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Published: August 16th 2014
Broome - I sooo could live here! What a beautiful spot it is. We spent the first day by doing some much needed shopping. Mum, Olivia and I took off down to Coles to restock and then into the butcher for more meat supplies. In the afternoon Gav, myself and the kids explored around Broome while mum and dad went to the bank to sort out a card of mums that was being sent there for her.
They say that Cable Beach is amongst the top five beaches in the world and I can understand why. It is absolutely beautiful. The water is beautiful. The sand is beautiful, everything is just beautiful! We followed a dirt track right around the headland to the light house and got out to have abit of an explore.
Broome is home to approx 15, 000 permanent residents but of course the tourist numbers mean the population swells way above this. The coast line is safe to swim in and it offers great fishing. Gav opted not to do a fishing charter with the boys this time because we have something even bigger planned. (More about that later!).
The drive up to the
Gav
You know how they say dogs start to look similar to their owners after a while? I wonder if the same thing happens with camels and their riders??? Hahalight house was really beautiful and we were lucky enough to see a turtle in the water while we were there! The light house has an interesting story attached to it. The first private owner of the lighthouse residence was an Irishman named Patrick Percy and his wife Anastasia. He brought the residence in 1922 when the lighthouse became automated and a permanent light house keeper was no longer needed. Patrick had come to Broome in 1896 as a police constable but he soon became the proprietor of The Roebuck Hotel. He made his money when he purchased a pearling Luger and soon built up a fleet of eight Lugers and one schooner. There is some speculation that he may have left Ireland because he was linked to a murder that had happened there And that I fact his name was actually Sullivan not Percy. There are also reports of a woman turning up to the hotel and confronting him, claiming to be his legal wife from Ireland. Apparently a sum of money was exchanged and she left soon afterwards. Percy built Anastasia's pool (a rock pool on the headland) for his wife Anastasia who suffered with terrible arthritis. Percy
Camel ride on Cable Beach
I admit it - I was bloody nervous and holding on for dear life!! Haha had one of his Chinese crewmen and his gardener concrete around the edge of a natural rock pool near the house. The waves would break over it during high tide keeping the water clean. Anastasia would soak her aching limbs in the water daily.
We continued to follow the road around the headland and check out the sights. What a beautiful spot. That afternoon we were booked in to do a camel ride on Cable Beach. This is something the kids asked to do before we even left home. They had seen it on a DVD and we promised them we would do it while in Broome. We arrived at the beach, were introduced to our camels and climbed aboard for our ride along the beach. Luke rode with Gav, Olivia with me and Jack bravely asked to ride on his own. Jacks camel was called Gemma and was the only female camel in the group. What a sweetie she was! The entire ride she walked right by the side of the camel Olivia and I were on. We could pat her head and she even dribbled on my foot! Awwwww. Haha
The kids had an absolute ball!
Jack on Gemma
Credit to Jack, so brave he was keen to go on by himself! They loved it. I must admit after being abit nervous at the start it was heaps of fun.
That evening we went to see the Stairway to the Moon. Staircase to the Moon is a natural phenomenon which occurs when a full moon rises over the exposed tidal flats of Roebuck Bay. The Staircase to the Moon happens 2 - 3 days a month between March and October. It was pure luck that we were here when this was occurring. There were also night markets on so we enjoyed an ice cream and a wander around the markets as well.
The next day we left Broome to head to Derby. Derby lies approximately 2 hours north of Broome. It marks the beginning of the Gibb River Road and is the gateway to The Kimberley's. We are also here for another exciting reason.
Gav and I have been thinking for a while about doing a tour into The Horizontal Waterfalls. It involves flying in and then catching a speed boat up to the falls. We have booked ourselves and the kids in for a full day and we are VERY excited to be doing it. The trip leaves
from Derby on Friday 15th Aug. We will stay in Derby for three nights before beginning our trek into The Kimberley's and up the famous Gibb River Road!
Derby is quite a nice spot. We are hear while they are experiencing the biggest tides of the year. The tide is 11 metres!
We went to check out the local sights around Derby starting at the old goal. This jail was established in the late 1800s and housed mainly aboriginal inmates. Calling it a goal is abit of a stretch - more like a cage. Prisoners were chained to the floor by a chain around their necks and were usually put to hard labour for very petty crimes. Pretty sad spot really. From here we went to the prison boab tree. These boab trees are everywhere up here and they are the most amazing sight to see. This one in particular is huge! It is estimated to be about 1500 years old and was literally used to house prisoners being transferred from various places into Derby in the early days. During World War Two the tree was used to store ammunitions. Next stop was Myall's bore and cattle trough.
The cattle trough is 120metres long and was built around 1917. It could water 500bullocks at any one time. Last spot we checked out was Frosty's pool. There is an interesting story that goes with this pool. It was built in 1944 during World War Two. It was used as a bathing area for troops stationed in the area. The bath was constructed by the 3rd general Transport Co. And was nicknamed Frosty's pool after a platoon member, Charles Frost. From here we had a quick walk along the ward to check out the tide variation (up to 11 metres!).
The next day was the day of our trip to The Horizontal Waterfalls, so it was an early night to bed very excited for our big adventure the next day..........
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Amanda Stellino
non-member comment
I love you
Cable beach does look really beautiful! I never thought of going to WA until I read your blog and have seen your pictures!!!! I thought Gavin was taking a selfi in one of the pictures with the camel and was going to bag him out haha but he isnt luckily! That beard isnt slowing down, so gross!