Pearls & Waterfalls

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Captain Kirk here again!

Wed. 18th Aug.
We’ve been in Broome now for almost a week, having a very relaxing time. Cable Beach is only 200m away and we have spent a fair bit of time there. The weather has been wonderful, with temps between 16 and 28 deg most days.

We have actually had the bikes out a few times, going for rides with a young couple and from Gosford, area along with their five year old daughter. The first ride was a very casual 2km around the local area and Rose coped with it easily. However, the next day’s ride of 12km left Rose completely exhausted. We rode along the road to a nearby headland and came back via the beach. The sand on the beach was generally hard, but occasionally we would hit a soft spot and come to a grinding halt!!! Needless to say, the bikes haven’t moved since then.

We went on a self-drive tour of the nearby Willie Creek pearl farm on Wednesday. The road out was very corregated followed by a few km across some mud flats. The explanation of the operation of the farm was very informative especially the way the pearls are produced within the oyster. Broome has one of the largest type of oyster in the world, hence large pearls.

Rose has developed a bad cold over the last couple of days, so we won’t be doing much as a result.

Wed. 25th Aug.
A week has gone by and Rose is a little better, after spending a couple of days in bed over the weekend. We took a day trip yesterday, to an area called the Horizontal Waterfalls, near the coast to the north of the Kimberley region. We flew out from Broome in a seaplane and landed on an inland sea some 1hr later. The waterfalls are formed as a result of the speed of the tides and the inability of the water to drain from the inland sea. The drop between the two areas can be as much a 5m. It was absolutely spectacular as we flew in and then boarded a high-speed boat, which raced across some incredible currents between some high vertical cliffs.
We then got back on the plane and flew across the magnificent Buccaneer Archipelago to the aboriginal communities of Cape Leveque and Beagle Bay. Rose got a heck of a fright when she volunteered to hand feed a Barramundi. It nearly took her hand!!! as she shouted out “Shadrack”. We had a very long 4WD trip back to Broome along a very bumpy dirt road. I enquired if a visit to the local chiropractor was included in the price of the tour?

Rose will be spending this weekend on her own, as I will be flying down to watch my son play footy in the preliminary final in Port Headland. I’m sure she will enjoy the peace and quiet.

Til next time.

J & R

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Photos

Horizontal Falls
Arial view of narrow gaps where the water flows.

Horizontal Falls current
The water flows at 1 million litres per second. The depth here is 45m.

Horizontal Falls approach
The difference in levels here was about 3m. Scary stuff.

Buccaneer Archipelago
Tide running across rocky outcrop.

Beagle Bay Church
Everything on the altar is made from pearl shell!!!!

Comments

[Jean]

Shadrack!
Hi both, Fantastic photo's and update as usual. Really wish I was doing a lap also! The Horizontal waterfalls look amazing - as do the camels, that's a great shot. I somehow had an image of you on the bikes along the beach suddenly coming to a sudden stop and going arse over tip over the handlebars!!! Keep up the news, makes brilliant reading. Will let you know how Helena is once she's delivered this Friday (27th)... Love to you both xxxx

[Pat]

Lol
Hello both, lovely photo's again, and what a funny video of Rosie feeding the barra. We did giggle. Have you managed a camel ride yet? Good luck to Pete's team for the weekend. Take care, love you both xxxx

[Stephen]

Surfing Safari
So - did you try to 'hang five' horizontally? :) And Rose - enjoy the quiet time - remember that he IS coming back - just as loud, raucous and willing to ride a bike as ever! (And yes - I know they are dIngoes and not dOngoes - maybe I left the R out ! )