Broome WA
We spent 2 weeks around the beautiful, hot town of Broome. It was such a great feeling to be along the coastline once again - missed the beach so much! We stayed on a block of land owned by our new good friend Eddie, situated in Cable Beach.....a secret spot - I might add; at a location that we cannot disclose, as we were invited to stay. There is a short stretch of sand that you can access by 4WD... a picturesque position to plonk yourself on to watch the sun set over the western coastal horizon.
The Japanese cemetery was an interesting place to wander around; stunning headstones carved into rock and large shells standing tall - representing only a minor population of Japanese divers that lost their lives while diving for the Mother of Pearl shell many years ago. Many more bodies were never found due to tides, shark attacks and other reasons.
Cable beach itself is stunning; especially at sunset. Many people catch a ride on the camels, walking north along the waters edge. This particular part of the beach is the nudey beach.... I think that's why they charge so much to ride the camels; its all about spotting the nudeys! We went for a drive up the beach - it was a real "Good Morning" sight seeing experience.... lots of locals getting it all out!... lol
We managed to catch the second last Broome markets at the courthouse gardens for the season.... Matt's 12v supplies always bring in the crowds. My homemade treasures sold quite well too.
During market (dry) season, the full moon timing brings crowds to the "staircase to the moon" markets which are held over two nights at one of the many viewing spots to see the moon at one of its finest moments. I must say, the handmade donuts are to die for! The boys were almost on a first name basis with the donut van. |
Now for those of you who know your history; Broome is renowned for its Mother of Pearl industry. We took a stroll around the Pearl Luggers display and learned a lot about the enslavery of aboriginals forced to dive for this sought after shell. The diving suit was a slow process to integrate as the indigenous were not fond of being bound inside a heavy suit, and many problems arose with the initial design. Eventually many fearless Japanese immigrated over to Australia to partake in the Mother of Pearl diving adventure, and unfortunately many lost their lives due to incompetence, faults within the diving equipment and forces of nature. We came across a pair of diving boots in a local shop and tried to lift them - VERY, VERY HEAVY!
Broome also offers prehistoric history, visible only on the lowest of low tides around full moon. If you know what you are looking for; you will find lots of different dinosaur footprints embedded within the rock that is exposed on the low tide. Watch your step though - it's very slippery!
The tides at Broome go out for km's, taking a good 40 mins or more to reach the waters edge at low tide. Many different forms of coral and sea creatures are left exposed along the wet sandy/clay like mud flats... we found very interesting crabs, fish, cone snails, shells and sea stars waiting to be admired.
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I'm still loving these magnificent Boab trees indigenous to the northern west coast.... it's hard to find a good boab nut intact though as many locals collect them and carve amazing pictures of Barramundi and landmarks significant to this side of the country.
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The jetty is a popular place for keen fisherman to try their luck at catching local Barra and the odd shark. There are signs along the jetty that stress the importance of not catching undersize Barramundi.... but I'm not sure how you would get them off your hook before pulling them up - once caught the mere drop of release is enough to kill them.
As glorious as Broome was; my favourite part of this experience was meeting "Dog". Our beloved stand-in pet that claimed us as his family. We will miss you Dog.