So here we are in beautiful Broome. And I do mean beautiful. I think our whole family fell in love with this place at first sight. We got here mid-afternoon last Saturday and even though we had traveled for quite a while coming up from 80 Mile Beach, we were checked in at 1.30pm and by 3pm were out again doing some exploring.
We checked out Chinatown first, then went to the beaches to suss out some good spots for fishing for the guys (so what else is new, huh) and then hit a fantastic Coles store that is open 7 days a week 8am to 9pm. And it's HUGE! Chinatown, while not a disappointment per se, is not what I thought it would be. I had visions of small side streets with loads of stalls etc selling exotic stuff. The real Chinatown is very modern with modern shops sometimes slanted towards Asian style, but mostly are just boutiques, bottle shops, tackle shops etc etc. And the streets are really wide probably due to the mode of transport yonks ago.
Sunday was spent doing more exploring. There's so much to do and see here. It's got such a tropical feel that at first (especially around our caravan park and the surrounding streets) I felt like we were in Bali. There's greenery everywhere - palms of every description, frangipani, ferns etc etc. Sunday night was spent having fun at the closing ceremony of the Shinju Matsuri Pearl Festival. Though we missed the short closing ceremony itself, we sat down among literally hundreds of people and listened to live music that was on. The night was so balmy that people were still wandering around in shorts and t'shirts even at 10pm at night. We had a good look around the night stalls and finished the night watching the fireworks. Unreal.
Monday I had a slack day. The guys went fishing. AND they finally caught 'The Big One! (s) Riley caught a snubnose dartfish that dwarfed him lol and Chris caught a thread-fin salmon catfish that was GREAT eating. Both the fish were. We stashed them in the freezer after they were cleaned and there was enough for two nights of meals. I have had to be creative in making the dinners though to be honest it's a snap now. Having less to work with means more simple meals but they are still yum. For example last night we used left over fish I had taken off the bone (I had cooked the whole fish the night before in lemon juice, herbs, onion and a little salt and pepper then wrapped in alfoil and cooked in a little water simmering in a pan,) and Mason cooked up a Korean dish. We found a great little store that sells Asian influenced foods and we made Kimchi, the fish dish and sticky rice and added this amazing paste to the rice called Sunchang Ssamjang which is basically a garlic sesame bean paste. It's our favorite thing to have with rice. Tonight we had beef schnitzel, chips that Mason cut up and I cooked and salad. We are eating a lot of salad, but don't we all do that during summer? And honestly, whatever you are eating at home, we can whip up here. It's dead easy.
We have done a lot of exploring of the town. We've been out to Gantheaume Point and did some bush bashing out there. The coastline is insanely beautiful. We went out to the point where there is a lighthouse because Riley was dying to have a swim in this small pool we had read about called Anastasia's Pool (a pool a lightkeeper from the past had carved out for his arthritic wife to use) but it turned out to be both empty of water and REALLY small lol. We saw where an eagle had made a nest on the second rung down of the lighthouse. The nest was massive and we could hear the babies screeching to be fed. We have checked out the deep water port where the fishing is fab, and have spent a bit of time at Cable Beach. Its so gorgeous there and I'm not really even a beach person, but the tide is usually right out leaving this really fine sand that is quite compact and doesn't manage to find those spots on your body to hide in that you didn't know you had... (you know what I mean lol. Who doesn't go home from the beach and go, "How the hell did the sand find it's way there?")
Yesterday Riley and I went for a camel ride. Fun! Fun! Fun! Loved it. We were picked to go on the lead camel, a cutie called Malachi. All the camels had Arabic names - Akabar, Zoren, Mustof etc etc. And when the camels were asked to rise or sit back down they were spoken to in Arab (this is so someone doesn't for example say the words Sit Down only to find the camel sitting down unexpectedly lol.) All the guys and girls who were working that afternoon are backpackers either here for a few weeks or months. There was a girl who was Swedish/Brazilian (there's a combo for you), one Swedish guy, a couple of guys from England, and another girl from France. The camels are all lead, six to a team, with two teams split up. Getting up and down was fun lol. You have to sit ramrod straight, arms locked and out as they get up or down and getting down was actually scarier as they hit the sand with a real thump and you feel like you're about to topple off.
There's a funny story that goes along with this camel ride. I'm sitting behind Riley as these strings of camels do a slow lope along the beach near the shore when all of a sudden some guy (I'm guessing in his fifties) comes walking towards us. At first I thought he was wearing speedos then suddenly... well, I realised he wasn't.... AND he walked over to a lady about the same age who was just as bare assed naked as he was and flopped down next to her and got comfortable. Yup, you guessed it. We were left of the rocks separating the beach and were now strolling through the nude beach lol. Riley didn't bat an eyelid but I couldn't stop laughing and I heard a few nervous giggles behind us. 90 percent of the people were set right back from the shore so it was all good - thank God! lol Now THAT was an experience.
I guess that's all I have to say for this post except that we really, really love it here. We've decided to stay for two weeks. It's been great to just put down roots even if it's just for a bit. The guys are having a sleep in now and again (because they don't have to be up and out by the dreaded 10am departure) and it's helping in regards to Riley's school work. He has been doing brilliantly, especially at his math. I honestly think this one on one attention from either Chris or I as we take it in turns has done him the world of good. Much like tutoring where they can just concentrate on one subject and do really well at it. He is working so much more independently and even solving hard math problems Chris and I shake our heads at sometimes lol. He might even finish his work before the school holidays start. Yay.
Tomorrow night we are going to open air cinema. They have a late session starting at 8.45pm and we are looking forward to the experience. Will tell you all about that next time.
Till then,
Carolyn (& Co.) xx
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