchfield – Katherine – Timber Creek – Lake Argyle – Kununurra – Halls Creek - Willare the weather was just perfect. The previous 6 or so weeks were those horrible days where you sweat even when you are doing nothing and we lived in air conditioning day and night, feeling trapped in the van because we were ill and it was so, so hot. Broome was the perfect temperature of a lovely summer's day; shorts and t-shirt weather and pleasantly warm but not too hot, and the nights were cool enough to sleep comfortably without the air conditioner. The beach was beautiful and the water warm.

We stayed at Cable Beach Caravan Park and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone heading to Broome (unless of course you are rich and then there are probably a bunch of nice resorts to stay in). The sites are big and shady. We had a great site – the last one in a row, with a screen fence on the side where our awning was so it was quite private. And the pool was just lovely. It is very large, so there is lots of room for people to spread out and enjoy and there is a waterfall with a little cave underneath it. Rory “graduated” to just his Wahu vest (as the arm bands were leaking and kept deflating) and he was so proud of himself. He kept swimming in and out of the waterfall and jumping in the pool. Tilda loved the pool too, and it was so big she could practice proper swimming, or just play around with us and other kids. Lauren and her family were there so Tilda got to play with her friend for a couple of days, which was nice for her.

Cable Beach deserves its reputation. The sand isn't as white as I imagined it would be, but it is a lovely contrast to the red of the soil and rocky headland and the turquoise water. There was no real swell or surf most of the days we were there, just small waves breaking near shore. The water was warm, not too warm and not tepid bath temperature, but warm enough the the kids (and I) could swim for ages without feeling cold. I don't think the water ever gets quite that pleasant and warm back home. We did some beach combing for shells and just to see what we could see. We found lots of pretty shells and left most of them behind. We explored rock pools and found an assortment of creatures. It was just a perfect week at the beach.

And finally, just a couple of pictures of the "trees" that the receding water leaves behind on the beach. I don't think I've ever seen this, this clearly, before.