Broome 2016 Continues and Continues

Well, its official. This is the longest we have ever stayed in the one spot. We have seen so many wonderful parts of this great land, and few, if any, can match the Kimberley. A long stay allows us to become quite intimate with the town, and to become known around town at the cafes, the supermarket, the butcher. We do feel right at home here in Broome.

Traffic hazard Broome!

Lord McAlpine had a vision.

September came and went, and we just did much more of the same, lazing in the sun and soaking up all that Broome has to offer. We love the place and now really feel a part of the Broome scene. The first week of September had us wondering whether we had missed the Evacuation Siren!!! The grey nomad brigade (Don't call me grey - says Carol!), are quite the predictable lot. They come to Broome for winter, gazetted as June to August inclusive, and that is what they do! The first week of September saw an evacuation of epic proportions. Every caravan park is the same, being full in the last week of August, and then being half full by the end of September week one, and less than a quarter full by the end of week two!! There is a queue to leave town!!

Downtown Broome.

Reminders of Pearling history.

With the evacuation underway, we moved sites within the caravan park, choosing one of the now vacant, huge grassy, shaded sites, which we had hoped to get from day one. It has been interesting to find out, that the three month winter stayers, who arrive beginning of June, get the preference in choosing sites. Many of these people choose Broome as their only caravan destination, and actually store their cars and vans here in Broome for the other 9 months of the year, and fly up from Melbourne and Sydney!! I guess it is no different to having a holiday cottage up or down the coast!! Our new site is a huge improvement from where we were, and we have even taken to watering the grass to keep our lawn green!! I've drawn the line at mowing though!! The groundsman Alex, looks after all that stuff!!

Coffee at Town Beach Café.

These Sea Leg boats are popular

since the tide goes out so far.

When we called in at Town Beach Café we lamented with owner Stan, the huge evacuation. He has been in Broome at the café for 5 years, and has been amazed each year. He reckons that September/October are the best two months of the year, and so far, we are in complete agreement. We visit Stan two or three times a week, and it is lovely to be greeted warmly by name, and have your coffee order placed without having to move your lips!! Stan has even shouted us a free coffee, which was a great gesture. It is the best café location in Broome, and we have whiled away many an hour chatting and watching the activities out on Roebuck Bay, and Town Beach. The weather has been wonderful. It is so predictably good.

With Sammy the Dragon.

Japanese Dancers.

The month of September sees the celebration of the Shinju Matsuri Festival, the Festival of the Pearl. It is in its 43rd year, and is a celebration of the Chinese heritage of Broome. Held in the second week of September, the festival lasts a week, and the locals really embrace the many events that occur all week. We too, got into the swing of things. There are Art Exhibitions, Pearl Jewellery Design Competitions, Fun Runs, extra markets and heaps more. Every organization seemed to be putting on a morning tea or lunch!! The information booth, set up all week in the carpark of the Roey Hotel, saw a constant stream of visitors, and the first day of the festival got off to a huge start, as the cruise ship Sea Princess was in town for the day!! It is hard to miss the extra 2000 visitors in a town the size of Broome!! The huge ship, sitting at the end of the wharf at the Port, on the turquoise waters of Roebuck Bay is quite a sight.

Waking up Sammy.

Cooling the crowd.

For us, the opening event of the festival was The Waking of Sammy the Dragon. This took place out on the lawns at the Civic Centre, and was followed by a parade into town, and a free concert at Male Park on the edge of town. We were blown away by how many people turned up, mostly locals, and the standard of the costumes and the presentation of the floats in the parade were first rate! Sammy the Dragon was a beauty, and he twirled and twisted his way through the local streets, to the frantic beating of drums and sounds of fireworks. The floats featured the local dance groups, and followed Disney themes, cartoon themes and things we just didn't understand. But one thing was for certain, it was all fun. All the emergency services were involved, with the favourites being the local Fire Brigade, and Bush Fire Brigade, who took great delight in hosing down the crowds! The biggest buzz of all came from the huge Fire Truck from the airport, whose water cannon fired lots of water a huge distance, and no one was safe!!!

The winning sculpture.

Lots of good entries.

Mid week, we took in the sculptures on display, on the lawns at Cable Beach. They were very good, and we were tickled pink that our favourite took out the award for best sculpture. In town at the Good Cartel Café, they were running a fun photographic event called "Coffee Dogs". Photos of owners and their dogs were submitted, and the public got to vote for their favourite photo. We both put in a vote. There were some great photos. We never did find out the winner!! It should have been an overall dead heat. They were all fantastic. The Dragon Boat races got cancelled because it was too windy, which was a real shame. If they had waited a couple of hours they would have been OK, as the wind dropped off as it usually does. We wandered through the many galleries and jewellery shops looking at the exhibits. There seems to be so much art and jewellery these days. You can only wonder how they make a living. There is no doubt that there are so many talented and passionate people around.

Setting our lantern free.

Lanterns heading to sea.

On the Friday night we joined in the Floating Lantern Matsuri. This is a ceremony dedicated to the memory of passed love ones, whereby their spirit is sent out to sea. We had previously purchased our lantern pack from the Information Booth, and assembled and decorated it. The lantern design was quite ingeneous. An open box, made from hard plastic, was assembled and glued together. You got to decorate it with your own designs using paints, crayons, stickers, glitter etc. provided. A Perspex cap and rudder, inserted into the polystyrene base, held it all together and ensured it didn't capsize. We all gathered out at Gantheaume Point on the Friday evening on sunset. It was a big crowd of onlookers as well. As the sun set, we all lit the little candles in our lanterns and started to head out into the water to set them free. It was quite a sombre mood, and quite a few tears were shed as the lanterns drifted away on the breeze and current. As darkness crept in, the lanterns presented a beautiful sight bobbing about and drifting out to sea.

Sunset Long Table Dinner.

Chef Adam Liaw.

Saturday, the big ticket event of the Festival took place. The Sunset Long Table Dinner on Cable Beach, was introduced last year, and was so popular that this year the numbers were raised from 150 to 400 guests. It was already sold out when we heard about it, but we went down for a look. Dress was listed as smart casual, but in fact turned out to be everything from formal, to shorts and T Shirts!! There was of course a celebrity chef, this year Adam Liaw from Master Chef. Drinks were served at the Surf Club overlooking the beach, and as the sun set, the guests made their way down to the beach to the dinner table. The whole event had to be brought forward an hour because of a miscalculation on the tide! A pretty smart place to hold an event like this. No problem with the guests not wanting to leave. By 10.00pm the table would be under water!!

Crowded Amphitheatre.

Fireworks to end the night.

Sunday was the Festival Finale, with a huge family picnic, concert and fireworks all staged in the grass amphitheatre at Cable Beach. The car park became a street market of food stalls and vendors, and it was a wonderful atmosphere as a huge crowd gathered. It seemed like everyone in Broome was there. We took our chairs and small table, and feasted on tasty foods from Mexico, Thailand and the Philippines, washed down with our BYOG. The concert presented an interesting mix of artists, with the headliners being Archie Roach and the Pigram Brothers, neither of whom we have heard of!! Sammy the Dragon was put back to sleep for another year, and the fireworks display was excellent. It would be hard to imagine a nicer setting, and it was only a short walk home!

There always seems to be something to do in Broome. As the month neared its end,

Matso's Brewery, celebrated Oktoberfest, early. The whole place, and all the staff, were decorated in German theme, and we enjoyed a couple of hours listening to the live music. It was a bit of a price gouge though. Beer prices were up from the every day prices, and they were selling German Sausages in buns for between $12.00 and $19.00!! That was the Wurst part!! Still, Matso's is such a lovely spot to sit and relax, either on the verandah, where we were, or under the huge Mango trees. Actually, on the previous Saturday, we had called in to try breakfast at Matso's, and it was very good.

Beautiful Broome Golf Club.

Now that's one ugly fraulein!

We have played a little golf at the very good Broome Golf Club. We go early to beat the midday heat, but there always seems to be a breeze. The Clubhouse is just a tin shed, serving bottles of beer, but situated on one of the only hills in Broome, it commands amazing views out over the course and Roebuck Bay. It is a shame they don't serve food! Of course we have been hitting the beach. The tans are getting pretty good now!! We had a crocodile sighting off Cable Beach, which caused quite a stir for a day or two. The beach was closed for a day, but with the water so clear it was easy to see that the croc had left. Apparently the crocs come out of Willie Creek, just up the coast, when the sea temperature rises. Crocs don't like cold water as they are cold blooded. That is why they sit on the bank soaking up sun. At present, sea temperatures are up, so hence the crocs come out to sea. They don't have to fly spotter planes. There are so many tourist flights by fixed wing and helicopters, there is no chance of a croc sneaking in!!

Sun Pictures.

The Cartel "Coffee Dogs".

We had a fun night at the outdoor Sun Picture Theatre. We went to see the Tom Hanks movie Sully, which is the story of the pilot who crash landed a passenger jet on the Hudson River in New York, saving all passengers from certain death. As the tension rose on the screen, and the jet was about to hit the water, a real life one came zooming in over the theatre to land. Everyone in the theatre crapped themselves!! Then there was the delayed laughter of the embarrassed!! Sure beat surround sound!!

Sea Princess in Broome.

Well that about sums up our recent life in Broome. September weather has been so good here, and the weather down south and over east has been all wet, cold and windy, so we won't be leaving any time soon!! It is the great advantage of owning a retirement home with wheels. The wheels go where the weather is best!! Looks like we'll be extending through until the end of October. We'll just keep watching the weather, and take it a week at a time. Right now, the final term school holidays have begun, and there are quite a few more people in town. Most have flown in as it is a hell of a drive from anywhere to get here! The caravan park population hasn't changed much, but just to make sure, I've asked Stan to put the reserved sign our table at the Town Beach Café!