Day 25: Beautiful Broome

We were up at the crack of dawn today (it has taken long service leave for Richard to see the benefits of early to bed and early to rise – and he is doing exceptionally well, getting up before seven most mornings!) and were on the road before 7.30 am!!  We stopped at a road house about 50 kms from Eighty Mile Beach and realized that everything was new – new diner, new toilets, new garage, bowsers etc.  Another victim of the cyclone!  Wow – you have to admire the resilience of these people – who lose everything and start again from scratch. 

 Anyway, we were in Broome by 11.30 am and ahhh!  Bliss!!!  Some lovely little coffee shops – so the first stop – even before finding our caravan park was to stop for a coffee – and then … more bliss ….. phones that work and email that can be collected.  It was one of those very quiet coffees where we both just sat at our computers drinking in all the incoming info from our friends and family – sigh!!!  So nice to catch up with our gorgeous family – Josh and Kirst going so well and Cass in the middle of first year uni exams – and coping with it all in high style!  There is something special about hearing from home when you have been out of touch for a few days! (we were sitting in this street-side café with one earpiece each talking to Kirsty)

Well, Broome is perfectly lovely!  I highly recommend it.  The temperature was a balmy 29 degrees, and there is so much to see – I am quite envious of Rich that he has about five days to explore the place from top to bottom while I sit in the van and study!  But I am also glad that he will be so well occupied.  There is plenty of bird life – so he will be racking up the ‘lifers’ over the next few days.  He plans to ramble along the rocky shore, hire a kayak and take himself into the sea to do some sea fishing, take a fishing safari to try and catch the ever elusive barramundi, drive the car on the beach ….. because you can in WA.  The beaches are just gorgeous – similar to Eighty Mile Beach the distance between water and dunes is huge when the tide is out ….. a vast area of sand and then the sparkling blue water.  I have always heard that one of the great things about the north of Australia are the colours – and it is so right – the red dirt is SO red, and even more so when juxtaposed against the BLUE, blue sky.  The beach has the lovely white sand, that often runs into the very red cliffs again, and then occasionally you get the greenest green grass running down to the blue sea – it really is lovely!

 We went down to Cable Beach and saw the camels waiting for their passengers, and had a little drive on the beach … because you can in WA!  We watched the sun go down on the beach (in the car ….. because you can in WA.)   We were in good company – it seems to be a tradition in Broome on a Friday night to gather on the beach (everyone with their cars) and have a BBQ and drink while watching the sunset.  Tomorrow night we will take dinner down there.  (I guess you have worked out that Rich is loving driving on the beach!)  We went to a rocky red point with a lighthouse, stunning views of the sea and beautiful rock formations and saw an osprey’s nest right at the top of the lighthouse with juvenile sitting on the edge calling for his mum. 

 The town is just delightful – very tropical, with lots of frangipani and bougainvillea.  Very holidayish – with lots of interesting people walking around – locals, aboriginals, holiday makers, back packers, hippies (including old hippies) and grey nomads.  There are a great many inviting shops and of course lots of pearl outlets …. Broome is a historical pearling place – where the Japanese have been very influential – they even have their own cemetery - I am quite looking forward to finding out all about the history and background info.

We decided to treat ourselves with dinner tonight and went to a fantastic restaurant in Cable Beach (it is called Cable Beach because this is the spot the first cable was laid from Europe via Indonesia to Australia …. So Rich says …..)  that had a beautiful buffet with prawns to die for!  So here we are – replete with good food, love and messages from those that we love, and the prospect of a fantastic few days ahead.  The best part about being here, is that my exams are nearly over!  We are blessed!  Mark it in your diary to pray for me on the 16^th and 18^th June – both exam days.

Highlights of the day:

Rich:                You guessed it … driving on the beach

Kim:                Sundowners on the beach

We are back in Caravan Park Security – so here is the latest ditty to remember the combination for the toilet:  ZX2865 (Zulu crossed to date Dixy Jive – what the? I just put the code in my iPhone).

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