Broome

You are probably wondering what has happened to us this last week, apart from doing heaps if sightseeing have had computer problems again.We cant believe that a town this size doesnt have a Telstra dealer just a shop front. However, we arrived in Broome last Wednesday set our van up and set off to town to the Information Centre a very nice new building. Kellie was great and soon answered all our questions on what was on and where. Took a walk around the shops not as much as I thought there would be, Pearl shops with lots of expensive stuff, nice to look at.We then went for a drive down to famous Cable Beach, it really is beautiful, the colour of the water is the most amazing azure blue. Further along we saw the 3 different herds of camels, then a nude beach, not really what we expected (or wanted ) to see.
We awoke Thursday morning to a very thick fog, everything was wet, water running of our outside table, it actually sounded like rain falling during the night, but things dried out fairly quic kly once the sun came out. We had an easy day, did washing and decided what things we would do and when. Friday morning another heavy fog, did our camel ride at 8am, all the sunset ones were booked out for over a week. It was still great though, and something I have always wanted to do, our camels name was Randy (?) getting on was interesting and 40 minutes was enough on the bottom. We met up with Richard and Mary ( from the horizontal falls trip) and did a few hours fishing further up Cable Beach, no fish but what a great way to spend the day.
Saturday morning we went to the Courthouse markets, bought some fresh veges but most of the stuff was art and craft, only so much room to carry stuff in the van so we just looked.There were 2 Pearl luggers moored near Streeters Jetty so we had a look at those, also the diving suits that they used to wear, crazy!.A bit further round is Town Beach which overlooks Roebuck Bay, lovely beach, a small Pioneer Cemetry is there also. In the afternoon we went to the races, yes the Kimberley Cup was on, a good excuse to get out the frock and shoes other than thongs. It was a fun afternoon, although the prices of drinks was a bit over the top, ($8.50 for a piccolo of bubbles) we came out a few dollars down but what the heck. The police were out with the RBT and apparently had caught quite a few. Do people never learn.
Sunday morning, rang Kezza for her birthday, really miss the kids but thank goodness for internet and mobile phones. Took a drive out to the Wharf where we heard they were loading cattle onto a container ship for export but it wasnt happening till 9pm, so a bit late. There was a luxury cruise liner in port and it was a great walk out the jetty which is about one klm long, a lot of people out fishing as it was Sunday. Continued along to Gantheaume Point and had a look at Anastasias Pool built by her husband who was the Lighthouse keeper, she suffered from arthritis, we wondered how she managed to walk down and around all the rocks to get to the pool. There are dinosaur prints which are only visible at extremely low tides so havent seen them yet. Drove down to the beach and there were dozens of vehicles, boats and people all having a great Sunday afternoon. The weather has been beautiful, though 34 degrees yesterday.
Went to Post Office and collected mail, ugh, then spent the afternoon doing the books, you cant get away from it even on holidays. Tuesday we went fishing again but no luck, will keep on trying, may go to Willie Creek Thursday. Last night we went to another phenomenon, the Staircase to the Moon, this occurs when the tides are low and the moon comes up over the mud flats and creates what looks like steps up to the Moon, it was amazing, very hard to gets photos but will buy a postcard instead. We had front row seats so it was great to see, only happens 3 times a month. We have been so lucky to have seen some of the things we have as they only occur some of the times.
So what are my thoughts on Broome? Not quite what I expected a larger town than Derby or Wyndham but a large presence of Indigenous people who seem to live anywhere they like and litter to their hearts content. The town is dirtier than I expected, and we have heard via many locals that 2 of the Van Parks have been sold to developers, so where does that leave caravanners. Already this week there is a huge shortage of spaces for us and they are using 4 overflow areas. How do they expect tourists to come here an spend the huge amount of dollars that they do if there is nowhere for them to stay. I really struggle to understand their reasoning. In saying that we have had a great time and seen some unbelievable stuff and achieved our dream of seeing Cable beach and riding the camels along it. We are heading south on Saturday not sure where we will stop yet.