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Published: September 24th 2007
Alright now begins my story about the greatest place on earth, BROOME!! In the interest of getting caught up I'm going to cram all 4 days into this one entry so it might get a little long (and there will be LOTS of pictures). I appologize.
Flight to Broome and Staircase to the Moon Thursday, August 2nd I headed to Perth airport for my flight. When I arrived at the airport I had the unfortunate news that my flight was slightly delayed - oh no! Luckily I had decided long in advance that for the 4 days of this trip I would be officially on 'Broome time' and go for the 'no worries' attitude that is so famous in Western Australia.
I had a nice trip with a nice nap and I arrived safely at 'Broome International Airport' which holds the record for the smallest international airport I have ever seen. I walked (yes WALKED) out the front door and headed towards my hostel, the exciting Kimberley Klub. I quickly checked in and threw some stuff in my room so I wouldn't miss the exciting phenomena happening the night I arrived - Staircase to the Moon. I met a
Staircase to the Moon 2
Wish I had a tripod - it was hard to take pics of this thing!woman who was also interested in going to see it and we grabbed a cab together. We were dropped off at a hotel on the water where they had a live band which was playing dance music at first but switched to traditional Aboriginal music for the duration of the staircase. Essentially, staircase to the moon is the phenomenon created when there is a full moon and a low tide. The reflection of the moon on the water creates the impression of a 'staircase to the moon', hence the name. It was quite spectacular.
We walked home after the staircase and I settled into my bunk in my dorm - I had a long day ahead!
Kimberley Tour! Friday, I woke up bright and early for my tour of the Kimberley - the area just outside of Broome. We first visited Winjana Gorge, which was SPECTACULAR!! Next we headed to Tunnel Creek, which is a creek that runs through a tunnel. You get to walk through the tunnel which is pretty exciting. We also went to visit this GIANT Boab Tree, which is hundreds (thousands?) of years old. Unfortunately, our tour guide messed up and forgot to do
The full moon
What it looks like AFTER the staircase it in the day, so by the time we got there, it was dark. We then went for some dinner and got back into Broome quite late.
The tour was good although our guide was VERY boring. He would tell these long-winded stories with little to no emotion. I fell asleep through EVERY STORY. A highlight was the lady sitting next to me - a retired English professor from Edith Cowan University, another uni in Perth. She was definitely 'young at heart' and quite hilarious!
Broome and Cable Beach Saturday I woke up early to head into Broome and see what the city was like. It was really not that exciting. There was a small market which was quite pretty. I also bought a t-shirt in town before heading back to my hostel. At around noon I was picked up for my sea kayaking tour. Now THIS was a tour to remember - clear blue skies, perfect blue water, and the amazing contrast of the red rock that is so famous. The winds were in our favour, so we could employ 'Broome style' kayaking and let the wind push us along.
After the kayaking tour, I was
quickly ushered to the other end of Cable Beach for the classic Broome experience - a beach camel ride!! Probably the only complaint about this tour was the location - for some reason all the camel rides operate on the NUDE BEACH - and believe me, it's not young, attractive people on the nude beach. Basically I just had to stare at the ocean.
After the camel tour I was STARVING so I looked for a place to eat along the water. I headed to the Cable Beach Club Resort (note to self - STAYING THERE NEXT TIME, it's freaking AMAZING) to their 'sunset bar'. I arrived nice and early (4:30) so I easily got myself prime seating for the upcoming sunset. And I ate slow enough (Broome speed) that I was still legitimately sitting there for the main even! And WHAT an event! The Cable Beach sunset is quite frankly the most beautiful in the world. I was OBSESSED!
After the sunset, I decided to take a stroll down to the beach - the last bus of the night back to my hostel wasn't for a while. When I got down there I found a small group
of scattered people just relaxing, enjoying the sounds of the ocean - including a guy on guitar. When I arrived I commented to the guy that he would be the entertainment for the evening and I settled down in the sand to watch the stars come out.
The evening played out quite randomly - I ended up befriending the guy on the guitar and two of his friends who showed up later. Guitar guy and one of his friends were German (no surprises there - I think the entire population of Germany is in Australia) and had come down to Australia together to travel around. The other guy was, of all places, from TORONTO!! We hung out on the beach some more, watching the stars and playing some music (it sounds soooo hippy when I write it out...hahaha). Afterwards we headed back to my hostel where the Canadian was also staying (the Germans were living in their cars...oh Germans...) The three guys made some dinner which consisted of canned soup. They found it disgusting. So they decided to go to McDonald's (quite frankly I think canned soup is 5 star next to Maccers but whatever). And I decided to
WA Distances
It's such a big state!! go along (Broome style - no worries!) Umm we didn't do much although we did try to get into a bar but decided not to when we discovered it was $15 cover. And we got some free pizza from some Irish girls. Broome is filled with young tourists...
Cable Beach re-visited and the flight home Sunday, my last day (*tear*) I woke up bright and early (can't waste a second in this paradise!!) to head to the area where I had been sea kayaking the day before. Apparently at low tide you can find real DINOSAUR FOOTPRINTS!! I had to see for myself. So I climbed around the rocks with a few other tourists. Eventually someone found the footprints and we all headed over to look. It's pretty cool, they've been authenticated by scientists and everything!
After that, I decided to do the 5km trek from that point down to the main area of Cable Beach along the beach. I filled up with water and layered on the sunscreen, then headed off. Cable Beach was voted one of the world's best beaches - and it's easy to see why! The sand is PERFECT, and soo comfortable for walking
or just lying down. It's also very light-coloured so it doesn't heat up like darker sand. I stopped halfway through my walk to take a little break. I lay down a little ways from the shore on account of the rising tide, but I didn't go back far enough - I still got water up my back! The tide moves VERY quickly!
I eventually made it to the main area of Cable Beach. I re-fuelled with some lunch and a Gatorade. I then went off in search of lockers to put my stuff while I went swimming. I found myself inside the Cable Beach Club Resort where I ran into one of the ladies from my Kimberley tour! I told her about my search and she asked me to sit with her and have a glass of champagne. So I did! I took a quick tour of the Resort before heading back to the beach. I couldn't find a locker but I did find some nice people to look after my stuff while I went for a swim.
In the early evening I decided to relive the perfection of the day before and eat at the Cable Beach
Former coral!
A loooooooong time ago this was underwater - and this rock was actually coral! Club Resort again. I got my exact same table and another perfect sunset. I had to leave right after the sunset, however, and head back to my hostel. Upon my return, I grabbed my stuff and walked back to the Broome airport to catch my flight home.
It was an amazing holiday, and if you read this entire thing, well, congratulations! I hope you make it to Broome someday too - it really is the most incredibly place in the whole world. And if you can afford it, stay at the Cable Beach Club Resort.
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