We were very excited to arrive in Broome on Saturday and see family again, especially meeting our new little neice, Sonnie Quin, the second little princess for my brother Lloyd and his wife Stacey. Lloyd managed to reverse our van into the shed with no problems, our most unique van site yet I think, with ensuite and master bedroom just through a rear door in the shed, making our stay a pretty comfy one. (Thanks Uncle Lloyd and Aunty Stace!)
On Sunday, we visited the regular Broome markets and did some more looking around town, with one of the highlights for the kids being lunch at Maccas, after not having it since Katherine! Lloyd brought home some freshly speared dugong for tea, caught by one of the aboriginal locals in the morning, interesting to try, a bit chewy, but a lot like beef (I guess thats why its called sea cow).
Today, we packed up a picnic lunch after an easy morning, and headed to the beach at Gantheume Point for the afternoon. It was a pretty relaxing afternoon with the kids all playing around the rocks and having a swim with Uncle Lloyd in the chrystal blue Indian ocean. A really pretty spot with the red cliffs, white sand and blue, blue water.
Wednesday morning started out warmer than previous days, so we decided on a trip to the water playground on the esplanade with the cousins for a few hours, which was lots of fun!
On Saturday afternoon, we drove back down to Cable Beach, with its amazing white sands, red cliffs and blue waters to watch the sunset and eat fish and chips. The famous Cable Beach Camels rode by while we watched, providing magnificent sunset views.
On Sunday, after preparations and packing, we headed off with Uncle Lloyd and Addy to Quondong Beach for some rough beach camping for a few days. After setting up, we were treated to more spectacular sunset, before settling down by the campfire for tea. We slept to the sound of crashing waves, and woke to a high tide lapping rocks only a short walk from our camp. How blessed we felt having this spot and incredible views for free! The kids tried some fishing with Uncle Lloyd, went swimming, hunting for crabs in rockpools and 4WDriving on beach and in bush to collect firewood. A pretty packed day. In the afternoon we were treated to an amazing whale show just off the shore in front of our camp, where humpback whales played for a couple of hours! Another gorgeous sunset, a campfire before settling to the sound of waves again for the night.
On Tuesday, after some more fishing, we pack up and head home, not before getting bogged in a deep patch of soft sand on the way out! Our first real 'bogged'. Lucky we had Uncle Lloyd to pull us out! It was good to get home and get the sand off, but fantastic to spend some time in this pretty untouched part of the world.
It is time to catch up on some schoolwork on Wednesday, but afterwards we head down to the port to walk down the length of the wharf, and explore the amazing rock formations beside it. We spot a small mantaray while on the wharf and the kids have lots of fun climbing the rocks.
Thursday turned out to be a real adventure! We packed up early and headed out with my brother Lloyd on a work day, a trip to One Arm Point near Cape Leveque for a Careers expo and Oval Opening in the Local Community there, where Lloyd and some of his diggers set up a Norforce (North West Army) display/recruitment stand. Over 200km north and 98km of that being sandy corrigation later, we arrived to a warm, welcoming Aboriginal community, and spent the day watching traditional and modern dance, testing out the army gear and checking out the gorgeous waters surrounding One Arm Point and Cape Leveque - absolutely magnificent! I think we are so blessed to have all this area owned by the traditional owners, and therefore protected from over development and over use, as it is so naturally beautiful!
We also stopped briefly at Beagle Bay, another community, to have a look at a remarkable Cathedral, decorated inside with Mother of Pearl Shell, embedded into the walls and floor design. It is quite amazing as it was all done by hand a long time ago, when the earliest missionary settled in this area. We felt very priveleged today to be able to visit these communities and amazing areas through Lloyd and his work up here, as usually it is restricted for visitors, so it was a pretty special day, dispite the very very bouncy ride home!
The Broome Museum served as a great classroom on Friday and we spent a few hours looking around and reading the displays. They had quiz sheets for the kids at different levels, and certificates to give them when the sheets were handed in - fantastic for our homeschooling!
Over the weekend we just did a bit more beach visiting and on Monday Uncle Lloyd organised a special boat trip for us in his boat before we left Broome. We had a great time fishing and riding out on the gorgeous Broome waters, and even caught a few nice fish, some a little bit small, so were thrown back, but we still got photos for proof! Thanks Uncle Lloyd!
Tomorrow we pack up and begin to head down the West Coast. We will miss our two gorgeous nieces and their cuddles, (and their mum and dad too!) and the lovely hospitality we have enjoyed for the last couple of weeks with my brother and his very cute family. Thanks guys, we had a great time in Broome!
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