Ships of the Desert

Another day at the beach! This time it was kayaking in the morning where Matt joined me for a paddle whilst Hayley & Amy played on the rocks. Michelle made the most of it again with more reading – can’t take her away from her book. She did get out of the car to set up a chair.

In the afternoon it was then onto what the kids had been waiting for a long time, even before we had left Melbourne. Yes, a camel ride along Cable beach with the yellow camels known as ‘Ships of the Desert’. Some of these camels starred in the movie ‘Australia’. Hayley & Amy’s camel was named ‘Horice’ and Michelle & Matt’s camel was named ‘Hotrod’. The kids absolutely loved it. I think Michelle had a saw a….. – not overly comfy, but she still enjoyed it. I was the amateur photographer.

Hotrod

Horice

Ok Amy & Hayley, you are driving!

We topped off the day with a swim and a boogey board before watching yet again another magnificent sunset on Cable Beach.

Happy Birthday to my Dad – We hope you had a wonderful day!

The Broome Sunset at Gantheaume Point

The last couple of days have been lazy days with school work, reading, boogey boarding, swimming, driving on the beaches and magnificent sunset viewing. Well I guess not that lazy when you look at it, but very enjoyable just the same (except the schoolwork says Hayley).

I must first mention a couple of milestones and achievements. Firstly, Matthew at the age of 3 is now able to swim unaided the width of the pool (no floaties - approximately 8m). The best swimming lessons are on the road! Same with the education, as the kids are absorbing so much!

Amy just lost her second tooth within a week. The tooth fairy even finds us in Broome – it’s amazing! She has many teeth missing at the moment and struggles eating some foods (& that can be quite funny). The first of her top teeth is finally coming down.

Happy Birthday Dad for tomorrow (16^th May). We hope you have a great day.

I have really enjoyed driving on the beach and just pulling up for a swim, particularly when beaches are like Cable Beach. You do see the odd car getting bogged in the soft sand.

Trying to catch a crab

There it is - the sun!

We were told to experience a sunset at Gantheaume Point and it was pretty spectacular. You could easily get use to this. Many locals bring their dogs down for a run, sit back & enjoy a drink watching the changing colours, as the sun sets over the rocks, sand & sea.

At the end of another great day!

Mother’s Day in Broome

Firstly, to all the mothers - Happy Mother’s Day! We hope you have a wonderful day. A special wish to my Mum back in Melbourne and Michelle’s Mum in Hawaii.

Mother’s Day in Broome was very different for us & one that Michelle will never forget. Michelle started her Mother’s Day the night before when I dropped her off at Broome’s open air movies to see Hunger Games. Having ready the 3 books, she loved it.

After breakfast in bed and the kids giving their little presents (brought from Broome) & homemade cards, we set off for Gantheaume Point and drove our car on the beach. The RSPCA million paws walk was happening and made us miss poor Tayla (dogs were everywhere on the beach doing tricks). We moved on and parked the car at the rocks, so the kids could play whilst Michelle enjoyed peaceful reading time with a beautiful view.



Do not disturb, I am busy!

It was then time for a drive along Cable Beach whilst the tide was out. It was an opportunity to walk in the warm water and take some amazing photos. The colours were inspiring.

After lunch and some more peaceful reading time for Michelle (she is reading ‘50 shades darker’) we tried a boutique beer at Matso’s Brewery. Ok, that bit was for me, but Michelle enjoyed her drink with a nice view of Roebuck Bay and great company.

We finished the day at the Mangrove Hotel, where we sat back and enjoyed more views of Roebuck Bay, having a drink and listening to a live band. The kids played on the jumping pillow and collected Frangipani flowers, whilst I ordered a big bucket off prawns and chips to share. Tough life, but someone has to do it – especially for Michelle. Happy Mother’s Day!

Matt chilling out to the band in the background

No, these are mine!

Broome – Pearl Luggers & Reddell Beach

We had such a great day sightseeing around Broome, but unfortunately it had a disappointing ending. I dropped my video camera on the rocks and unfortunately have lost all footage taken from the end of Darwin to now. This included 2 magnificent plane flights, Kununurra and other irreplaceable memories. The good news is the photos are ok & were taken from another camera. What a bugger with the video - some great moments gone but always in our memory!

Well onto a brighter note we went to Pearl Luggers this morning for a guided tour about the history of pearling in Broome. We got to try on some old diving gear, including a helmet and boots. There was no escaping in those boots. Michelle bought herself a nice little gift of pearl earrings. She also got to try on a $9,000 necklace and hold a $100,000 pearl. Quick Michelle make a run for it!

These boots weren't made for walking!

Now that's an improvement!

Look at the necklace & pearl that Darren bought me - not

As it was warming up to 34 degrees, we then went to Entrance Point which is just near the Broome Harbour. It is a place to launch your boat.

Around the corner from Entrance Point was Reddell Beach which is a spectacular stretch of beach / coastline named after Captain Reddell who was murdered by his crew in 1899. It offered some amazing photos with contrasting colours.

We finished our little drive back to Gantheaume Point where I had a kayak a few days ago. Although the tide was too high to see the dinosaur footprints, we got to see replica footprints and some breathtaking views along the Broome Coast. This is where the video camera was dropped onto these hard rocks!

Big shoes to fill

Broome – Kayaking & Chinatown

I finally got to take the Kayak out at Gantheaume Point. There are not many places where you can drive your car onto the beach, launch your kayak in the warm waters and then explore the amazing rock pools as the tide goes out. The kids were catching the hermit crabs with spectacular rock formations surrounding us. This place is also home to original dinosaur footprints from 120 million years ago.

Awesome paddling around the rock pools

Whilst Michelle stayed back at the caravan to read and rest, I took the kids to Chinatown for a look around and helped them buy Michelle’s Mother’s Day presents for Sunday.  

First stop was the Old Police Lockup & Boab tree. This was the original Police Station. As the only people in the lockup/gallery we were treated to a mini concert by the Gallery Manager playing the didgeridoo. The acoustics were amazing in a 2 x 4m prison cell. The kids were too shy to act out the noises of the animal sounds he was playing.

Old Police Lock Up

Yep, another Boab tree planted 120 years ago

We then went on and checked out some statutes paying tribute to the pearling industry from the early 1900’s, including the Hard Hat Diver Monument. The kids tried to copy their poses, except Matt who was a little unsure.

Darren & Diver Dan!

Just up the street is the Sun Pictures, which is the world’s oldest operating open-air picture theatre set amongst gardens. We are sending Michelle there for Mother’s Day to watch Hunger Games (she read the books and was obsessed with them). The kids finished off with some shopping for Michelle and then a hard earned Mango & Banana smoothie. They were good!!

Projectors from the 1930s and 50s

Michelle will get to watch the movie on a deck chair

We still have another week at Broome to relax and then it’s off to Cape Leveque where we have managed to book the last ensuite cabin in a quiet wilderness resort that has been recommended by so many. see link

http://www.kooljaman.com.au/assets/accommodation.html

Broome – Surf, Sunset & the Moon

The water at Cable Beach was so warm. We had so much fun carving up the small waves as high tide was fast approaching. Some people forget about the tides and if we didn’t move their towels/bags, they would have been underwater. No stingers to be seen as the lifeguards do regular checks (last sting was mid April). The odd croc has appeared at the beach in the past, but it's rare on the surf beach.

I think maybe we have 3 little surfers in the making – the kids loved it. Matthew also reached a little milestone today at the pool by swimming with no floaties for about 5m. He was so proud!

Yes, I know it's pink!

Darren, Amy & Hayley catching the same wave

Just prior to sunset we drove our car onto the beach to take in the magnificent sunset. Sitting by the car with a beer in one hand & a camera in the other was hard to take.  The kids were running madly and climbing on the rocks. Oh, and the kids spotted a nude family as it was also a nudist beach. The family were not too worried with the various car loads of people either fishing or watching the sunset too. We could see the camels approaching.

We then took our dinner back to the location (Town Beach) of the Staircase to the Moon and awaited for the awesome view under a dim light (very romantic if it was just the 2 of us). It was a nice way to spend dinner. The moon shots were much the same as the previous night – still spectacular (the photos don't do it justice).