Day 98 - Broome Whale Watching and the Staircase to the Moon

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We arrived in Broome just in time for a quick lunch and then we headed off to Gantheaume Point (a beach where people park on the beach and go boating, fishing and swimming). Our sunset (and whale watching) tour departed from here. This was the same tour that we had done in June but this time we expected to see some whales as it was now "official whale watching season". The operators were so confident of seeing whales that they offered a free trip if you did not see whales.

Once again, we were taken out to Tradewinds by the sealegs tender (a boat with wheels) by the owner/captain, Cameron. On board we met Emma and Abbey. Almost as soon as we had left the mooring we saw whales further up Cable Beach with another whale watching yacht and we cruised towards them but the whales headed away and so Cameron decided to go further offshore where he knew there would be whales.

On the way we saw small fish jumping out of the water (probably being chased by a sailfish explained Cameron) and dolphins and turtles and a sea snake.

It wasn't long before we saw two large humpback whales and we spent thirty minutes with these huge creatures as they swam in the ocean.

Additional sightings of whales were also made before we headed back to the beach at sunset.

We were first off the boat and headed down to the beach at Roebuck Bay where a night market is held when the natural phenomenon "Staircase to the Moon" occurs. We had dinner at the market and tried to get a photo of the "staircase" with hundreds of others who jockeyed for position on the beach.

We had no accommodation booked or planned so we drove out of Broome looking for a quiet spot to park / camp. Unfortunately, it was very crowded and so we headed back to Broome where we drove around the industrial areas eventually selecting a quiet spot out the front of Bunnings!

It was to be an early start and a quick exit from Broome and Bunnings the next morning!

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