Having pushed on with stormy weather seeming to follow behind us, we arrived in Broome to clear skies and hot days. We decided to spend a few days here. Broome has changed a bit since we were last here. Admittedly that was 26 years ago, so it would have been surprising to find it still the same! Then the caravan park at Cable Beach was right by the beach and there was very little else there. Now there are several expensive caravan parks, set back a bit from the beach and there are loads of "resorts" and clubs and restaurants. The camels are still there, giving their rides along the beach towards sunset, which is usually glorious.
Chinatown, contrary to the picture that the name usually conjures up of hustle and bustle, is very quiet. Even the usual Chinese restaurants are hard to find, so it is not entirely due to the time of year. We were a little disappointed.
In spite of the weather maps consistently showing Broome under cloud, we have seen very little of it. In the afternoon the cumulus clouds build up a bit, then dissipate during the evening to leave starry skies. The humidity is high and a bit trying. With that and temperatures in the 30s we are grateful for our air-conditioning. It is, however, lovely to sit out in the evenings and we even went to the open-air cinema one evening. We sat in deck-chairs in a big garden, in front of a large screen to watch "Red Dog", the true story of a dog that roamed the Pilbara region of Western Australia. There is a statue of him in Dampier, where he finally adopted a master. It is a lovely film although a bit of a tear-jerker. We will visit him in Dampier as we pass through.
It has been very pleasant just to take it easy for a few days, swim either at the beach (stingers are not here yet) or at the shadier caravan park pool, catch up with the washing where there is no queue for the laundry and (today) get the pump fixed on the Winnebago. It suddenly died the other day and we refuse to travel without the possibility of getting water out of the taps unless we are connected to mains water. Someone is due to come to us to fix it today, but the 10 o'clock appointment has suddenly become 1 o'clock. Good thing we had no special plans.
Our next stop will be South Hedland, where Isobel has a second-cousin. Keith and his wife Mary are still with Golden Eagle Airlines. It will be interesting to catch up with them after a few years.
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| Very docile camels on their way home from the beach. |
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| Looking across to Cable Beach from Gantheaume Point, about 5 kilometres away, where there are some dinosaur footprints visible at low tide. |
Chinatown, contrary to the picture that the name usually conjures up of hustle and bustle, is very quiet. Even the usual Chinese restaurants are hard to find, so it is not entirely due to the time of year. We were a little disappointed.
In spite of the weather maps consistently showing Broome under cloud, we have seen very little of it. In the afternoon the cumulus clouds build up a bit, then dissipate during the evening to leave starry skies. The humidity is high and a bit trying. With that and temperatures in the 30s we are grateful for our air-conditioning. It is, however, lovely to sit out in the evenings and we even went to the open-air cinema one evening. We sat in deck-chairs in a big garden, in front of a large screen to watch "Red Dog", the true story of a dog that roamed the Pilbara region of Western Australia. There is a statue of him in Dampier, where he finally adopted a master. It is a lovely film although a bit of a tear-jerker. We will visit him in Dampier as we pass through.
It has been very pleasant just to take it easy for a few days, swim either at the beach (stingers are not here yet) or at the shadier caravan park pool, catch up with the washing where there is no queue for the laundry and (today) get the pump fixed on the Winnebago. It suddenly died the other day and we refuse to travel without the possibility of getting water out of the taps unless we are connected to mains water. Someone is due to come to us to fix it today, but the 10 o'clock appointment has suddenly become 1 o'clock. Good thing we had no special plans.
Our next stop will be South Hedland, where Isobel has a second-cousin. Keith and his wife Mary are still with Golden Eagle Airlines. It will be interesting to catch up with them after a few years.
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