17th – 20th June 2017
Cable Beach, helicopters, sunsets, and
camels !
 |
| Tony measures out his parking space ! |
Originally we had only scheduled a couple
of days in Broome, but we got there a couple of days earlier than expected, and
the camp site wasn’t booked out, so we managed to have a good few days break
from driving. And a chance to look for
a few spare parts and get oil changes done.
We had set up in the dark last night, so once we had everything properly
sorted out, we headed into Broome to check out the action. When parking we found out one of Jos and
Tony’s “quirks” – Jos likes to park exactly between the lines, so Tony, being
Tony, often parks
 |
| Hawk in the tree on Cable Beach |
crooked in order to annoy Jos ! On this instance he reckoned he parked
straight, but Jos wasn’t sure, so Tony pulled out his tape measure that he
carries ONLY for this purpose, and measured the distance from his wheels to the
white lines !! I won’t say who was
correct, but needless to say, Janet & I were in fits of laughter as we
watched Tony (in a crowded parking lot) measuring up his car to make sure it
was straight !!
 |
| Broome markets |
Once the car was parked we went in to the
Saturday morning markets, and enjoyed a wander round, looking to see if this
market had anything different from any other markets around Australia. Answer – Not really ! Same old jewelry, T shirts, leather belts,
massage oils etc ! But they did have
some different food stalls, and Janet & I enjoyed some kind of Philippine
spicy roll, which was so good we went back for two more ! After a quick drive around town, we found a
camping store for Tony to find a spare part for his caravan loo, had a quick walk
at Cable beach, and then headed back to the campsite.
 |
| Camels heading down to the beach |
 |
| Cable Beach sunset |
We were surprised to see all the camels
being taken to the beach on the road right beside our vans – I suppose they
have to get there somehow ! The big
thing about Broome is Cable Beach at sunset, and its camel rides, so that first
evening saw us pile into Tony’s truck and head down to the
 |
| Pizza and a beer as we watch the sunset |
beach well before
sunset. Once there, we found a spot in a
bar on the edge of the beach, and settled in with a couple of beers to wait for
the sun to go down. Lots of people on
the beach, and even in their cars – You can drive down and go north in your 4WD
! We ended up eating a delicious pizza
there, and watching the sun go down over the sea – Some clouds made for a
beautiful evening sky, and it was very relaxing to sit there sipping on a cold
beer, and knowing we didn’t have to pack up ad hit the road again tomorrow !!
 |
| Camel gives its supercilious look ! |
Tony, Jos and Janet had booked camel rides
for the next day at sunset – I am really not into camel rides – Having lived in
the Middle East for so long, I guess I am just used to seeing them, and don’t
find them too exotic at all. Bit like llamas – All they do is spit at you
!! And we were once told that their
supercilious look is supposedly because man only knows 99 different names for
Allah, but the camel knows all 100, so feels he is more important than any
human !! Anyway, during the day we did a
bit of shopping, and while in Repco autoparts store I found a small 80 amp
folding solar panel that was half price, and small enough to fit inside Troopie
when not in use. I have been thinking
about a small solar panel for some time, but just balked at the size of them
because it would be just one more thing that had to be loaded and unloaded
every night. But this panel rolls up and
fits in a locker, so when not in use it doesn’t get in the way. And 80 watts is just enough to keep my
battery charged when we stop in a place for a few days, like now in
Broome. So pleased with that purchase.
 |
| Driving onto Cable Beach |
After a lazy afternoon in the camp site, we
headed down to Cable Beach for the 4 pm appointment with the camels. The camels are not on the Cable Beach in
front of the resort as I had imagined, but are organized on the northern
section, where you can also take your car.
So we drove down onto the beach, wove our way through the rocks, and out
to the long northern beach that stretches out as far as the eye can see. There were already quite of lot of cars
parked on the beach with people sitting out, enjoying a few beers, watching the
camels and waiting for sunset.
 |
| Heading off up the beach |
First of all was the obligatory Safety
talk, and then everyone was loaded up one by one, so it takes 15 or 20
minutes. A new item that has just been
introduced is a camel loading platform which means the camels do not have to
get down and up so many times a day. It
takes away a bit of the fun of getting started, but apparently is good for the
camels, so I guess that is fair enough.
Once everyone was loaded, the train of about 15 camels headed off down
the beach, with some people looking decidedly more comfortable on their camels
than others, as they tried to master the rocking gait.
 |
| Cameling down Cable Beach |
I was chief photographer, and Tony had
entrusted me with his new 4WD, so I would drive down the beach a little way,
then take photos as they passed me – Meanwhile being able to sip on a cold beer
while I was waiting (Tony has a fully stocked fridge in the back of the 4WD
!!). After a while, I waited in one
place for them to come back – the ride is an hour – 30 minutes up the beach and
then back. As they returned, the sun was
starting to go down, and I was trying to get photos of the camels in the
sunset. But by this time there were SO
many cars on the beach, it is really hard to get a photo without 100 cars and
people all being in the background !
Anyway, they all had a wonderful ride, and apart from Janet falling down
the steps off the unloading platform when her knee gave way, they were all
smiling !
 |
| Sunset on Cable Beach |
 |
| Workboats in sunset |
We then stayed on the beach as the sun came
down, enjoying the moment with a drink, and chatting to other people on the
beach. It really is a lovely spot, and
it was interesting to see that there were a couple of oil rig workboats tied up
out on the ocean, and caught in the sunset.
Having been in the oilfield all my life, these uniquely shaped work
boats bring back many memories for me, and now with our son Damien working
offshore on the oil rigs right here out of Broome, it was especially thought
provoking for me. Anyway, after the sun
had well and truly gone down, we drove off the beach and headed back to the
camp site for dinner and bed. Top day.
 |
| Oysters in their rope cages |
The next day we all jumped into Tony’s 4WD
again and headed out to Willie Creek Pearl Farm, some 30 minutes or so north of
Broome, down sandy trails. It seemed as
though we were headed into nowhere, until we suddenly arrived at the Farm, and
found a lovely facility with a great little restaurant and, of course, a shop
selling pearls !! We had morning tea and
cake (a McAlister habit every morning !), and then started our tour. We had a very informative hour or so while we
were told in detail about how they farm the oysters,
 |
| Pearl in the oyster |
and what is special about
Broome pearls, and they even opened some to show us how it is done – And one of
them had a large pearl in there ! Even
the tour guide was surprised as he said it is quite rare to find such a big one
! And of course all the ladies were
enjoying holding them in their hands – All except one lady who is so allergic
to shellfish that she can’t even handle pearls !! (Lucky husband !!)
After the talk, we were provided with more
refreshments before we went down across the sand and through the mangroves to a
little boat, and were taken out to show how they farm the oysters. It is a very labour intensive operation, as
there are various worms and parasites that can attack the oysters, either
killing them or just damaging the pearl, so the rope racks in which they are
suspended in
 |
| Willie Creek Pearl lagoon |
the water have to be raised quite frequently so they can be
cleaned or barnacles, and inspected. No
wonder pearls are so expensive ! There
is even a crocodile that lives in this lagoon, who we spotted in the distance,
so one has other things to worry about while cleaning or collecting the oysters
!!
 |
| Lunch at Willie Creek |
After we returned to shore, we all gathered
in the shop where very expensive pearls were hung around the necks of several
of the women in an attempt to sell them !
( Yes, Janet did buy herself one !!)
Afterwards, we stayed and had a leisurely lunch in the restaurant before
heading back to the campsite.
 |
| Arrivals board for D's chopper |
The next morning we had a couple of
appointments. First of all Tony was
getting an oil change done on his 4WD, so I went with him for that. Then, purely by chance, son Damien was due to
crew change today – He works 28 days on, 28 days off, and we just happened to
be in Broome at the time of his crew change !
He gets about 3 hours between when his helicopter arrives in Broome, and
his flight leaves to take him back to Perth, so we planned to meet him and then
have a quick lunch. With only 4 seats
in the car, we dropped Jos & Tony at a restaurant and then took their car
over to the helicopter
 |
| Video of D's chopper arriving |
base. Sure
enough, his flight in from Ensco 5006 rig was due at 11.32, and we went out to
watch him land. This was REALLY
evocative for me because way, way back in Dubai, when Damien was about 1 year
old, Janet used to bring him to the airport to watch me come in on my chopper
from the rig – And it was the same chopper company – Bristows !! So I have to admit I was quite excited to
have this opportunity to be in Broome and see him come in !! Eventually he landed and came out of the
terminal (a lot more procedures
nowadays – we used to just walk out of the
hangar !!), and after a brief chat, we headed off for lunch.
Click here to see video. https://goo.gl/photos/mAmyJdEQk3iggtuk6
 |
| Lunch with D before he headed home |
We passed a very pleasant hour or so
catching up with Damien, but another interesting thing came to light at the
restaurant. Phone service and wifi is
TERRIBLE in outback Australia – Even in a camp site in a little village in the
Andes, they have wifi ! I asked the
waitress for the restaurant’s wifi password and she just laughed – “This is
Broome – no restaurants have wifi” !! In
Australia you carry your own dongle, or you don’t have wifi ! Which is why this blog is so late getting
posted – I had it all written, but basically we haven’t seen any wifi in
campsites anywhere since we left home !
After lunch, we dropped Damien at the
airport for him to catch his flight to Perth for his month off, and then we
went back to the camp site to prepare for our departure the next morning. We
packed up as much as we could the night before, because we had to be at the
Toyota dealer by 8 am for an oil change ourselves. We made it, had a bit of an expensive oil
change (Broome prices ?), and after a few hiccups with the car, we finally
headed out of Broome. Tony and Jos were
heading home on the black top, but we were headed to derby and the Gibb River
(dirt) road. Had a great time in Broome
– Now it is time to head towards home.
The next day we all jumped into Tony’s 4WD
again and headed out to Willie Creek Pearl Farm, some 30 minutes or so north of
Broome, down sandy trails. It seemed as
though we were headed into nowhere, until we suddenly arrived at the Farm, and
found a lovely facility with a great little restaurant and, of course, a shop
selling pearls !! We had morning tea and
cake (a McAlister habit every morning !), and then started our tour. We had a very informative hour or so while we
were told in detail about how they farm the oysters, 
No comments:
Post a Comment