Day 41: Broome

First task this morning was laundry to wash the sheets. A few washing machines are inoperable at the moment, so there is a bit of a line up to get a machine. Carole was down there early and the wait was not too long.

There are no big plans for today other than have a good look around and go to the Night Markets tonight. It wasn't that long ago that we were in Broome as part of our Kimberley Cruise in July 2024. Not a lot has changed. We went for a drive to the Jetty which was home to many eager fishermen.



A few small fish were being caught. a young boy put one on his line as a live bait and put it back in the water. We watched it being taken by a huge groper and the boy looked like losing his rod before the groper spat the fish back out. He would have had to cut the line otherwise.

The night markets tonight are held in this area.

After a walk out onto the Jetty and watching the fishing for a while, mostly kids catching small fish, we headed back to the car and drove into town. it was time for a coffee and one cafe, The Dragonfly, was particularly busy, so we went in there.


Next we had a walk around the main street and arcades where we did a bit of shopping. The Yuen Wing Store reminded me very much of the Chinese Emporiums in Asia.



We did buy a large can of spicy crab meat. Down a few alleyways there were a few bargains and Carole picked up a casual dress at a good price.


There are plenty of dining establishments, and most were well supported.



Lunch at Cable Beach sounds like a good idea, so off we went. The road system in Broome at the moment is a real mess with one of the major access roads into town closed and all traffic being detoured onto the only access road. They now have peak hour traffic with everyone having to use the same roads for access.

Arriving at Cable Beach there was another traffic conundrum, more road closures making it confusing to gain access to the Cable Beach House, where we were headed for lunch.

We ended up finding our way into the carpark for the Surf Club, and walked along the beachfront to get to CBH, which is undergoing a huge redevelopment.


Cable Beach is still a stunning location and the beach was very popular today.




The scope of the Cable Beach House development plant looks very large. It never ceases to amaze me how red the soil is, so close the the pristine white sand beaches of this area.


A huge area is fenced off as a new commercial development is under way expanding an alrrady very successful venue


Lunch at CBH was most enjoyable and what a great view


Plant of the day - Beach Spinifex

On our way back to our car we saw the Camel parade arriving, probably getting ready for pre sunset and sunset camel rides along the beach.

It is time for a short rest, rescue the sheets from the clothesline and prepare ourselves for the visit to the Night Markets and sighting of the famous Stairways to

the Moon, as based on the moon cycle, tonight is supposed to be optimum.

Parking is an issue as this is a popular tourist attraction, so we arrive just before 4 pm when the markets open. The stairways to the moon illusion is a combination of a full moon and a corresponding very low tide which exposes the mud flats leaving puddles of water that shone in the moonlight look like steps to the moon. A potential problem is cloud cover and today this may be a problem.

Anyway, we arrive at the market, find a carpark and wander through the stalls (a few less than we were expecting). Food trucks, on the other hand, were numerous.


The market is on the shore of Roebuck Bay





Food trucks are here in abundance.














Artists and photographers were well represented



The tide is still dropping, but compared to this mornings visit to the jetty, the tidal difference is stark. This morning people were fishing of the jetty in several metres of water


The boat ramp is dry


There is no water under the jetty

The sun is setting but it is looking less likely that the there will be a clear view of the moon given the clouds cover.


The sunset looking out over the bay where the steps to the moon are anticipated

We can see this is going to be disappointing, and rather than wait two hours to see if the moon is visible and the clouds disappear, we decide to drive to the golf club, which has probably a better position to observe this phenomenon and have dinner there. Despite their website showing they were open for dinner tonight, they were not. We had a drink, enjoyed the view, headed back to town and bought a pizza to take back to the van.

Tomorrow is a new day, lets see what it brings.



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