Broome WA

We arrived in Broome, WA last night after a long but uneventful day's flying from Sydney via Perth (over 5,000klm distance!). These days, to get that far with no delays, no dramas and no lost baggage seems like a small miracle!

Our dear friend David picked us up from Broome's small airport in Ro's brother's Landcruiser "troopie" (Ro's brother is a local) and dropped us off at our hotel, the beautiful McAlpine House in Herbert St, Broome Town. We only had time to dump our cases and quickly admire the ambience before racing off for a meal in Chinatown with them before all the kitchens closed at 8.00pm.

It was a delight to wake up this morning in our room at McAlpine House to the sound of a few roosters crowing and the promise of a beautifully cooked breakfast in the leafy garden. We were ready for a day of getting to know Broome with our tour guides David and Ro.

First stop was the Historical Museum at Town Beach - a good place to start to get an understanding of this town's turbulent, often violent and racist history since colonisation - its unique environment and the significance of its pearl shell and cultured pearl industries. The town has had to start over many times - from catastrophic cyclones, WW2 destruction and the collapse of the pearl shell market in the 1950s. No wonder it still looks a bit of a wild frontier place even today.

We were ready for a coffee after, at Zander's on iconic Cable Beach, facing out to the Indian Ocean. It was overcast today but still mild and warm to us Canberra-ites, so we had our first swim in the beautiful calm Indian Ocean at Cable Beach - just beautiful!!

Broome has massive tides - up to 10 metres difference between high and low tides so the beach becomes very expansive at low tides and you have to wade out a looong way to get to a swimming depth. We timed it well today thanks to Ro's planning. She also made sure we knew that was the remarkable Rainbow Warrior3 moored just off the beach, on its WhalesnotWoodside tour.

Plenty of room for cars (and camels) on the southern end of Cable Beach.

We had a wonderful (late) lunch at The Aarli, back in Broome town, under a frangipani tree in the courtyard. We really are on holidays!

The food was superb at The Aarli.

We love our room at the McAlpine House. We are in "Library 2" in the beautifully restored top floor of this historic old pearl master's house in a part of town that used to be for the "upper class" (not now). McAlpine House has all the hallmarks of early Broome architecture: corrugated iron walls, pressed metal ceilings, jarrah details, wide verandahs, shutter windows. It has so much character, comfort and charm. This verandah is part of our private space too.

David and Ro had other plans this evening so we made our way back to Cable Beach for the spectacular sunset viewing by way of the local Broome Explorer Bus. We got there in time for this spectacular light show .......