Broome – WA

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Travelling from Eighty Mile Beach we headed towards Broome which is situated at the southwestern corner of the Kimberley Region. Only a couple of months earlier the roads we were now travelling had been covered by flood waters from record breaking rains. The Broome region had experienced its wettest months on record. It was pretty awesome seeing how the vegetation of the landscape changed from the drier semi desert environment we experienced just a few days earlier to the lush green of the coastal flood plains. Not to mention the variety of birds that were having a field day feeding on the abundance of new food now available to them. It was a bird watcher’s paradise.

First impressions when you drive into Broome you can be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about. But as we have found with many other towns you need to look deeper into what the town and local areas have to experience and enjoy. We very quickly found that Broome has an amazing multicultural background that reaches back a century or so. The town is known for its pearling industry which still thrives today.

Chinatown was the original commercial and industrial area for the town of Broome and has a history of things that may not be considered ‘legal’ today. Today it’s a place with many pearling retail outlets, cafes and restaurants and some great little boutiques. We loved strolling through Johnny Chi Lane and enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Shady Lane café.

In the main street of Chinatown you will find a life size statue of a Hard Hat Pearl Diver which was erected to pay tribute to those who played a role in establishing Broome as a world renowned pearling town. You can find out more about the history of the pearl luggers at the Willie Creek Pearl Luggers museum. The Chinese and Japanese cemeteries are a testimony to the perils of the early pearling days.

Cable Beach is named after the communication cable which originally linked Broome to Indonesia for international communication and is said to be one of the top 5 beaches in the world. We stayed at Cable Beach Caravan Park which is less than 10 minute walk from the beach and the sunset camel rides.

Available at the park:

• 450 powered and unpowered sites – we opted to stay at what they call the ‘back of the park’ a short walk from the pool. We loved our site as there were only a few other campers in our area and it gave us a sense of space. Lots and lots of shady large trees.
• Clean showers and toilets (there are several amenity blocks throughout the park)
• Coin Laundries
• 30m Swimming Pool 
• Children’s Playground
• BBQs and picnic tables
• Millie’s Café (great fish and chips and Mango smoothies)
• Security Entrance 
• Pre-Paid Wi-Fi
• Fish Cleaning Area
• Dump Point

The rates are quite high for two people compared to other parks we have stayed in but it seems to be about average for northern WA at $45 per night. Because we stayed a week we paid $300 which reduced the price just a little. The daily rate for May is $52pn, and for June to August $60pn. Unfortunately as we head further north we have to pay these higher prices because they get booked out during the peak winter (dry) season.

The park is within walking distance of cafes, restaurants and a general store. We love walking and Cable Beach stretches for 22kms so we never felt an excuse not to walk. The weather was very warm with temperatures in the very high 30’s each day, but walking along the beach was refreshing and cool. We also enjoyed watching the camels walking to their evening work each afternoon. First was the blue team followed a little while later by the red sunset team.

We thoroughly enjoyed the southern end of Cable Beach near Broome’s racecourse which can be accessed by all-wheel drive vehicles and is a dog friendly beach. It is quite exquisite. There are quite a few nice beaches in the area which you need to hop in the car to explore.

Shopping is great in Broome and besides the usual supermarkets and other speciality stores it hosts markets each Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8am to 1pm. It is said to be the largest markets in the Kimberley. For the first time in 6 months I indulged in having my hair done and a pedicure with a little retail therapy, while Graeme sat and waited for the Jeep to get an oil change.

Below are a list of others places we have visited that may be of interest to you:

Cheers

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Happy Aussie Caravanning Lifestyle

Dixie and Graeme