Broome Time Again

A day at the beach, Broome style.

Well folks, here we are back in Broome. With winter well and truly arriving down south, why wouldn't we head north, to clear blue skies, no rain forecast for 4 months, daytime temperatures between 27 and 32, and water temperatures in the mid 20's. Sounds like paradise, feels like paradise, it is paradise! It is the height of the tourist season, yet it is still uncrowded and laid back. The biggest difference from our hot visit last November, is that every thing is open for business. For this visit, we are trying a different Cable Beach caravan park, The Tarangau Caravan Park, and we are happy with our choice. It is much smaller than where we last stayed, and a bit cheaper. The sites are large, and ours is nice and grassy, with large trees protecting us from the midday sun. We've met the lovely neighbours, and we are well and truly settled in. Our plan is to stay until late July.

It really is a Kool Spot!

The carrot cake is to die for!

A long term stay at a nice destination like Broome, is a treat for us. We get to know the ins and outs of town, and even start to feel a bit like a local. Of course we have found the best coffee in town! We have settled right in at "Kool Spot", where we have hit up a real rapport with the vivacious owner Vinka. She is an absolute scream, and knows everything that is happening within 300kms of Broome. We now know all the best places to eat, and we get a daily update on events around town, except for last Tuesday, when Kool Spot was closed, "because darlings, I am playing golf and drinking champagne!!!!" I must also say, that we like the cafe out at Town Beach, where we can sit and gaze out over the beautiful blue waters of Roebuck Bay. Here the coffee is also great, as is the food.

Sunset and Camels.

What a sight.

The one ritual we simply love, and partake of on a regular basis, is sunset along Cable Beach. It is an amazing sight to behold, as everyone who has a 4WD heads out onto the beach and perches on the tail gate or in fold up chairs, with sundown drinks in hand, the camel safaris wandering by, and that unbelievable sunset over the Indian Ocean. By the time we leave, I will have a thousand photos of this spectacle! Every sunset is different. 

Roslyn, Gordon and Matt
at afternoon tea

Jill arrives in Broome.

We have gotten on really well with our next door neighbours, Roslyn, Gordon and their son Matt. They hail from Newcastle, and are doing a long overdue lap of Australia.
One phenomenon that occurs here in Broome on the rare occasions that the sun sets over the ocean and a full moon rises over the land almost directly opposite, is called The Staircase to the Moon. There are a few vantage spots to go to see this event, so we chose the Golf Club, and headed up there with the neighbours. It really is a sight. My photo doesn't

Asian take away at the markets.

Staircase to the Moon.

really do it justice, but the moons reflection rippling across the waters of Roebuck Bay, really does look like a staircase to the moon. We felt really lucky to have seen it. You will just have to use your imagination. When it was all over, Carolyn and I headed down to the Staircase to the Moon Markets out at Town Beach, for some Asian take way and to soak up the atmosphere. A lot of fun. We have had a few good happy hours, and a long, farewell afternoon tea with pumpkin scones and sponge cake. We will miss their wit and

Another sunset approaches.

Sunset drinks with Jill & the camels.

conversation, but the journey must go on! We will keep in touch as we do with many of the special friends we have met along the way. Our Niece Jillian has come to Broome for a holiday for a couple of weeks. Each year she joins us, somewhere in this great land. She is staying at the Pearle Resort, right next door to our caravan park. She arrived in time for the big afternoon tea, and we will now devote our attention to showing Jill the sights of Broome. First stop for Jill, was of course sunset drinks on Cable Beach.

A day at the races.

Cocktails at Sunset Bar & Grill.

We have a busy round of events scheduled. The girls will of course require some retail therapy time. There are the markets to knock over on Saturday, as well as the Horse Races. The day at the races was a big hit, even though the bookies finished well on top. After the races, we decided not to waste our dress up clothes, and headed down to the Cable Beach Resort Sunset Bar & Grill, for a different take on sunset. The place was packed, but we got a good front row table,

Yummy Pizza.

Heading into Cafe D'Amore.

and the girls got into the cocktail list. We rounded out the evening with dinner at Cafe D'Amore. The pizzas and pasta were excellent and they did pretty dam well at dessert as well. This was a recommendation from our new friend Vinka, who obviously knows all on the food scene! She hasn't failed us yet! On Sunday we headed out to the Willie Creek Pearl Farm to do a tour. We drove ourselves out, about 40kms from town. The tour was terrific. The young

A real pearl in a real oyster.

Willie Creek Pearl Farm Tour.

guy, Ben, who ran the tour was excellent making the whole experience fun and at the same time educational. The location was stunning. It is an inlet about 20 kms up Cable Beach, and just when you thought it was safe to go into the water, out come the nasty crocodiles. We saw two, about 3 metres long, sunning themselves along the bank of the inlet. There were also a lot of Aborigines fishing the inlet. We watched as one guy was walking along the river bank,

Crocodile Dundiddlydee.

Boat trip at Willie Ck Pearl Farm.

casting a hand net, with one of the crocs following his every move, slowly swimming along beside him about 10 metres out from shore. We did a boat ride out along the inlet, and received a first hand look at how the oyster shells are kept, checked for diseases and cleaned, on a regular basis. We finished up with damper and drinks, and as much shopping time as you liked! The girls got to model things worth tens of thousands of dollars! This was a really good tour, and I would recommend it to anyone who visited Broome.

Broome coastline.

At Matso's Brewery.

After the tour we headed back into town for lunch. What better than a cold ale on a hot day, so off we went to Matso's Brewery. This is a popular Broome spot, whether eating or drinking, and we enjoyed some lovely fresh salads and some local brews. After that, Siesta!!!

Hovercraft Tour on Roebuck Bay.

Miles points out the footprints.

The next big adventure was Hovercrafting across Roebuck Bay. This is the only commercial hovercraft tour in the southern hemisphere, which surprised me. Apparently they need smooth water and light wind to operate efficiently. This was another fun tour. The pilot, Miles, was a fountain of information about Broome, as was his mother in law who drove the pick up bus! Once out on the water, the trip was very smooth, as we made our way to the other side of Roebuck Bay. Here, we all got off and walked among the dinosaur footprints. Broome is now a palaeontology hot spot, due to the finding of lots of dinosaur footprints. Miles was working hard for a role in Jurassic Park 6, but it was all fun and very interesting. This was another really good tour.

One last sunset on Cable Beach.

Not a bad one!

This part of Jill's holiday is almost over. When we have had a bit of free time, we've lazed around the Pearle's resort pool, which is delightful. Jill has had some girly spa time, and of course there has been some shopping. Tomorrow, we are all off to Derby for a few days, where we have some really great times planned. So stay tuned for the next instalment! Meanwhile, time for one last stunning sunset on Cable Beach.