Broome and the Kimberley
Breathtaking scenery, man-eating crocodiles and a bum-eating camel: the Spicers reckon they’ve seen it all on an odyssey through Australia’s great northwest.
If the world is your oyster, Broome is its precious pearl.
After a four-hour flight from Sydney, we’re blinded by white sands of Cable Beach, the azure waters of the Indian Ocean, the deep ochre of the Pindan soil.
Originally an aboriginal community populated by pearlers, Broome was built on the sale of buttons made from oyster shells.
The biggest oyster – the Pinctada Maxima – inspires a stunning new five star property run by pearling doyenne, Marilynne Paspaley.
Behind the 22-kilometre long beach, the ultra-modern rooms at Pinctada Resort wrap around an asymmetrical pool leading to a day spa, based on legends of the aboriginal dreamtime.
It’s the perfect base from which to explore the ‘real’ Australia.
About those camels…
The iconic image of Broome is a caravan of camels loping along Cable Beach as the sun slips under the horizon.
Bathed in a golden glow, five-year-old Taj and I hop on board Mustapha, with three-year-old Grace and Jason behind on Jabal.
Now, I don’t think of myself as a yummy mummy.
But Jabal thinks I’m delicious, leaning over to bite my bum. (Fortunately, I have enough to spare.)
“Naughty Jabal. Don’t eat my mummy!” Grace declares, shaking her forefinger.
The injury is soon forgotten as we relax into the rhythm, soaking up the beauty of a beach considered among best in the world.
It’s a visual feast: Jockeys exercise their thoroughbreds in the shallows; four-wheel drives traverse the dunes; dogs and kids and fishermen and nudists co-exist in happy harmony.
The best vantage point is Zanders beachfront restaurant, which offers a superb menu plus an outdoor playground.
Nearby, the old Zoo has been transformed into a café with colouring books and pencils for the kids and award-winning coffee for mum and dad.
To explore the other side of the peninsula, hop on a Town Bus to visit the colourful Courthouse markets, or walk through Chinatown for a glimpse of days gone by.
Oysters having a sex change?
Back then, colonial masters kept oyster farmers in business buying shiny new buttons for their spiffy white suits.
But the advent of plastic wrecked the industry, until Mikimoto from Japan decided to use pearls in jewellery.
(Mikimoto swallowed a pearl every morning for his health, until he died prematurely in his 40s.)
Nowadays, pearling brings in $200 million every year.
During a tour of the Willie Creek Pearl Farm, we discover some quirky facts about the ‘queen of the gems’.
Did you know that oysters are hermaphrodites? If the water becomes polluted, the females turn into males.
On a boat ride over the oyster lease, one of the cantankerous creatures snaps shut after being passed to Taj, prompting peals of laughter.
Back at Pinctada’s sensational Selene Brasserie, we taste pearl meat as part of the five-course Spice Trail.
Its delicate flavour is complimented beautifully by the preserved lemon guacamole.
You can eat almost anything in Broome, from buffalo and emu to kangaroo and crocodile.
Crikey! It’s a croc-fest!
Before Steve Irwin, there was Malcolm Douglas.
Walking through a huge set of jaws into the Wildlife Park we’re greeted by Malcolm’s assistant Jamie throwing chicken carcasses into a pond, dotted with beady eyes.
Suddenly dozens of huge saltwater crocs long lurch from the water, snapping their jaws wildly.
It’s exhilarating being inches away, protected only by a thin layer of cyclone fence.
“Now don’t put your fingers through the fence kiddies,” Jamie understates.
Taj and Grace reckon this is the highlight of their trip.
Interestingly, Malcolm still shoots crocs when they venture onto Cable Beach, endangering the tourists.
The ‘real’ Australia
An hour-long flight inland takes you to the place made famous by the movie Australia.
(Just don’t ask the locals about Nicole Kidman. They think she’s a bit snooty.)
Our base is the magnificent Kimberley Grande hotel in Kununurra which, appropriately, means ‘meeting of the waters’.
The Ord River Hydro Scheme feeds vast tracts of farmland, growing sandalwood for export to India – a bit like selling ice to the eskimos.
We spot the mini Bungles – giant orange dollops of honeycomb plonked on the landscape – and hundreds of boab trees.
When they reach 700 years of age, they’re said to resemble middle-aged women with a bulbous base and drooping limbs.
(Yes, I was offended.)
We drive two hours to the Carboyd mountain range, a dramatic ridge created when two tectonic plates collided.
“I’ve been here for three seasons and it still blows me away,” marvels our guide, Brendan.
Our destination is El Questro, a working cattle station turned international tourist attraction with accommodation ranging from $17-a-night campsites to the $2500-a-night Chamberlain Suite in the historic homestead.
Or you can visit for the day to relax at Zebedee Springs, renowned as a fountain of youth or a fertility pool.
I’m hoping it’s the former not the latter, while we splash about in the soothing thermal waters.
As the sun sets, we cruise down the 1.8 billion year old Chamberlain Gorge, bracketed by towering cliffs glowing a burnt umber.
So this is the Kimberley: Millions of acres of rock with pockets of astonishing beauty.
The kids shriek with delight, throwing food overboard to the Archer Fish, which spurt water back with pinpoint accuracy.
Water, water everywhere…
The following day we cruise Lake Argyle.
It’s the largest freshwater lake in the Southern Hemisphere, containing 36 Sydney Harbours, and teeming with crocs.
The adjoining Ord River is a wildlife paradise with a two million-strong colony of bats, endangered bird species, and majestic cliffs plunging into mirrored waters.
“How many frogs are there?” Grace asks our guide.
“36,” he deadpans.
For our last night back in Broome, we stay at the comfortable and friendly Seashells resort.
Its self-contained apartments, children’s pool, playground and outdoor BBQs are perfect for families.
Upon reflection, I’m struck by the duality of Broome and the Kimberley: a region of striking beauty and harsh wilderness, of friendly locals and dry-as-dust humour, of unimaginable wealth built on immense hardship.
Now, it’s the shining pearl of Australia’s great northwest.
footnotes
Qantas flies direct to Broome from Sydney and Melbourne during the dry season, April to October
Australia’s North West Tourism
Pinctada Cable Beach Resort & Spa
Seashells Resort Broome
Kimberley Grande, Kununurra
Broome Camel Safaris
Willie Creek Pearl Farm
Malcolm Douglas Wildlife Park
Triple J Boat Cruises
El Questro Wilderness Park
Zanders at Cable Beachside
