Still basking in Broome

Last month I mentioned we used Broome as a base to do a bit of travelling, however there’s also plenty to do in and around this tropical delight, as we discovered.

As much as we love camping in remote corners of this awesome country by ourselves, our family also enjoys the social aspect of travelling and being a ‘tourist’.

Broome is well known as a tourist destination, with heaps on offer for everyone – from relaxing on the beach to fishing offshore or shopping for a world-famous pearl necklace.

 

With all this on offer, and loads more, there was plenty to keep us busy as we enjoyed a week of relaxation and touring before we hit the Gibb River Rd.

The town of Broome has all the usual shops you’d expect – including a nail salon that my wife and daughters thoroughly enjoyed.

I suppose after being on an extended remote adventure, a pampering of the claws and talons was okay.

 

Broome city

Broome caters for everyone – there are backpackers travelling on a budget, all the grey nomads and families caravanning and then there are the luxury resort patrons.

Whatever way you’re there, plenty is on offer in the city itself.

China Town is a great place to get a feed or you can spend a few hours checking out the markets.

If you time your trip right, you can also see the stairway to the stars, which is when the full moon rises at low tide, giving you the spectacular illusion of a set of stairs rising into the sky.

 

Thankfully were there when this happened.

Another must do is the open-air cinema, and there’s a section with no roof, so you can watch movies with the stars overhead.

Of course, if you’re into shopping, there’s a host of pearl and jewellery shops with an array of magnificent items – thankfully our travel budget wasn’t impacted here.

For the savvier shopper, the Broome markets are a must, with a whole range of items, food vans, music and much more.

 

Beach camel rides

No doubt many of you have seen the sunset pictures of camels on Cable Beach, well we also ticked that off the list.

I’ve never ridden a camel before and nor had the girls, so it was a novelty experiencing this for the first time.

As it turned out, we scored the first two camels in the line, with Amaya and Matia on an ex-race camel and Greta and I on one of the larger ones.

 

Thankfully, these days you get onto the standing camels from the back of a utility, so you don’t need them to sit and then stand once you’re on them.

If you’re keen to do the camels at sunset, we did have lots of fun and got the essential postcard picture.

However, you definitely won’t see me putting my hand up again for any long adventure rides on a camel – the hour or so we were on them was plenty.

 

Horizontal Falls

In the planning stage of our adventure, we highlighted a few special places we wanted to visit, with Horizontal Falls being one of them.

Thankfully we budgeted for them – the fact that we rented our house out while we were away travelling made a big difference, even though at the time setting it up was painful.

There are a few different ways to view Horizontal Falls – we chose to do the bus and seaplane route on a full-day tour.

 

For this adventure, we departed Broome by bus and ventured north to Dampier Peninsula, where we visited Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm for breakfast and a tour, then it was onto Ardyaloon Hatchery at One Arm Point.

Both places were extremely interesting.

We learnt about the history of Broome pearls and Greta was able to open an oyster to see what pearl it had inside.

 

 

Next it was into a seaplane and off to the falls.

I was fortunate to be given the copilot seat for the journey – what a special part of the country this place is.

The area was littered with islands varying in size, from small to large, all with their own characteristics and beauty.

Another way to experience this neck of the woods is by going on a cruise, which would be spectacular – maybe one day when we’re retired.

 

On the flight out, the captain gave a running commentary about the different islands and the history of the area.

As anticipation grew to see Horizontal Falls, it wasn’t long before we were making a few diving turns to line up for the perfect bird’s-eye view.

Banking the plane and coming in on a sharp angle was awesome, giving a different perspective to view this amazing natural wonder.

 

Soon after, we were on a huge floating dining pontoon having barramundi for lunch prior to heading out on a high-speed craft to run through the falls.

These falls are very different to a normal waterfall.

The Kimberley region experiences some of the largest tidal variations in the world, with tides rising and falling by several metres.

Hence these powerful tides play a crucial role in the creation of the Horizontal Falls.

 

As the tide changes, water from the ocean is forced through narrow channels and gorges, resulting in rapid and powerful horizontal flows.

The sheer volume of water rushing through the gorge is incredible and well worth the effort and cost.

After our high-speed run through, we were soon back to base camp, where we got to swim up close and personal with several sharks – thankfully there was a thick piece of Perspex between us and the teethy critters.

 

However, it was still wonderful to be in the water near these creatures.

Our final foray in this area allowed us to explore more of the region by boat, where we managed to see one of the local crocodiles.

It was then back onto the seaplane headed for Broome – a truly amazing day and well worth it!

 

Crocodile farm

A trip to Broome wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Farm.

While possibly a little rundown in places, the experience was still unreal.

The fact that we could get as close to the crocs as we did was awesome, giving complete respect as to how strong and powerful these creatures are.

I definitely don’t want to come across one of these beasts in the wild when I’m swimming.

 

Even though predominately they move very slowly on land, they have the capacity for an insane burst of speed and incredible reaction times.

Plus, the power of those jaws slamming closed is something to behold.

The noise they made when grabbing a whole dead cook was incredible – you almost felt it.

If you are after a new appreciation of these animals, the farm is certainly worth a visit.

 

Fishing charter

Each year, many tourists flock north to escape the cold of the southern winter.

Aside from the perfect weather, fishing is another reason many travellers make the trip north each year.

As we didn’t have a boat, charters were the only option for us.

 

Unfortunately, my first charter trip was a bit of a dud, despite the big promise of lots of fish when booking.

Despite being burnt previously, I risked going on a different charter – and I’m glad I did, as Amaya and I had a great time with a skipper who knew his stuff.

Adam Cave, the skipper of WA Fishing Charters, certainly delivered – we scored a mix of fish in a short and sharp fishing session.

Adam offers a mix of inshore and offshore charters and has boats to suit each.

 

As conditions were favourable, our trip was offshore and we came home with a great bag of reef fish.

Speaking with Adam, there are so many different fishing options around Broome.

So I can’t wait to get back there, hopefully with a boat but if not, I’ll be booking a couple of charters with Adam.

Check out his web page for more details, wafishingchartersbroome.com.au