Broome

Arriving in Broome meant officially entering the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Broome is a very touristy town but it is also extremely beautiful and very multicultural as people came from far and wide when the pearling industry here took off in the late 1880s. Malay, Chinese, Japanese, Koepanger, European and Aboriginal cultures have all blended to create some of the most stunning looking people we have seen, with beautiful brown skin and deep dark eyes. We stayed in Broome for 8 nights and did a pretty good job exploring this town, except between the hours of about 11am and 3pm when it was just too hot and all we could do was sit by the pool. Most mornings were spent swimming at Cable Beach and of course we did the obligitory camel ride. One thing they don't tell you is that the section of beach where the camel trains take you is actually a clothing-optional part of the beach and there are many Grey Nomads sunbaking naked by the side of their 4wds. How nice for us all! In the late afternoon we dropped into Matso's brewery a couple of times for a Mango Beer and looked around town at the many art galleries and pearl shops. One shop assistant hung a $12,700 string of pearls around Ashleigh's neck and surprisingly she loved it!........and thought she might like one!! The annual cultural festival Shinju Matsuri was on while we were in town and we watched Dragon Boat racing at Town Beach one day while Ashleigh and Hannah played for a while in the water park (until we saw a little boy weeing in it). On our first night we saw the phenomena they call "Staircase to the Moon" where the reflections of the rising full moon on the mud flats at Roebuck Bay create an optical illusion of a golden stairway leading to the moon. It was quite amazing. Broome was also where we put the Digger on the plane and sent him back to Sydney and back to work. Ashleigh and Hannah balled their eyes out as Anthony's plane departed, and for a couple of hours afterwards. I don't think he was crying though.