Broome & The Dampier Peninsular
Our Thanks To Dampier For
His Discovery - Just Magnificent
Broome,
An Oasis In The Outback..... We were unable to book any caravan
park in Broome and as we travelled, we heard that Broome was booked out due to
school holidays and the peak time for tourists. We decided to take pot
luck and arrived and successfully found that we could get three nights at a
park at Cable Beach. Not five star but OK to
enable us to get organized for our 10 day camping trip up the Dampier
Peninsular.
Broome has a fascinating history originating from the early pearling days
when there were 400 luggers working in the pearling industry. These
days pearling still plays a major role in Broome's development. It has a
very strong cosmopolitan feel about it and seems to be the holiday destination
for most West Australian's escaping the winter down south.
Cable Beach, Now That's My Kind Of
Beach.... Cable Beach
was one of our first spots to visit. It is a pristine 22 kms beach named
after the telegraph cable which left Australia
here to link with Indonesia.
Due to cyclone Rosita in January there are a number of exposed rocks in one
small section but other than that, if you weren't told, you probably
wouldn't know a cyclone had occurred and removed much of the sand.
Getting to the section where 4 WD's are allowed onto the beach is a little more
tricky as you have to navigate through rocks. Once past this rocky
section, the beach just goes on and on. If you accidentally forget to
bring your bathers, you need not worry, as long as you don't forget your
binoculars to take in all the different shapes and sizes lying on the
beach. Again we experienced a beautiful sunset.
Another unique experience in Broome from March through to October each year
is the "Staircase to the Moon". We were lucky enough to arrive
during a full moon when this phenomenon occurs so we took ourselves off to the
Mangrove Hotel for the best viewing. It is caused by the rays of the moon
reflecting on the exposed mud flats of Roebuck Bay
at low tide creating the effect of a staircase reaching to the
moon. The hotel turned off all the lights a couple of minutes
before the moon came up over the horizon and an aboriginal played a digereedoo
just as the moon came up making the entire experience eerie and mesmerizing.
Heading North,
The Dampier
Peninsular..... After storing the caravan we
set off north up the Dampier Peninsular. Our first stop was Quondong
Point on the way to Cape
Leveque. Here we
found a very remote camp site and a 50 meter walk found ourselves in a secluded
inlet which we had all to ourselves for two days. The photo shows our own
private beach on which we spent the entire day without seeing another
person. Fishing, swimming, snorkelling and taking in the beautiful warm
sunshine. Just superb. It was then onto Beagle Bay,
an aboriginal community, 120 km north of Broome. Here we visited the
mission which was established by Trappist Monks in 1890 and the church which
was built by the Pallotine Monks during and after World War 1. The church
was built out of local stone and inlaid with pearl shell and cowries.
It was then on to Middle Lagoon on the coast, a camping ground run by an
aboriginal family. Again the beaches were so pristine and at low tide you
could walk the beach and find all kinds of shells. We tried a spot of
fishing off the rocks and were successful in catching a variety of edible
fish. There was also some good snorkeling to be done. A
couple of days here, and then it was time to head further north to our
destination of Cape
Leveque.
Lombadina, An Aboriginal Community With
Style ......
About 30 km south of Cape
Leveque we called into
another aboriginal community at Lombadina. This small community is self
sufficient, and from the time you entered the town, you could feel the town
pride. The village is built around a town green which is well watered
with lush lawn and the houses including the bakery, general store, clinic,
trochus shell business, the church and the craft shop make up the
village. The church here was again established by the Trappist Monks in
1892 and was built from mangrove wood, iron and paperbark. We took time
to visit the bakery which, although very basic, makes really nice bread
in a wood fired oven.
Cape Leveque,
If This Isn't Paradise.......
It was then onto Cape
Leveque, 220 kms north of
Broome. The road is a corrugated, sandy road with a great deal of
concentration needed to miss the dips and loose sand. It is a good 3 hour
drive from Broome, but well worth the trip. We stayed at Kooljaman Resort
in a beach shelter for 5 days and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The beach
shelter was right on the beach and made out of palm fronds with a cold water
shower in the corner on a sand floor, so the housework was minimal. We
pitched our tent under the shelter and relaxed. We had great fun at
Hunters Creek fishing off the bank. To reach this spot it meant
letting your tyres down to 18 psi and travelling either along the beach 7 km
while the tide was out or travelling along the edge of the sand dunes where the
sand was soft. The scenery along this stretch is truly beautiful with
orange/red sand dunes with palm trees growing in clusters, meeting the
pure white sand and then the clear turquoise water. The fishing was very
plentiful here and we managed to catch enough for a couple of feeds. A
huge cod fish (approx. 1.5 metres long - no exaggeration) in Hunters
Creek was the highlight of the day. There were five of us trying to
catch this monster, but he outsmarted us each time and ended up consuming a big
trevally, one long tom and a whole squid all on different rigs. It turned
out that he has lived there for 5 years and is called Henry. He plays
with the fisherman and adds some fun to the sport.
A Cruise With A Difference.....
One of the highlights was a boat cruise for a full day to an outlying island
called Sunday Island in the Buccaneer
Archipelago. This cruise is run by a local aboriginal called Unja who has
lived all his life at One Arm Point Aboriginal Community and has had the
initiative to start this business. He was a real character and had lots
of tales to tell. We went reef fishing, snorkeling, and had a picnic on Sunday Island,
and as he called it "all in his backyard" Again the scenery was
fantastic. The tidal movement in this area is up to 11 meters. You can
observe the huge tidal movements of the area and the strong currents as they
flow around the smaller islands. This creates unbelievable turbulence in
the water and the effect of horizontal waterfalls. Just an amazing
sight.
The five days went so fast that in no time it was time to leave and return
to Quondong Point where we caught up with some people we had met along
the way. We were given a 45 cm silver trevally to eat and enjoyed two
nice meals back in Broome. We were lucky to obtain a caravan site with ensuite
(luxury) back in Broome in quite a good park for the next 14 days. We had
two days to clean up and be ready for the arrival of Jenny and Bob Gault who
flew in from Melbourne
to spend 10 days with us. It was really good to see them at the airport
on Friday 30 June, after a flight via Perth.
Broome Gets The Olympic
Flame...... The Olympic Torch also arrived in Broome on
Friday. We headed for Cable Beach to watch the torchbearers bring the flame along
Cable Beach. At sunset it was passed to
a torchbearer that rode one of the famous Broome camels. The torch was
then brought up to the ampitheatre where the pomp and ceremony continued and
the cauldron was lit. Then celebrations continued into the evening
with different school groups forming a choir and singing, and local groups
entertaining the audience.
A Dinner With All The Trimmings......
What better way to impress the holiday makers from cold and wet Melbourne than to take them for dinner on Cable Beach.
So after a visit to the Pearl Luggers Exhibition (a recommended visit)
we packed a BBQ dinner and down onto the beach we went. 
You
are allowed to drive on Cable
Beach providing you head
in a northerly direction from the entry ramp so we travelled about 2 km up the
beach to a suitable spot and set up for an award winning dinner. We
were greeted to a magnificent sunset as we had hors d'oeuvre's and pre dinner
drinks and once darkness had fallen we followed up with award winning wines,
succulent eye fillet steaks and gourmet salad. All this took place to the
delicate lapping of the Indian Ocean onto the pristine sands of Cable Beach.
As darkness fell we were treated to a magnificent 'pomme a le creme' dessert
and the superb Kimberley
starscape. We chauffeured our guest's to their 5 star international
resort and we returned to the staff quarters (caravan park) for a well earned
rest.
We
all enjoyed a great day on the "Willie" pearl lugger which cruised out
into the Indian Ocean to look for dolphins and
whales. We were so lucky to see both. The dolphins followed the bow
of the boat, swimming quickly from side to side, rolling over and over as they
kept up with the speed of the boat. As we enjoyed a BBQ lunch we were
lucky enough to see some whales and were able to get within 150 metres as they
frolicked around. The "Willie" pearl lugger cruise is good
value for money and was a great way to see Cable
Beach and enjoy the pristine aqua
waters of the Indian Ocean. We
would certainly recommend it.
We thoroughly enjoyed Jenny & Bob's company for the 10 days and we
filled our days in with sightseeing around Broome and the surrounding area,
relaxing on the beach and around their hotel pool, enjoying some nights for
meals and just general catching up with each other.
We will leave Broome on Wednesday July 12 but we certainly intend to return
and spend more time in this northern West Australia
tourist spot. We now start to head south towards 80 mile beach for a few
days then to Port Hedland and into Karajini
National Park to hit the
gorges.
The highlight of this section:
This is an easy decision. The boat cruise to Sunday Island
and the Buccaneer Archipelago from Cape
Leveque. This has to be
one of the best days you could spend in this area. The huge tidal
movements, the abundance of fish, the coral reefs, the insight into the area
and aboriginal culture provided by our local guides made this one of the most
memorable days we will have on this trip. If you are travelling in this
region of Australia
this is a 'must do' tour.
Until our next update.
Regards, Rob & Liz
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