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Published: June 13th 2009
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We are celebrating 30 years living in Australia this December and we have lost count of the number of times family and friends have told us we just must visit Broome. Well at long last we have made it on our round Australia trip, almost 3000km from Busselton, and it is everything we were told about it, and more.
For the past few years Broome has been dog unfriendly with none of the many caravan parks taking dogs. In the new year Tarangau caravan park decided to allow travelers with pets to stay in their park and it was very welcome news, especially to us with Millie and Pat and John with Freckles and Buddy. Tarangau Caravan Park is very clean and friendly and a short walk to Cable Beach which has to be one of the best beaches in the world. So much happens there, from early morning walkers, to swimming in the warm inviting waters, nude bathers are welcome north of the rocks and at sunset the beach is littered with 4 wheel drive vehicles bringing their owners down to enjoy their evening meal and drinks sitting in deckchairs and watching the setting sun. To top it all off
there are 3 camel trains with brightly coloured blankets that carry folk along the beach for an hour, returning along the shore line with the camels paddling in the water against a blood red sky, with a pearling lugger in the background. My camel was named Amos and was 6 years old. At the end of the ride I gave him two carrots and he gave me some beautiful pearl earrings. Fair swap eh? After dark the camels can be seen walking home in a train with the tail end camel sporting a flashing light on his tail end to warn traffic of the hazzard.
Broome is famous for its pearling history and we visited Willies Creek Pearling Farm where we went for a short helicopter ride over the creek and ocean. It was wonderful and a first for me although Trevor had been in helicopters in the past in his photography days. It was one of the things I have on my bucket list, (things I want to do before I kick the bucket) Another was riding a camel along Cable Beach which I can also cross off my list now. I am making sure I keep my bucket
full as it is much easier to kick over an empty bucket than a full one !!!
Another wonderful experience was watching a film in the famous Sun picture house. It was built in 1916 by pearling
master, Ted Hunter, for his crew and in 1933 it showed its first talking movie, Monte Carlo. the picture house is still original and you sit out under the stars in deck chairs (very wise to take a cushion for your back) with palms swaying overhead and the perfume of frangipani in the air. The film we watched was The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas which is the story of two little boys who became friends despite one boy being inside a concentration camp and the other boy being on the outside. At one point it appeared that to add to all their misery they were about to be bombed as the sound of low flying aircraft became apparent, only to realize that the picture house was built before the airport and the plane came directly overhead on its approach to the airport only 1/2 km away. All very unnerving.
We walked through historic China Town and along Streeters Jetty where the pearl
luggers used to dock, and watched gifted craftsmen renovating one of the original luggers. There are pearl and diamond shops everywhere displaying the wares of the region, all very pricey but beautiful none the less.
Our friend Kerrie has been working in Broome for the past 15 months and we were lucky enough to have a meal with her before she left to head back to Perth, towing her caravan. She gave us some very useful information about things to see and do whilst in Broome.
All in all we had a really good time there and have every intention of coming back at a future date to avoid the Busselton winter.
Until next time .............
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jeremy, michelle & lucy
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Broome
Broome.....what a gorgeous place. brings back memories, oh how we wish we were back there. glad to read you liked it!