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Cable Beach
Taken from the deck of the replica pearl lugger the Pindan. So now we are in Broome. We have 14 days booked here and really looking forward to it. There is something that probably needs explaining at this late stage of the game. Apart from Karijini and Millstream you’ve probably all noticed that the WA coast is pretty barren. No tall trees, nothing pretty about the terrain. All that is because there is no fresh water, so just scrub everywhere. They have a wet and a dry season but in Broome e.g. they get a lot of rain in bursts, so heavy in fact that there are no gutters on any of the houses as they can’t take the amount of water that falls in the average wet season downpour. These downpours are expected during the wet (summer) but can be unpredictable. Then there are the cyclones, bring lots of water at the time but then it all disappears. Everything green for a time but then back to scrub. Broome has plenty of underground water, filtered through a sandstone layer so it is sparkling and lovely to drink and the population can choose to water their gardens, plant trees and beautify their surroundings - or not! Lots of new homes again up
Broome
I don't think we could afford this even if we did win lotto! here, and some beautiful gardens but also lots of bush scrubby type of gardens. In the resorts of course, you could be anywhere in the world. So the thousands of km’s of WA’s uninhabited coast have the most beautiful beaches with that glorious turquoise water but then there are sharks, stingers in season and if you did decide to try and live there you would have to have your own supply of water - a new Desalinisation Plant maybe???? or some water from the Argyle Dam (but that’s for a later blog). You could try and truck it in but once again the distances are far tougher than crossing the Nullarbor and the cost would be exorbitant. WA may be suffering a downturn with the mining but it seems to me that it is only a matter of time until the tourism and hospitality industry will need to be looked at to provide the next boom!
Enough of all that - the three couples are here together again and we had a very full program. We enjoyed watching the staircase to the moon, a natural phenomenom caused by the full moon rising and reflecting on the mudflats
The Pindan
Geoff decided to try his hand at climbing the mast! of Roebuck Bay at low tide giving the illusion of a ladder or staircase. Strikingly beautiful and only occurs over three nights once a month from about April to October.
John, Geoff and Graham did a half day fishing charter and had a wow of a time - each of them catching more fish than they could use. We had fresh fish for dinner for the six of us for 2 nights after that and it was superb.
A really special outing was an Astro tour - a chap called Greg Quicke (you can find him on Facebook) runs a 2 hour entertaining and educational talk on stargazing. It’s run after sunset - of course, he gives you the site of the talk by phone the afternoon of the tour and you get yourself there to find 20 seats set up in a semicircle surrounding 6 or so BIG telescopes. He showed us Saturn and it was just like a picture had been stuck on the lens of the telescope it was so clear, very exciting introduction to the evening. He has a really simple way of explaining things so even the thickest of us were able to
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Stairway to the moon, we need lessons on how to use the camera at night! understand. It would be fantastic for kids of most ages to have a look in his telescopes. (My friend Greg C - I will nag you till you go out here and have a look!!!) Did you know that there is no such thing as sunset? It really is that part of the earth you are on moving away from where the sun is in the sky!!!! John took his telescope out for Greg to have a look at and got a few tips. We have since used the telescope a number of times. All in all, a surprising offering and one we enjoyed immensely.
Another night was a sunset cruise on the ‘Pindan’, a replica pearl lugger and there was only the six of us with the crew of four so it was a great night. Had our first taste of pearl meat BBQ’d on board, much like calamari but very tasty. They had prepared enough for about twelve people so we had plenty to eat. The water was lovely and calm which meant that they couldn’t use the sails but is was a wonderful way to watch the sunset over Cable Beach.
A trip on the
Broome
First catch of the day went to John Stubbs. We went on to eat this yummy fish hovercraft was another outing, early morning start and about a 2 hour trip to see the dinasour footprint fossils, only visible at very low tides so you can’t always see them.
In amongst all this, we girls shopped till we dropped in all the pearl outlets. I picked up earrings to match the drop John gave me last time and very happy with them too. We swam whenever we could in the pool at the van park and also managed a couple of swims on Cable Beach as well as watching more magnificent sunsets. Had dinner one night at Matso’s boutique brewery (and curry house) which is a must see and sample when you come here.
Just for a change of scenery, we had booked 4 nights “glamping” at Cape Leveque leaving the vans at Cable Beach Caravan Park. The road is too rough out there to take the vans, though we did see lots of camper trailers. Cape Leveque is a wilderness camp run by the local Community at the northern tip of the Dampier Peninsula 220 kms from Broome. John and I visited there on a day trip in 2006 and promised ourselves we
Broome
The Hovercraft would get back one day. The 3 couples shared 2 family safari tents - do your sums people, that means 2 couples had to share one tent. The Whitfields and Stubbs’ have now slept together for 4 nights without any complaints - i.e. noone snored enough to disturb anyone else. It wasn’t quite how we had envisaged “glamping” but managed to enjoy it so much that it will become one of the best memories of this trip. We worked it so that each couple was in charge of cooking one night and on the 4th night we went to the restaurant where we had one of the best meals we’ve had in a long time. Needless to say we ate like kings for the whole time we were there and eating out on the deck watching the most magnificent sunsets was just a delight. In the 4 days, we sunned ourselves on the most beautiful beaches, went on a Tagalong tour with Brian Lee, a local indigenous man who took us over sandhills and beaches that none of us ever want to drive over again. He talked about his culture and gave us lessons spearing fish and mud crabbing. Have
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Hovercraft. to say, he doesn’t have the same regard for his 4WD that we do. John, Geoff and Graham were intimidated to say the least. Graham was the only one not to get bogged in the sand and they all vowed never to take their vehicles on the beaches again. It was a lot of fun and was supposed to be a half day trip but we left about 8:30 and got back at 4 so we really got our money’s worth.
Whilst at Cape Leveque we visited the township of One Arm Point and saw how a well functioning Community can operate. There is hope but the key, as always, is education. We also took a “High Tides” tour from Cygnet Bay which was a hoot. The 6 of us in a 500HP tinny flying across the ocean to where the “very” swift flowing waters enter and leave the King George Sound. Tides of 10 metres are common (second highest in the world, after Nova Scotia).
Back to Broome via the Communities of Lombadina (where we kayaked and snorkled in 2006) and Beagle Bay (the location of the church with an altar of pearl shells). We
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Ruth and I had a morning on the beach. $20 for 2 hours with the chairs and umbrella. had a few days to prepare ourselves for the next part of our journey, a few days in Derby and then --!!-- the Gibb River Road. Like all the places up here Derby has an amazing history being the original entry point (by sea as that was the main option) to the Kimberley.
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Liz and Paul
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Wow!
Hi Guys. Loved the photo of the steps to the moon and Broome with the sunset that really doesn't happen..........hadn't really thought that its the earth moving and not the sun. Happy travelling. Liz and Paul