Broome WA – Oz Half Lap 2018

About Broome

Modern day Broome, which draws tens of thousands of tourists during the winter months, is the brainchild of one man. It was Lord Alistair McAlpine, known affectionately as “Maggie Thatcher’s bagman” because he was the Treasurer of the British Tory Party, who turned a sleepy, isolated, pearl fishing town on the far edge of the continent into a personal fiefdom.

It was McAlpine who attracted government money to the town and built the famous and luxurious holiday resort at Cable Beach. He built the Cable Beach Resort in a style that echoed the old pearling lugger captain’s cottages of the town. Instead of bulldozing and building high rise apartment blocks he bought up the best of the rundown buildings in town (Matso’s Store is the most famous example), moved them to ideal locations and simply ensured that their uniqueness was preserved and restored. It is no accident that the architectural style of the Cable Beach resort owes more than a little to the historic Captain Gregory’s House which McAlpine bought, relocated and restored. Today McAlpine is barely remembered but the legacy that he created lives on and a few years ago the town was booming (during the mining boom) so much that a block of land could be sold for up to $1 million.

Broome is a wonderland for the 300,000 tourists who arrive each year. It is easy to spend a week and not exhaust the attractions in the area. This is an historic pearling town which has metamorphosed into one of the most enjoyable holiday destinations in the country (sourced from the Aussie Towns website – click for more).

Palm Grove Caravan Park

5 months prior to setting out on our adventure we thought we would pre-book a caravan park in Broome. We tried Cable Beach Caravan Park – fully booked; then Palm Grove Caravan Park (maplink) and were so lucky that the day we called there was a cancellation so we grabbed it for 3 weeks, otherwise we would not have gotten in there either.

The park is in a great location but everyone is crammed in and the daily sport is to watch new-commers attempting to park their vans in the skinny little roads they have. Just over the road is Divers Tavern pub and then a short stroll to the beach.

Merrisa’s mum and dad also came along flying in for 2 weeks so they could do the Horizontal Falls with us.

Our 1st day saw a totally awesome sunset on Cable Beach.

Palm Grove CP
Palm Grove CP
1st Broome Sunset
1st Broome Sunset
1st Broome Sunset
1st Broome Sunset

Willie Creek Oyster Farm

We drove out to Willie Creek Oyster Farm with Merrisa’s mum and Bill to do a tour of the oyster farm. Got to drive on the Cape Leveque Road, which is pretty rough (maplink).

The tour is really great. Our tour guide Sophie took us through the process for culturing the rare and beautiful Australian South Sea Cultured Pearl produced at the Willie Creek Pearl Farm.We learnt that there are 5 important aspects of determining a pearl’s worth…

Lustre
Colour
Size
Shape
Complexion (quality)

We then ventured out to the racks where the oysters spend their days lazing away in the beautiful blue waters of Willie Creek.

The tour naturally ends in the shop where Sophie drapes this beautiful drop pearl around Merrisa’s neck. There was no going back; as I knew that it looked so well on her and that she deserved it – so the words were “wrap it up”. Merrisa’s Pearl ticked all 5 of the important aspects for selecting a pearl – check out the photos.

Cape Leveque Road
Willie Creek
Willie Creek
Willie Creek
Willie Creek
Pearl Oyster lessons
Pearl Oyster lessons
Pearl crab
Great lunch
Merrisa gets a Willi Creek Pearl
Merrisa gets a Willi Creek Pearl

Whale Watching

We booked into our 1st Whale Watching tour with Broome Whale Watching and it was an absolutely magnificent day. These guys have been running their tours for 20 years and guarantee that you will see whales or you get your money back and they did not disappoint.

There were about 30 people onboard the catamaran Ballena (Spanish for whale). The day started with a heavy sea-fog which was a bit scary but it cleared as we left the coast-line. It made me think of the theme words to Gilligan’s Island TV show – “Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale…”

Plenty of whales and a brilliant sunset to close out the trip. We absolutely loved it. Cut 236 photos back to 20 so please enjoy.

No wet feet here
Out to the yatch
1st whale
Just about touch it
Great sunset

Staircase to the Moon

On only a few times of the year does the phenomenon known as “The Staircase to the Moon” occur when a full moon rises over the exposed tidal flats of Roebuck Bay in Broome. The Staircase to the Moon happens 2 – 3 days a month between March and October.

We were fortunate enough to time our stay in Broome with this event and went along, with thousands of other people, to partake in the experience. But I must say – there’s a lot of hullabaloo about this event and it wasn’t really all that fantastic AND I must learn how to photograph a full moon too!

They came in their thousands and set-up anywhere they could
They came in hover craft
this was our "secret spot"
They waited at every vantage point
Moon pops it's head up
staircase starts to happen
...and that's it folks!

Cable Beach Sunset

One of the big Four Wheel Drive attractions in Broome is to drive down onto Cable Beach to watch the sunset and camel tours.

So off we ventured and parked up on the beach to take in the sights. It was pretty cool; the only mistake we made was to leave the camera, drinks and nibbles behind. The sunset was yet another brilliant event and we captured the moment on our phones.

You can smell the camels coming and there are about four sets of them. Heaps of 4WDs as well along the way too.