Broome

It was the 2^nd July when we popped off the dirt from Dampier Peninsula on to the main road linking Broome with the rest of the world. Immediately we saw a sign to the Bird Observatory that also has some camping facilities, so we short cut all the hassles of being cheek by jowl in town, in favour of a superb spot on the big curve of Roebuck Bay, about 30 kms out. It was a good choice notwithstanding the additional dirt road, with very good services at low cost, information (a Kimberly rock art book for Helen!), and obviously, bird observing facilities. One morning we were blessed with fog that rolled in across the shallow turquoise bay, and hung around well into the morning.

Broome is a most interesting and dynamic community that is expanding very fast. Don’t ask about house prices; like everywhere in WA they are enormous. The old town – Chinatown, is really charming, tucked behind mangroves, sheltered from the ocean swells (but not the cyclones of course). The place was built on pearling which supplied the world with natural pearl and mother of pearl, until the middle of last century. Plastic replaced pearl shell buttons, and so Broome pearlers developed the techniques for seeding pearls within the oysters. The Japanese were the main divers and also owners, and are well represented in Broome still, particularly in the cemetery where 919 of them are buried. The Historical Society’s Museum is an excellent way of learning about the town.

We couldn’t resist Indiana Jones at the world’s oldest open air cinema, Sun Pictures. The highlight of the evening was the arrival of the Qantas and Virgin Blue 737’s. An unusual characteristic of Broome is the proximity to the now almost international airport. Basically they land in the Coles car park next to the cinema, or so it seems. Just as Indiana was about to engage in some daring deed a thunderous rush of sound burst on us and the underside of the aircraft seemed to fill the space above, a swoop of red and silver, palm trees swaying and us bathed in a cooling swirling breeze of turbulent air. Fantastic! Just settled down and the Virgin repeated the excitement.

Sunsets in Broome occur over Cable Beach, and are not to be missed. The beach is extremely wide at low tides, and you can exercise the dog thoroughly between high and low water, as many do. Or dog walkers do. Large parties of like- minded holiday makers accumulate along the ridge overlooking the beach, on well cut lawns, in front of smart watering holes. Folding chairs snap open almost in unison as the sun yellows down. As if to cue, the old pearling lugger with gaff sails set, drifts across the sunway on the water, and the digital whirring and clicking begins, often switching to the procession of camels. Paganism is alive and well!

We met up with a NZ couple who had been with us on the Dampier Peninsula, and enjoyed a hilarious coffee and dinner with them at their caravan site (cheek by jowl – we chose the right place to stay out of town). Another evening, after looking for the dinosaur footprints on the low tide rocks at Gantheaume Point, we drove around to the wharf and enjoyed some very good fish and chips at a smart harbourside spot overlooking the quarantine station and the work trappings of the place. There is a lot of room for expansion of housing, and the roads that have been put in are ominously wide, with roundabouts of the largest dimensions. It might be best to visit sooner rather than later, but all in all we enjoyed the place very much. It is stylish in a way we haven’t seen in Australia before.

Part of the enjoyment is knowing that in moving on we are going to another source of interest or delight, and in that mood we fuelled up and headed down the road along the coast towards Port Hedland.