Broome - Wyndham

Broome - Wyndham 8/8/12 - 19/8/12

Roebock Bay Broome

Broome

We weren't sure what to expect regarding our visit to Broome as we heard so many conflicting opinions. The only way to find out was to see for ourselves. Broome is 130 kms away from Barn Hill Station (previous stop over). It has a population of around 13,700 swelling to much more during the winter season.

Arriving in August, the peak season was drawing to a close, so the grey nomads who were in the north for the winter season were starting to drift back home south, which was good for us as there were now vacancies in this popular holiday destination. We stayed at an overflow campground run by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, (in the Church car park) which operates for 2 months of the year in the peak season. Cramped conditions but facilities very good.




Pearl diving recruit

Pearling Lugger



$20,000 pearl

Gravesites for Japanese pearl divers








Broome came into being in the mid to late 1800's when mother of pearl shell was discovered. Mother of pearl was in great demand for making buttons and other accessories. Divers were recruited from the Aboriginies initially, and then from Japanese with deck hands from China and Malaya. In it's heyday, 400 pearl luggers plied the waters around Broome. We went to 2 interesting seminars, one about the history of pearling and the other about pearl farming today.



Typical scene of the locals

Boab trees in the park

 

Broome experiences very large tidal movements which causes a phenomenon called 'Staircase to the Moon' caused by the reflection of the rising moon shining off the exposed tidal flats of Roebuck Bay creating the illusion of steps reaching to the moon. This only happens once a month between March and October, usually over 3 days when it's full moon and low tide. This can be viewed from Town Beach which is nearer the township than Cable Beach (6 km away).  There is a rush of visitors to see this. We didn't get to see this as it was a few days after full moon and we didn't want to be there with all the crowds.

camel safari on Cable Beach at sunset

No visit to Broome is complete without viewing the sunset from the famous Cable Beach and seeing the camel safari returning along the beach at sunset.   This is one of the top five beaches in the world but in our opinion we have seen a lot better.  The whole length of the beach  is 22 kms but there are only a few kms being used near Broome.  

On the northern part of the beach is where the camel safaris operate and this seemed to be the most popular area for swimming.   

 

 



Down the southern end of Cable Beach vehicles converge on to it in the late afternoon.  Beach chairs come out as people sit there to watch the sun setting.  It gets very crowded. 

Also down this end amongst the rocks at Gantheaume Point, dinosaur footprints can be seen at very low tide.  

vehicles on Cable Beach

replica of dinosaur footprints in concrete

 While in Broome we went to Chinatown, saw the world's oldest picture gardens built in 1916. Pearl shops seem to be dominant here. We didn't get to the Willey Creek Pearl farm but we'll leave that for another time. 

Derby

Travelling east from Broome, about 220 kms, we did a side trip to Derby having a population of 5,000. Boab trees are very common in this area and are quite unusual. They originated from Africa thousands of years ago. Just south of Derby is the Boab Prison tree (a tourist attraction) believed to be 1500 years old. The trunk is hollow and was used as an overnight stop when transporting aboriginal prisioners to Derby back in the 1800's. Also in the same spot is the longest cattle trough in Australia, 120m long. It could handle 500 cattle at one time.

120m long cattle trough

Prison Boab Tree

 Derby has Australia's highest tidal range which can be 12m at certain times of the year. Unfortunately this didn't happen at the time we were there. While visiting the wharf we met some aboriginal children who were willing to chat while their mother was fishing off the wharf. They were left to look after the baby.

Carol with friends

We were in Derby on a Sunday so it was very quiet with nothing open except a Supermarket, petrol station and a few eating places.

Another Boab tree. Can you see Wally?

On the highway outside of Derby is the western entrance to the 'Gibb River Road', a real 4WD experience and a magnet for adventure seekers from all over the world. The road travels through rugged country along an old stock route, right through the heart of the Kimberley region. It is 660 kms long and it ends at Wyndham. Not for us this time, but maybe one day in the future. We heard some stories of expensive repairs on vehicles which had broken down. Other people did it without mishap, so it depends upon how you drive to the conditions.

Fitsroy Crossing

This is a typical outback Australian town, population 1,500. We saw many aboriginal people wandering around and sitting under trees. There is a lot to do here!! We noticed that the food in the supermarket was very expensive and wondered how the people who live here manage. A lot of things were nearly double the price we pay in Melbourne.

The main tourist attraction here is the Geike Gorge on the Fitsroy River. We took the kayak out to view the Gorge from the river and we kept an eye out for crocodiles. Fortunately there are freshwater crocs here which are relatively harmless. This was another gorge with multi-coloured cliffs.

Fitzroy Crossing across Fitzroy river



Geiki Gorge

 

Halls Creek

 

Population of 4,000. Apparently Halls Creek has had a bad name and we were advised to just pass through, as it wasn't worth stopping. We planned to catch up with a couple who were Pastors at a Church which is sponsored by the Church we attend in Melbourne, Brett and Justine. We didn't find this place intimidating at all. In fact we enjoyed a pleasant walk around the township, then caught up with Brett as Justine was not well. We had a really interesting talk with Brett about how Halls Creek had been cleaned up regarding the alchohol and abuse amongst the Aboriginal people. Brett is the Outreach Ministries Co-ordinator for the whole of Australia and travels out to some a of the remotest communities.

To finish our time in Halls Creek we had a delightful swim in an outdoor swimming pool complex enjoying watching the Aboriginal children having lots of fun.


Bungle Bungle Range


This is a World Heritage area because it is one of the most fascinating, geological landmarks in the world. Few Europeans knew of its existence until the mid 1980's. The main feature of the Bungles are the orange and black banded beehive shaped domes with hidden gorges and narrow chasms. To get to the Bungles there is a twisty, very rough 50 km dirt road for 4WD's only so we booked a full day's tour and went in a 20 seater 4WD bus. It took 2 hours to drive to the Ranges which incorporated a number of river crossings.

 

20 seater 4WD bus

River crossing



Echidna Gorge Bungle Bungles. Note size of people

The domes were quite impressive and while there we walked into see the Cathedral Gorge and the Echidna Chasm. The Cathedral Gorge was used in the Qantas ad with the Children's National choir singing.

Tours to view the Bungles by helicoptor are also available from the caravan park. We stayed in the Bungle Bungle caravan park situated just off the highway, as that was part of the tour package deal including meals and the evening dinner.









Burnimg off close to road

While travelling on the highway north towards Wyndham it was not unusual to see fires burning in the scrub and areas burnt out as these are lit most of the time. It's to kill the spinifex grasses which are no good for animals to eat and it allows lovely green vegetation to grow. On the odd occasion they are lit illegally, often by aboriginal youth. The spin-off from this is the smokey haze which seemed to be always around.




Wyndham

Concrete, not real

 Wyndham was another side trip from off the main highway. Being told it was worthwhile going there we decided to. Just before Wyndham we came across the eastern entrance of the 'Gibb River Rd' as mentioned before. Wyndham is Western Australia's most northerly township, a small town of 1,000 people. A large concrete crocodile greets you as you drive in.


While here we went to a crocodile farm, seeing up close saltwater crocodiles and smaller freshwater ones. One thing we did learn is that freshwater crocodiles are not as aggressive as salties and also crocodiles love dogs, so don't take your dog for a walk or a paddle near a river in Australia's northern region.


He would make a nice pet



We could keep him in the swimming pool

















The Five Rivers Lookout at Wyndham was worthwhile driving up as it gave us a great view over the town and port, also views of the entrances to five rivers (one being the Ord River) entering the Cambridge Gulf.

View of the Cambridge Gulf at Wyndham

 

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Our next blog will be from Kununarra to Katherine