Broome 10-13 September 2006

Got up early (5am) and onto Fitzroy Crossing to see the Geikie Gorge, for an 8am boat trip along the gorge. The cliffs were originally a ocean reef of microscopic algae (350 million years ago!) that had been compressed into limestone, then pushed up, then eroded away. It has left a pattern of delicate lacework of white stone caverns and caves. Saw a number of fresh water crocs sunning themselves on the rocks. When we finished our boat trip we both wondered about making a mad dash to the coast for the moon event. We decided YES! We drove to Broome all afternoon and the air conditioner supported us by coming back to 25% and the squeal muted most of the time. We just turned the music up louder! We were told that the Stairway to the Moon wouldn’t be back for a month so this was our only chance. We ended up driving 550km to get there, which is the longest we have travelled in a day. The Stairway occurs when the full moon coincides with a low tide, and the moon reflects off the exposed mudflat. Unbeknown to us, the evening also coincided with the end of the Broome Festival, so we had fireworks and music to accompany the Stairway event. They had the most amazing didgeridoo music filling the air as the orange moon rose and shone across the mudflats. We had a great position and were so pleased we made the dash!
Broome itself is a sophisticated town and very different from the other settlements we have seen on our travels. It is a bit like Noosa, with big resorts, tourist shops, small Chinese influence and a beautiful setting. Lots of the views are hard to get from the resorts etc because of the beautiful dunes. So we feel very privileged to have scored the front row right on Roebuck Bay at the caravan park. The people on this site had been here for a 4 months and had just left! Seems lots of people are heading south. We have more heat but with less tourists. Reasonable compromise! The climate is fine here and we don’t need air-conditioning on the site as there is a sea breeze!