As noted in installment one, Broome is 2300 kilometers northeast of Perth, the Capital of the state of Western Australia. WA covers 2.5 Million square kilometers, 960,000 square miles (for our American friends) - bigger than Texas and Alaska combined! If WA were a country, it would be the 9th largest in the world (and the emptiest).
WA was the first arrival point for the first Australians, 50,000 years ago, who sailed across from Indonesia. The first European in WA was Dirk Hartog, a Dutch Captain, in 1616. The Dutch charted the area, and moved on, but didn't recognize the great potential. In 1827, Captain James Sterling was sent from Sydney to establish a settlement in Western Australia, for fear the French would settle in. Due to labour shortages, they began importing convicts in 1850. By 1858, the population of Perth was only 3,000, but the discovery of gold and mineral deposits created a new basis for wealth. Today, the population of WA is 2.5 million, of which 75% live in Perth.
I mentioned in our earlier post that Broome was once the Pearling capital of the world. That was in the 1920's. Originally, the mother of pearl shells were used for buttons, and Broome suffered economically after plastic buttons became the norm after WWII.
Japanese divers were the norm in the pearling business and, today, Broome retains a multicultural and Asian feel. Today 58 languages are spoken in the Shire (think County) of Broome. This is rather remarkable given Broome is a thriving metropolis of about 18,000, or about the size of Lloydminster.
Don't let the size fool you however! The beautiful winter weather here makes it a go to destination for many southern Australians to escape their winter weather, and the tiny airport receives almost 300,000 visitors per year. On the day we arrived, we were one of seven flights of A320 size aeroplanes. During the winter months, it thrives with a unique Wild Outback/Posh Resort/Hippy feel. An interesting combination!
We are staying at Cable Beach Club Resort and Spa on Cable Beach as we recover from jet lag and prepare for joining the tours. Read - repack, to meet the luggage weight restrictions!
Cable Beach is 22KM long, and is named after the communication link (telegraph cable) between Broome and Java (and on to London). The 1650 KM long cable was laid in 1889 and was used until 1914. The cable broke the isolation Australia felt, as it connected them with the outside world. However, Broome and the Kimberley area are still considered the last wild frontier of Oz.
The tides at Cable Beach can vary up to 10 meters, and the tides on the Kimberley coast are the highest in the Southern Hemisphere. So, there is a lot a beach when the tide is low!
There is plenty of room for cars to run up and down the 22 km stretch of beach - with plenty of tailgate gatherings.
The tide was starting to rise after sunset, and with very little twilight, the cars were lined up to leave! Rush hour on the beach!
Back at the resort, Sonya was delighted when she to spotted her first Roo - kangaroo that is! (Update - this is actually an Agile Wallaby, NOT a kangaroo as we had thought!) He even posed for her. Clearly they are well tolerated, and some might say, the resident charmers at the Resort!
After a day of recuperation, we signed up to ride the camels at sunset. Camels are not native to Australia. (The following is taken from https://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/camels-australia.html).
The very first camel to ever set foot on the red Australian soil arrived in 1840 and came from the Canary Islands. But this first camel was soon followed by others. 24 more camels arrived in Australia in 1860 to be part of the Bourke and Wills expedition. And in the next fifty years an estimated 10 000 to 12 000 camels made their way to Australia! The camels came to Australia mostly from India and Palestine, and nearly all of them were dromedaries (the one humped variety Camelus dromedarius).
According to feralscan.org.au, there are approximately 1.0 - 1.2 Million wild camels in Australia, and their numbers are thought to be doubling every eight to nine years, as they have no natural predators - other than annoyed station/ranch owners who would just as soon shoot them, and the occasional crocodile.
Sonya rode Mufasa, who was somewhat mischievous and temperamental.
They may have matched Sonya to Mufasa when they saw that she had me to contend with in her life! Sonya was behind me and Mufasa kept biting my camel's blanket and was trying to get hold of my water bottle. Good thing it was a metal one!
I on the other hand was matched up with Khan, because he is apparently the most stubborn of the camels. Same principal, perhaps?
Sunsets on Cable Beach are beautiful and we were both reminded of the sunsets in Maui with Sonya's family a few years ago. We leave you with a view of one.
As we join the tour tomorrow there will be times that we are out of communication range, so blog posting times will vary!
See you in the Kimberley!
SnP
