Our last few days in Broome

Well after a long rough night of sleep it ended just before 5am by Hamish wanting the iPad.  Of course he didn’t get it but then he was wide awake and wanted to chat or was moving around and making heaps of noise, either way I wasn’t getting any more sleep.  After breakfast and filling up the car with fuel Jason headed out fishing with Darren for the morning.  I just took a deep breath and prepared myself for the morning ahead. 

We just popped into the shops and returned home, completed some more school and then I just let the kids loose.  Okay well really they were just playing with their friends but still it was nice and peaceful.  I was however so glad to see Jason when he got back.  By now I was just so tired from my poor night’s sleep the night before that I pretty much left him in charge of the kids and lay down to read which then in turn lead to me falling asleep.  I have no idea how long I would have slept for if Hamish hadn’t come and woke me up crying because Jason was trying to do some school with him but his friends were going swimming and he wanted to go.

So up we hopped and we all went for a swim because lets be honest who can concentrate when their friends are having fun.  Besides there is no use trying to do school if everyone is worked up.  The pool here is so nice and tropical.  The only downside is the part around the waterfall is very deep and of course that is where the kids want to hang out.  Kayla who has a pool ring still wouldn’t let go of me but at least it was nice and refreshing.  Jason then popped out to the travel agent whilst the rest of us got back into our clothes and chilled for a bit.  Before we knew it, it was time to head out to the Mangrove Resort where we were going to watch the Staircase to the Moon again.

Starting of the moon coming up.

Part of the way up.

There she is.

This place is awesome and a way better spot in my opinion to watch the moon come up.  Mainly because it has a big lawn area with tables and chairs all set up, a bar and food.  What more could you want.  The kids had a blast running around on the grass playing and we got to sit back and relax, just checking on them every now and then.  I didn’t even move to see the Staircase to the Moon.  Jason went forward and got some really nice photos, but I just stood on my chair and watched it.  They even stopped all the music and played a recording of the didgeridoo during it all.  So this is definitely my pick of spots to come and watch it.  Afterwards it was a little bit of dancing with Kayla and Sarah before heading home to bead.  Of course we quickly stopped in at McDonalds for a healthy dessert!  I crashed on the bed putting the kids to sleep, so exhausted but at least I had a way better night sleep.

Friday saw much of the same relaxation of getting around doing things we planned to in our own slow way which of course led to half the things we wanted to do not getting done.  We did however manage to book our holiday from our holiday with the travel agent, so that is a bonus.  We are off to Singapore for a week in July.  Whilst there we also bought an air mattress for our camping trip up to Cape Leveque.  We finally managed to get around to seeing the Broome Historical Museum which I really enjoyed reading up on the different history of the area and even the bombing of the seaplanes trying to evacuate people to safety during the Second World War.

Some carvings in oyster shells.

Examples of pearls.

Hamish was ever so excited.

Then it was back to the van to pack up for our camping trip and take the kids for a swim.  My gosh we had so much to take for just one night in a tent but we managed to fit it all in and still have a bit of room.  There was still heaps like pillows and that we couldn’t pack until the next morning but when we left for our camel rides on Cable Beach I felt like we had done most of what we could do that day.  The camel ride was really cool.  We got to go around and meet them all and do the normal pictures with them before learning how to get on them without hurting the camels.

Watching our camels arrive.

Hamish was all for patting them.

Kayla eventually gave it a go.

Smiling for the camera.

Jason and Hamish went on one and Hamish was a little concerned at the start, especially when it came to the camel standing up, but he handled it well but was then concerned about how high up they were.  Thankfully once the camel Kayla and I were on had stood up Hamish seemed to relax more, maybe because ours seemed so much taller.  As Kayla was only two she had to be a lap sitter which was fine with me as I don’t think I would have trusted her sitting on her own and it meant we only paid $10 for her to have a ride.

Up and ready to go.

Another group passing by.

Our shadows.

Kayla’s and my camel seemed to have an obsession with Ian and Gwen who were on the camel in front of us.  It would walk as far up alongside of them as it could and would never stick to the line.  The ride was only for half an hour so we didn’t go far but I really think half an hour was more than enough as my legs started to get sore and the kids did not get over it so that was good.  I was also a bit concerned as there was a nudist beach up the road a bit more and I really didn’t want to have to go past that and have my kids (most likely at the top of their voice) point it out!  So before long we were back and hopping off our friendly camels.  Hamish was scared about when the camel sat down so they kindly lifted him off before getting his camel to sit down. 

Sun setting on Cable Beach.

Seeing out another day in style.

 From the ride we had vouchers to get two for the price of one cocktail at the café/bar overlooking Cable Beach so we headed straight there.  The kids happily ran off to play on the playground whilst we all sat down and enjoyed our cocktails.  After the sun had set we headed back to the van, had a simple dinner, put the kids to bed and went over to Peta and Darren’s van to play some more cards.  This time we called it quits before 10pm as we had the big drive the next day.

When we got back from Cape Leveque we really had no energy to do anything.  We just started to catch up on all the washing and unpacked whilst shaking our heads and filling in Peta and Darren.  At least all was not lost for the day as we ended up heading out to the crab races that night at the local tavern.  It was great to have a nice night out but we didn’t even manage to score a crab to cheer on and see if we could win.  Still it was nice to be back in Broome and we might try to extend our stay here by another night if we can.

Waiting for the crab races to start.

Monday was meant to be our last full day in Broome but we woke up to the realisation we just had too much to try and do in that one day.  Yes it was probably possible but we would have been running around like headless chickens so as soon as the reception opened Jason went to see if we could extend for one more night, just giving us two full days to do everything.  Thankfully we could.  So I focused on a bit of school while we finished catching up on the washing from Cape Leveque.  Then we of course got distracted and chatted with everyone around and before we knew it, it was nearly lunch.  So before heading out for lunch we did a bit more school which was actually quite easy as Peta sat down with James at the same time so Hamish didn’t feel like he was the only one doing it. 

Darren and Peta had asked if we wanted to go to a pub for lunch and we were keen but then I realised we had booked the Willie Creek Pearl Farm tour for 2pm but of course had to leave at 1pm to get there.  So it was a mad rush to get the kids in the car and just go down the road.  The first place was not open and the second was expensive so we just opted for some takeaway.  I had the calamari with salad and it was really nice and filling.  Here we found out that Hamish’s two front teeth are actually loose, so it looks like he might lose his first tooth any day now.

Before we knew it, it was time to bundle the kids up into the car and head out to Willie Creek.  Of course there was some more corrugated road but it didn’t seem as bad as the other day purely because you only had about 12km of it, not 86km.  We really loved this tour.  The first part they sit you down in a gazebo and talk all about the pearls, showing you all different examples.  You even get to hold an $8,000 one (and yes I gave it back).  Hamish really got into it and had heaps of questions and loved holding all the different shells.  She even asked what part of the oysters body it was and he said ‘nut’ and of course he was right, well she referred to them as gonads! 

Waiting for our pearl farm tour to start.

Getting into the spirit.

Kayla opted to just sit on it.

Seeing inside a pearl oyster.

It was great too as there was only two other people on the tour so Hamish and ourselves could ask lots of questions.  After the talk afternoon tea was put on and it was quite a nice spread.  I must admit that I did get embarrassed with the amount of food that my two consumed; it was like I never fed them.  From there we went and looked at some barramundi in a tank and heard about a program they are doing to release them back into the wild.  Now for the best bit, we got to go out on the boat.  The tide was up high so we just walked on from the shore and then they took us out to some oyster shells and demonstrated how they (or the backpackers) have to clean them and the examples of the diseases they get.

Nice size pearl.

Hamish getting right into it.

Pulling some oyster out of the sea.

He was so patient with Hamish's questions.

They only keep the sick or bad oysters in close as all the healthy ones are kept way off shore and up the coast a bit more.  I asked what stops people from taking their boats out there and stealing some but apparently they know you are there before you even do.  Apparently they have state of the art technology, better than the coast guard and before you get even near them they know you are heading that way.  Given we have no boat I can assure them we are no threat whatsoever but it was interesting to learn how they secure something just hanging in the ocean.

Feeling the shells.

Spot the crocodile.

Enjoying the cruise.

The captain of the boat then took us for a bit of a tour of Willie Creek but said we probably won’t see any crocodiles as the tide was too high.  However we were in luck and got to see one of the three resident crocodiles, along with some bird life and apparently a great place to catch barramundi.  Not that I would want to go there as I would have to go past the crocodile.  I also couldn’t get over the massive high tides that they can get out here.  I thought it was high today but no, it can get even higher.  After the boat tour we returned to the shop where of course they show you their produce.  At first I didn’t realise until Jason was trying to take Kayla out, but we were locked in.  Totally understandable when they were letting us try on different jewellery.  I even got to try on a $35,000 pearl necklace.  No Jason did not buy it for me and yes I had to give it back!

One very nice necklace.

With a very nice price tag.

From there it was straight back to the caravan where we had a few jobs to get done.  I was helping Ian and Gwen with loading some photos onto Facebook when Darren bought Kayla over crying, apparently the poor thing was just lying under the slide crying but no one saw what happened.  She was fine so I just assumed she got a little scared, but yes one of us probably should have been over there watching her.  It was the typical story that Jason thought I had her and I thought Jason had her.  By then it was time to do dinner and get the kids to bed so we could play cards.

Of course we didn’t get Kayla down on time and we suffered a massive tantrum of an overtired two year old.  Jason ended up taking her for a walk and got her to sleep that way.  I am grateful you just have to tell Hamish to go to bed.  He might lie there awake for a while but at least he stays there and does eventually go to sleep.  Cards with Peta and Darren was good and the girls’ won again.  They are heading into Cape Leveque on Tuesday and are thinking of taking in the van, so I told them to keep us updated and let me know they arrived safely.  Friends of theirs have said the road is no worse than another one they have done so they think they can do it.

Our final day in Broome was put aside to stock up on everything we needed to hit the road which mainly meant enough food to last us a week. First of course we waved off Ian and Gwen and then Peta, Darren and the kids.  Hamish was quite upset that his mate James was leaving.  After that I focused on school whilst Jason got that great task of food shopping.  It was nice to sit back and relax for a while until Jason came back with all the shopping.  I think he must have thought we were going off to some really remote location!  Oh well the way our kids have been eating it is probably a good thing as otherwise we would run out of food after 3 days.  Once all that was sorted and a home found for everything we headed out for lunch.

We had saved the Matso Brewery for our last hurrah in Broome and it certainly did not let us down.  The tasting tray of beer was all really good and Jason particularly liked the Mango beer.  There wasn’t anything really for the kids there but some guy had lost his ring so Hamish and Kayla decided to help him look for it.  At first Hamish was just telling him different places to look which I am sure the guy really appreciated!  Though he did eventually get down and look but no one found it.  Our meals were nice but the sauces were very strong and probably a bit overpowering for our taste buds, but still a great meal.

From there it was to the post office to send excess items to Toowoomba for Jason’s Mum to put into storage for us (thanks Margie).  Then top up with fuel in preparation for our big drive the next day before returning back to the van to relax.  Hamish had a meltdown as we have decided to limit his time on the iPad and obviously that is the end of the world to him.  Eventually he did get over it and we finished school for the day and just chilled for the rest of the afternoon.  One of the families that we had met up in Airlie Beach came around for a chat.  It is funny how you meet them in one Caravan Park and then see them again six months later on the other side of the country.  I was actually proud of myself here as for once I was the one that recognised them.

Our stay in Broome has been fantastic (other than Cape Leveque) and we have really enjoyed it.  It is sad to leave but at the same time we are marking our way to the Bungle Bungles and Lake Argyle, two places we have always wanted to see.

One does not nap on their bed.

Wildlife outside our van.