Betten On Bike: DAYS 38 - 41 (17TH TO 20TH MAY 2013) BROOME

Day 38- 17th to 20^th May 2013 - Broome – rest days / tour days

Friday 17^th May

This morning we were picked up in front of the caravan park by Jose, the guide for our Broome city & surrounds tour. Jose is Dutch and is related to Leon Vogels who was our son Samuel’s physiotherapist before he moved back to W A – so it is a very small world !

The 2.5 hour tour was informative and allowed us to get a good feel of the history of Broome – the Japanese Cemetery where hundreds of Japanese pearl divers were buried – many had died at a very young age. The gravestones were interesting – in one grave 3 brothers were buried - all had died working in the pearling industry. We were driven to The Entrance where all the ships arrive and depart and the Port which plays an important role because of Broome’s isolation. No heavy manufacturing of any kind is carried out in Broome. Also interesting is that most buildings are constructed with Colorbond / steel sheeting because all construction materials are brought in by road and transporting sheets of steel is more efficient as the sheets are flat and take up less space. Also because of the large numbers of termites, steel is regarded as the best building material. For this region Also the heat of the day disappears quickly as the steel cools down as soon as the sun goes down so this is very suitable for the hot climate in Broome.

The large Japanese influence is apparent in all the green and red painted structures – many are lattice work. We visited Cable Beach and saw The Amphitheatre and The famous Sunset Bar.

After the tour Di & I decided to explore the township and have a look at the many galleries / pearl shops / the old pearling luggers and the old timber jetty Streeters Jetty which was built in the 1880’ s and of course we went in to have a look at the oldest outdoor cinema in The World – The Sunset Theatre. It is quite sad to see many Aborigines obviously intoxicated and apparently homeless – we have been told that they sleep in the mangroves near the old jetty.

During the day they are often to be seen lying in the parks under shady trees.

When Di and I returned Walter was enjoying a chat with Mark who had travelled up and was with a cycling group from Perth who were here to do The Gibb River Road Cycling Challenge (600 km mountain bike race) which is from Derby to El Questro and which starts on Sunday.

Saturday 18^th May

This morning we are booked in to do a hovercraft tour – we decided to do this as this would give us a chance to see the coast and see Broome from a different perspective – from the water and also get to see the famous dinosaur footprints at low tide at a beach difficult to access. So once again we were picked up from outside the caravan park and driven to the hovercraft base. The hovercraft is quite small and you need to really bend over low to find your way to your allocated seat. This trip was interesting – the dinosaur prints were the highlight but we weren’t overly impressed by the tour.

Afterwards we asked to be dropped off at the local market day where there were lots of local arts & crafts including heaps of pearl jewelry. The coffee stand did a roaring trade and we enjoyed a coffee as we walked around the stalls. Walter & I shared a seafood basket on the deck at the local restaurant at Town Beach close to our caravan park on the way home and later – a refreshing swim in the bay.

Tomorrow we would be heading to Cable Beach to the Bali Hai Resort for a few resort style days – wonderful to have some space and sleep in a big king bed – can’t wait !!!

Sunday 19^th May

Caught up on some correspondence and then packed up and left the caravan park and fuelled the trusty campervan and bought some groceries before heading off to Cable Beach. Wow fantastic - on arriving we were told that we had been upgraded to a deluxe 2 bedroom villa So now we had a very spacious unit with 2 bathrooms, large living space and full kitchen and beautifully located near the pool but landscaped so it was ever so private. Also a wonderful private courtyard with huge timber table and a webber !!! Wow luxury … Yes I was going to enjoy the next few days !!

After a swim in the amazing pool we decided to walk to Cable Beach to have a look at an international polo match between India and Australia which was taking place on the beach. The weather that morning had been a bit stormy – very humid and the storm had cleared the air a bit but it was still heavily overcast so we weren’t sure how the afternoon would be. Luckily the rain held off. The horses were magnificent and we enjoyed seeing the horses being rotated after every quarter with fresh horses. These were paraded down the path and along the beach in front of us. The beach setting was unique and the action was spectacular. It was a very close game and Australia just won 4-3. Afterwards we walked to the famous Sunset Bar (at sunset of course) and had a drink and watched the heavily clouded sky as the sun peaked out from time to time on its way down under the sea.

Monday 20^th May

A nice quiet morning – then a brisk walk for me to Cable Beach and then along the beach for a km or so – it really is an amazing beach – and it draws me back time and time again – Cable Beach Broome – with its long sweeping white expanses of sand and interestingly coloured rocks and huge palm trees.

A cool down swim and then it was time to head to the shops for some groceries for dinner before going to the airport to pick up Andrea who was arriving at 2pm this afternoon. Andrea is our very dear friend from The Netherlands and it was the death of her husband as a result of Alzheimers’ Disease (he was best man at our wedding) that instigated our fundraising campaign for Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Research Foundation. Andrea will be joining us for the Broome to Perth leg of the trip. Dianna (my niece) leaves us tomorrow to return home after accompanying us for the Katherine to Broome leg of the trip.

After we finished the shopping we heard the noise of the heaviest rain on the tin roof – it was absolutely torrential and so we waited for 10 minutes or so until it was OK to get to our van without becoming totally drenched. Then off to the airport to pick up Andrea. It was fabulous to see her and we thought a celebratory drink at Cable Beach was appropriate. The Sunset Bar was closed – not close enough to sunset yet I believe, so we went Zanders close by and had a drink to toast her arrival.

A great steak cooked on the webber with salad & baked potatoes with a glass of wine and we were all happy.

A wonderful break but tomorrow its back to the business of cycling around Australia and for Andrea & I the next stage in this huge journey !