Taste of Broome & Camel Ride on Cable Beach, Broome

We enjoyed a good nights entertainment on Friday night at an event put on by the local aboriginal people. Called a "Taste of Broome" it was a showcase of local music, crafts & food. Tried some yummy Japanese curry, Indonesian satays & super yummy Fillipino cassava cake. While the cake is gluten free, calorie free it ain't.

I looked for a recipe on line & discovered both the cake & topping have carnation, condensed & coconut milk. No wonder it was so good!

 

Opting for the $20.00 tickets we took our own chair & sat behind the VIP section & thoroughly enjoyed the slide & films projected behind the band & singers on stage. The songs & slides started with interesting footage of the old pearling days through to when WWII came to Broome & finishing with clips from the movie Bran Nue Day. It was a family night of good old fashioned entertainment.

8th July was a very important day for me & and a celebration was called for. What better way than champagne on the beach & a camel ride at sunset.

Kelsie, Sara & Sophie gave us the ride as a Christmas gift so while we took our time getting here to use the voucher it worked out well to combine a Christmas & Birthday treat.

Hello to our camel Mustva & all looks easy until.... you try to throw a leg over the camel. My leg got stuck on top needing some help to drag it down & Tones groins seized up. While we were riding along he said he hoped I had camel riding out of my system.

 

 

 

 

Anyway we survived the rocky ascension from sitting to upright while our camel made lots of groaning noises which apparently had nothing to do with us it's just his thing.

It's a long way down once you're up

Attractive eyelashes, unattractive teeth!

 

Sun gradually set as we rocked & rolled along with only an occasional moan from Tone and none from Mustava.

 

 

 

 

 

One very tired camel at the end of a long day carrying tourists up & down.

"Take me home will you, I want to go home"

 

So what a way to spend a birthday - not complaining at all!

 

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Kimberley Coast - James Price Point, Quondong Beach & Gantheaume Point

 

This place is not short of beautiful scenery. We decided to face some more dirt & corrugated roads & took off up the Cape Levique Rd to check out the northern beaches. The road while rough in parts was pretty good in comparison to the Gibb River Rd.

 

Our first stop was James Price Point where the colour of the Pindan against the sea & sky is amazing. We stopped for morning tea taking in the colours & serenity, & we had it all to ourselves.

 

 

 

 

Amazingly this area has been pinpointed for a Gas Refinery, & an 8 km wharf out to sea to the gas outlet. Three years ago there were massive protests in the area & there is still an active group working to keep this beautiful place safe from exploitation. Despite the earlier win there are still rumblings by the present Gov't to let the project go ahead. The photos show some of the remnants of the camp where there still seems to be a few squatters calling it home. There seems to be conflict with the indigenous owners as some want the royalties from the mining & others want "Country" protected.

A few kms down the road you have the white sand of Quandong Beach. There were quite a few campers set up along the dunes in a variety of abodes, tents, off road campers & especially fitted out trucks.

We watched a Yankee guy catch three sharks off the beach in the space of an hour. He would wade in waist deep, make a catch, land it then release. He was very confident handling the sharks & I asked him why. He said he has caught many off the coast in Bermuda. The Aussie blokes were all a bit more wary.

 

Needless to say no-one was in swimming despite It looking very tempting for a dip.

There were hundreds of these little tracks criss crossing from the dunes to the sea or part of the way to the Sea. Not unlike a tyre track they are actually made by baby turtles making their dash for the sea after hatching. We weren't lucky enough to see any on their way.

Another beautiful area just south of Cable Beach is Gantheaume Point. The site of a lighthouse in the old days Its claim to fame now is there are some Dinosaur footprints (130 million years old) in the rocks that can be seen at low tide. The rock formations & colours once again are fantastic.

 

 

There is one private house here now on a large block of land, the owners lucky to have this place to live. Not to themselves though as there lots of tourists but I guess other than three main tourist months it would be pretty quiet. The lighthouse keepers home was sold to private owners when it was decommissioned so I guess this is how this spot is in private hands.

Hmmmm.... I could put up with the tourists I think to live in such a place!

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Horizontal Falls in Talbot Bay WA

We decided to take the trip by floatplane from Derby to the Horizontal Falls situated in the Buccaneer Archipeligo. The day we were booked to fly out all the morning flights were cancelled due to low cloud. We flew out in the afternoon for the overnight tour. It was a nice smooth take off & flight however when we banked to come in for landing I must say I had my heart in my mouth. Somehow it does not feel right to be tipped at 90 deg looking at the water out the window.

 

 

The scenery on the way was pretty amazing. Leaving Derby we flew over miles of mud flats to the north. As we got closer to the coast the colours & patterns of the water flows were quite beautiful. Nearly like abstract works of art.

Flying above the Horizontal Falls we got an indication of the Archipeligo. There are over a thousand rugged islands in the area accessible by air or water.

The photo shows the two gaps where the massive tides form the waterfalls as the water rushes at low tide to escape through the outlets.

 

 

 

 

After landing we boarded the pontoons where the bar pontoon & houseboats are moored together. The houseboat is really modern, our cabin, small but comfortable with shared bathroom in the hall. There were two cruise boats & a private catamaran moored in the lagoon as well. Another couple took off from the rooftop helicopter pad. Talk about the life of the rich & famous? I felt like a movie star in such surroundings. One look in the mirror however, brought me back to earth!

 

After feeding the sharks from the pontoon we boarded the speedboats for the trip to the falls. The boats have three 200 horsepower motors powering away to take you for an exhilarating ride, pushing through the torrent of water rushing out between the cliffs. The drop was about 1. 5mts when we went through and this is the maximum they will take the boat through. The difference in water height between the bays can be up 5 mts.

 

 

 

Now as I have never been partial to more than the excitement of a merry go round, after being scarred for life by the Luna Park Big Dipper at age 9, I waved everybody off from the deck the following morning as they headed out for one more adrenalin rush through the falls. Call me a wimp? Yep, much rather a leisurely cruise, this girl wasnt built for speed!

 

We had a sunset drink around the bar before a BBQ dinner on the houseboat rooftop dining area. Not a bad way to spend the evening, on a pleasure boat moored in an isolated bay.

I still have to pinch myself occasionally to make sure this retired life is not a dream.

 

The staff were all young & some had done a couple of seasons at this offshore "resort", travelling overseas in the off season. This pontoon is home to one of the guys, the skipper on the speed boat. He has two tents set up in the back for his bedrooms. He prefers to live here than on the modern houseboat.

Surprisingly there are mosquitoes & also crocs in the area so you wouldn't want to have one too many at night.

 

 

Unfortunately the following day we awoke to lots of low cloud but the planes managed to get in through some breaks between cliffs & cloud.

 

 

 

It was interesting seeing the setup from the air after staying there. Lots of $$ involved here in infrastructure. The large cat was one of the many cruise boats that use the lagoon & facilities as part of their tour.

 

 

 

Our return flight was mostly over cloud banks so we missed seeing the islands of the Archipeligo on the homeward journey.

As we left the lagoon we were flying between craggy cliffs & cloud banks - nearly too much excitement in 24 hours for me. However it was beautiful anyway & I survived to tell the tale.

 

 

The sky was nice & clear coming back into Derby much to my relief even though the pilot assured me it was a "p.... of p..." flying through these clouds.

Surprising to see the town from the air & how it sits on a little peninsular of land surrounded by miles & miles of mudflats on two sides & ocean on the point.

 

Next stop - Broome - finally!

 

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Broome, Sun Picture Show & Cable Beach

The beaches of Broome beckoned us after 12 weeks in the inland or beside Croc infected coastlines. When I head inland I love the plains& the ranges in the Kimberley are beautiful,but the n you arrive at the coast & go "Wow".

Arriving in Broome without any booking we headed for the Cable Beach Caravan Park. Broome at this time of year is literally crawling with visitors from all over Australia. We got a booking for two nights only and as we had planned on three weeks here we felt a bit unsettled.

Moving the van on to our site, one of over 500 sites in the park, we thought this is horrible and decided to find other options even though we did get the offer to stay for an extended period after someone made a cancellation. There are lots staying in the Cable Beach Park for up to three months. While the winter sunshine is easy to take being packed in like a sardine tin with thick foliage overhead hiding the sky is not our idea of enjoying what Broome has to offer.

Luckily we found Broome Caravan Park on the edge of town with plenty of space & green grass. Grass a rarity in these regions in dry season & a lot of parks are bare

Cable Beach is a beautiful long beach with a big tidal influence. It gives us the perfect opportunity to combine beach days with some kayaking as the beach is accessible by four wheel drive. Also for me the waves are about 1 foot high so I can get out to sea without being scared witless.

The water has been crystal clear & azure blue, but at about 20deg I have only managed a very quick dip. Tone wet his ankles only - woos!

The beach is famous for its sunsets as you see the sun settle for the day behind the blue horizon. Hordes of people come down to the foreshores by foot & car to take in the evenings spectacular free show.

 

 

We are looking forward to more sunset evenings & days relaxing on the beach. Gee it's busy being retired!

Cable Beach is where the famous Broome camel rides occur through the day, at early morning and late afternoon. There are three operators & apparently the relationship has not always been friendly with camel dung flung on occasions between waring owners. Probably nothing worse than flung dung.

We decided to take in a movie at the outdoor Sun Pictures. This building was built at the turn of the century in this area called China Town, at a time it was a jungle of crooked lanes where bazaars, brothels, food stores, gambling houses & opium dens supplied the needs of the deepwater pearl divers, pearl buyers & seamen that inhabited Broome when natural pearls were premium.This building became a theatre in 1916 & has the Guinness Book of Records entry for the oldest operating out door theatre.

I enjoyed, Tony endured, Baz Lurhmnns movie "Gatsby" in the lay back deck chairs. An interesting part of the night was when the big passenger planes taking off from the nearby airport roared overhead, their undercarriage clearly visible from our vantage point.

Tone got to enjoy one of his few favourite sweet delights, joy oh joy, a frozen choc top ice cream. Gotta keep the boy happy!

A unique experience & we will go back if they put on another "good" movie.

More beaches to explore, places to go. Broome is a unique town. The history with the Asian, Afghan & Indigenous influence makes for an interesting mix of multiculturalism. The interaction between the people over the years shows in some of beautiful looking girls. The locals were eating kebabs, curries & satays well before most of Australia had heard of anything so exotic.

The clash of the red Pindan dirt, the white sand, aqua sea, azure blue sky & peak roofed corrugated buildings create a colourful scenery that is unlike other parts of Australia. Broome has its own character.

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