A Classic Broome Experience

I guess it technically happened in Derby, but we are now back in seaside country for the first time since Darwin. Today it actually felt like it as we undertook some R&R on Cable beach. I guess I am really a coastal boy at heart. As much as I love the broad expanses of the inland, there is a certain feeling of homecoming when you see the ocean, albeit one that attracts the setting sun.

I think it was Nino Culotta, a.k.a. John O’Grady who wrote of his experiences of this country travelling as a recent immigrant. That was back in the days before political correctness, and I guess as a Greek he was entitled to use some of the language he did in describing his position. Anyway, he emigrated to Sydney, but soon found himself travelling the country, and when he arrived on the WA coast, he described the Indian Ocean as flat and waveless. “Must be all them Indians swimming in it,” he said.

Anyway, that came to mind because that is exactly how I found Cable Beach this afternoon. A broad expanse of beach even at high tide, with a very gentle fall, and barely a ripple breaking on the shore. For the first 24 hours here in Broome it was chilly (by recent standards), overcast and blowing a gale. I’d estimate some gusts were up over 60km/h, and coming straight from the south east out of the cold centre. However, that all disappeared this afternoon, the sun came out in a clear sky and it was a perfect beach afternoon. While Lynne groaned in bed the rest of us went and ticked off the Indian Ocean as one of the world’s oceans we had swum in.

Cable Beach is also the home of sunsets and camel rides. It costs too much for us to combine the two, but we watched the sun set (along with hundreds of others) while the better heeled rode their camels.

The camels seem to do an early shift, then come back for the afternoon and sunset rides. In between times they go home somewhere near where we are staying and commute in the classic nose to tail camel train. It is quite a sight seeing the camels travel like this, around 15 camels in a row with a cameleer front and rear, walking peacefully as you like. Apparently they are all pretty good natured, except for one or two, and don’t mind nuzzling up to the rider in front for a scratch on the cheek.