6 Wandering Epsomites: Broome

Broome, the home of sunsets! But how amazing they are from Cable Beach.

We are staying at the Cable Beach Caravan Park, a 10 minute walk from Cable Beach. Here for a week, moving on south on Saturday. We are half way now, both in time and distance. 8,600 km travelled in 6 1/2 weeks.

Broome also has big tides. When the tide is out, the beach is 200m wide. When the tide is in, the beach is about 50m. At the moment, high tide is about 12 midday, and low tide about 6pm. That makes it great for sunset. It is possible to drive down onto the beach (4wd only), then over a few rocks and along as far as you like. Pull out the chairs, table, food, drinks. A very pleasant way to spend an evening.

Not to mention the entertainment of the camel trains going past. One train on Sunday, 3 last night. It is probably a better sight from down here. We didn’t venture too far down the beach. It’s the same sunset, no matter how far along you go!

Hundreds of cars along the beach (and it is a long beach as well as wide with the tide out).

An advantage of being close to the entrance is not having to get caught with the crowds exiting. We saw one vehicle get stuck. It was part of the camel train team. They should have known better (but it might have been a 2wd Ute) as they are here every night. When we were out for our run/walk yesterday, there was another van stuck, but it was above the high water line, so wouldn’t have got wet overnight.

We had a swim in the Indian Ocean yesterday. It was refreshing, but pleasant. It wasn’t hot, but warmer than the caravan park pool. That is freezing! Had another dip there this afternoon, and no it wasn’t any warmer.

This morning, (Tuesday). we did a tour of Pearl Luggers. It was very informative. Broome wasn’t established because of pearls. (About 1860). The shells were what Broome was built on. To make buttons! Mother of pearl.That was up until the 1950’s when plastic buttons became the way to go. The shells were also used for jewellery, furniture inlays, cutlery handles etc. Pearls were found in only 1 in 5000 shells, so just a bonus when found. In the early days, Aboriginals were used as slaves to do the diving (especially young pregnant women as they had a better lung capacity). A blight on early Broome society! Later on, it was mostly Japanese, Malaysian, Indonesian, Timorese divers. It was and still is, a very multicultural community. In the early 1940’s, there were 404 Pearl Luggers, each with a crew of 10. (2 divers per boat). With the bombing of Northern Australia, the Government ordered most of the boats to be burned, lest they fall into the hands of the enemy! Only about 60 remained after that, with them being sailed to Fremantle for protection. Each diver (hard helmet divers) had to wear 120kg of equipment, to keep them warm and able to stay down gathering oyster shells. A tough industry.

Buttons cut from this Oyster shell.

This shell is about 25 years old. Similar to a tree, it has rings or layers that help determine the age. This is the biggest found here.

Heavy hard helmet diving equipment. Real steel capped boots. The leather boots neede to be protected from the coral and shells. Steel did the job.

A restored Pearl Lugger

This pearl is worth about $100,000!

Another well known, modern establishment, Matso’s Brewery beckoned for a visit. Their ginger beer is a favourite amongst many, and lots of beers to taste. Little did we know that the gardens harboured midges or sand flies! Got nibbled nicely. Needless to say, it was only one drink. A hasty retreat was made. Still suffer today (Wednesday evening).

Last night, (Tuesday), we went to the Sun Cinemas. It is an outdoor cinema with some deck chairs. Mamma Mia, Here we go again, was showing. A must do. These photos were taken during the day (obviously). During the show, 3 planes flew overhead, coming into land. They came low, just right of the screen. It was such a laugh! Great movie too.

Today, (Wednesday), we headed out of town to Willie Creek Pearl Farm. The road was sealed for 14km, then dirt from there for another 10km, which also included mud flats. Very dry atm.

A great tour which showed how pearls are cultured. A cross between science and nature.

This oyster is about 8-10 years old. Pinctada Maxima, the largest and best growing oyster for this region. Very little of the flesh is edible (except the adductor muscle, sold as Pearl meat, which is very tasty). This pearl was just a low grade one. A failure!