A New Broome

Finally departed Derby, heading for Broome. Had a call from Xavier and Brenda to tell us they were at PCYC, an overflow van park in Broome cos they couldn’t get in to a regular one. Reckoned it was OK. So we headed straight there, only to find that it was also full. They managed to fit us into the overflow overflow, out back in a paddock without power or water, so for the next few days we persevered. We had planned a two-dayer to Cape Leveque in Suzi so that minimised the pain. On return from the Cape we were able to move to a powered site. Now, an unpowered site here is still $30.00 and a powered site just $5.00 more so we were happy to move in where we were also closer to amenities. But, here’s the rub. Power is so limited we couldn’t boil the electric jug, and, if we’d had aircon we couldn’t use it. To add to our frustrations on the last night whilst still in the unpowered section our solar batteries gave up the ghost. So here we are now waiting on a new aircon, needing new deep cycle batteries and waiting on parts for the washing machine and my CPAP. This is WA – Wait Awhile. And we did!

In the meantime we did go up to Cape Leveque. I’m not sure why other than its on the map. One of the options for the trip to the Horizontal Falls was to take their 4×4 bus up to Cape Leveque via a few beauty spots so we figured we could drive it easily. Out of Broome the road is dirt for the first 9ok or so…..

but it does improve ….

providing you’re on the lookout for donkeys (we did only see one). First port of call is Beagle Bay and its famous church…

where pearl shell was once the local currency. This whole area down to Broome and even lower has a history of development via the harvesting of oyster shells – naca, or pearl shell used once upon a time for making buttons and buckles and other haberdashery  paraphernalia. The church is a monument to that history. Onwards to Cape Leveque, but first One Arm Point , which is the highest point of the cape. Pretty ordinary we thought…..

so back to Cape Leveque for lunch. $54.00 for a couple of hamburgers seemed a bit steep though….

but the view from the al fresco area was pretty good…..

Then to the lighthouse and the beach on the other side of the little peninsula….

We’d planned an overnight camp-out up here but the Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm wanted $60.00 for a camp site and others weren’t available so we booked Goombaragin Eco Retreat at Pender Bay, about halfway up the Cape and late in the afternoon we made our way in….

along about 45 km of sandy track. Lotsa fun though but Jude wasn’t so sure. The couple that run the Retreat are trying to make something of it and we can only commend them for the effort but it was a bit basic, even after supplying our own tent (which I neglected to get a photo of in situ). They felt the cold – it must have got down as low as 25 but….

for Kath and John and son Jack a fire and warm clothing fixed the problem. We sat back about 25 metres.

The scenery around is quite dramatic….

and our campsite was quite fruitful….

back to Broome next day via Willie Creek Pearl Farm, just for the experience….

Didn’t buy any!

Broome is known for another quirky phenomenon, the stairway to the moon. At full moon the light reflects off the water and the city capitalises on this….

with a market and huge attendances….

I forgot the tripod again and Jude couldn’t (or wouldn’t) stand still long enough for time exposure shots with the camera on her head so my “stairway” shots were not real good. Suffice to say though it was a bit of an anti-climax after thousands of people turned out to see it all over Broome.

Finally got the aircon replaced, the solar batteries replaced the washing machine door handle replaced but still had to wait extra time for the bit for my CPAP to turn up. Consequentially we had to move caravan parks cos after 1 August you had to have a pet to stay in the PCYC overflow caravan park and unfortunately Jude didn’t qualify. Broome Caravan Park, a bit out of town, became home base for our last couple of nights in Broome. Cable Beach is one of Broomes famous locations and it is very nice….

particularly at sunset with the tide out.

We had to experience what is reputably the oldest operating “garden” cinema so our last night was spent with “the Man from Uncle” at the Sun Pictures outdoor theatre…

which we shared with passing aeroplanes.

A bit earlier in our stay we joined with a few others in the caravan park on a bus tour of Broome..

Some of the above are Ganthaume Point where there are supposed to be dinosaur prints in the rocks exposed at low tide. We didn’t experience a low enough tide so had to be content with the imitations in concrete.

Broome was hot – 33 pretty much every day and this is winter! But, we liked it. Couldn’t live here in the summer though and nor could we afford a house – average price is over 770k for a tin house (cyclone proof corrugated iron) and some very ordinary places run over $2m.

Our last little outing took in the Willie Creek Pearl Farm town display of pearl luggers and pearling dive equipment with a talk on the Broome history. Very interesting…..

The diver starts at 60 kg and dons the gear to end up at 180kg – the helmet alone weighs 35kg. The pearl Judes holding is 22.4mm, but not perfect so is only worth $100,000. Whoops!