Relaxing in Broome

Our journey from Derby to Broome last Wednesday was a quiet one. The distance is only 250km but we cannot get over how little traffic there is on some of the main routes. On our drive we think we only saw about six other vehicles over the distance.

A camel train on Cable Bay beach

Even after a few days in Broome it is feeling a bit like home. Known as the gateway town to the West Kimberley, it is surrounded by water with the world famous Cable Beach to the west and the pristine waters of Roebuck Bay to the east and south. The population seems to spend most of their time around or on the water as we do at home.

Broome has a very broad multicultural population. There is a blend of Malay, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Aboriginal and European who all came together in the early 1870’s to work the pearl luggers in search of the pearl. The descendants of many of those early settlers still reside in the town today. The multicultural aspect of the population was very evident in our ‘workplace’ at the race meeting on Saturday.

Dearne is very excited to be in Broome as the area produces the world’s finest pearls and she has a vision of purchasing a fine example of the local product. As you know we have managed to pick up a bit of work while we are here. I did notice in conversation the other day that ‘my’ earnings now seem to be in the ‘our’ earnings category and are going toward ‘my’ pearl. I wonder if the same rule will apply if I want to add to my fishing gear collection when we get home? Yeah right!!

The nomads at lunch in Broome. From L to R: Jane, Dearne, Bruce, Steve, Rod and Lyn

On Thursday night we caught up with Bruce and Lyn who are travelling in the opposite direction to ourselves and Steve and Jan who are travelling in the same direction but who have been a few days ahead of us. We met at Cable Bay Beach, partook in a few beachside wines and followed it up by enjoying a dinner at one of the local waterfront restaurants. It was great to catch up with everyone again. Jane and Steve have now headed off and are continuing their journey toward Perth.

There is quite a lot to do and see in Broome. Because of our work and our ‘must sees’, we will be in Broome until around the 18 August. Rod would like to spend a few hours on one of the pearl boats and we would also like to visit one of the towns many pearl farms. We have already been to the Courthouse weekend market, spent a few hours socialising and dining at the local fishing club, completed our first days work and have visited some of the local sights. To top it off, the daytime temperatures are around 30C and the night time temperatures drop to around 17C.

It is very comfortable living here and not a bad place to spend a couple of weeks. We will keep you updated.