holiday valley: Broome and 80 mile beach

Arrived early from Quondong point and called into the Visitors Centre. Not all that helpful here. Made our first major clanger by staying at the Roebuck Bay caravan park. Location was ok as it was close to town and near the local beach, but we had to take power which we did not need and then they charged $7/head each for the boys. We kept hearing how hard it was to find accommodation in Broome so we took one of the first options without looking around. This aside, Broome was wonderful. Hit the local market at the courthouse and then spent the afternoon and dinner at Cable Beach. Next day was the Pear Lugger tour which followed on well from the farm tour we did a few days earlier at Cygnet Bay. We all got to pick up and handle some of the diving equipment which the boys in particular loved and because they were so well behaved the guide gave them a large pearl shell each. From the lugger tour it was straight to the museum which was one of better local ones we have seen and should not be missed on a visit to Broome. More info on the pearling industry and Broome history plus the attacks in WW11. This afternoon we went touring to the town wharf and then went looking for the dinosaur prints at Ganthemou point, unfortunately they were still covered at low tide so could not be seen. Got to camp exhausted from two days of running around, the boys not getting any schoolwork done and still some things we wanted to see so we decided to stay another day which was great. Boys had lessons, Toby spent some time catching up on his diary, we went for another trip to Cable beach for lunch and a swim for the boys (plus a nice lady next to us gave the boys a boogie board to use which was a huge hit), visited the Japanese cemetery and then then went back to see the Dino prints which were visible this time at low tide. Thoroughly enjoyed Broome quite a bit to do here, had a nice feel to it. Had a big tourist industry, awesome beaches, and a lot of history with the early Pearling industry, WW11 etc.

Left Broome for a couple of quiet days at 80mile beach. This is a well organised caravan park on station property over the sand hills from a beach that seemed to go forever. Went for 80 miles, anyway. Packed with nomads who come from everywhere and stay for months. It really cracked me up when I saw the blokes packing the quad bikes with rods, chairs, umbrellas and heading off each morning before high tide. Tried a bit of fishing but still nothing. Took the car up the beach on the second day and spent the best part of the day attempting to fish, collecting shells, kids dug in the sand, jumped down the dunes and swam. Tough day!