This week for a change I’m including a post on somewhere I’ve never been to (despite living in Western Australia on and off for 30 years!).
Our daughter, Mlle, headed up to Broome in the north west Kimberley Region, for a week’s holiday in August. She was lucky enough to be able to stay with a friend who now lives and works up there and has shared some photos and insights with me for the blog.
Broome is a very long way from Perth! It takes 2 and a half hours to fly there. If you wish to drive, you have to cover 2,240 kms and although technically it would take you just under 24 hours non stop (according to google) in reality you need to allow 2-3 days and longer for sightseeing.
Broome is also in the tropics with a completely different climate to Perth. It really just has a wet and a dry season. The Broome Visitor Centre provides some useful information. The dry season runs from May to October and has beautiful warm days (average low to mid 30s) with mild evenings. Not surprisingly this is a very popular time for tourists from Perth and the south west to head north to escape the winter storms and cooler southern weather. The wet season from November to April is far hotter (often well into the 40s) with high humidity and monsoonal weather from January to March. As a result it isn’t so crowded with tourists but the weather can be quite off-putting.
Broome has a wonderful location sitting on a north/south peninsula with Cable Beach (Indian Ocean) on the western side and Roebuck Bay and Town Beach on the eastern side.
BROOME SUNSETS AND BEACHES
Every single night they are spectacular! You can pick a different beach each night and you won’t be disappointed! The camel picture was taken on Cable Beach (probably the most famous beach up here) and camel rides are very popular especially at sunset.
Other beaches Mlle and her friends visited were Gantheaume Beach and James Price Point (out of town).
THE FLOAT!
This attraction was probably the highlight of the trip. There’s a camping spot called Coconut Wells about 30 minutes drive from Broome’s town centre and Mlle and friends arrived the night before, camped nearby then in mid morning made their way to Coconut Wells.
When they arrived the day before the dam looked completely empty. They walked up the coast to an inlet and as the tide rises you float all the way from the inlet back into the dam (where they had parked) with the high tide coming in very fast. Mlle described it as a very relaxing experience (I would not have felt the same way!). She did say to bring plenty of sunscreen (it was 40 degrees the day they went) and they also had a floatable eskie for beers (very Aussie!). The tide variations in Broome are HUGE and lots of tourists get caught out. The tide allows you to do the “Float” about once a month.
OTHER ATTRACTIONS
Broome has the oldest still operating outdoor cinema in the world – see here for more info.
Broome Historical Museum – covers a lot of the history of the pearl divers (Broome is renowned for its pearls). There’s a huge Asian influence to this day (Japanese, Chinese, Philippines etc) which Mlle didn’t know about until going there (and neither did I). See here for info about the Broome Historical Society and Museum.
MAIN TOURIST PLACES IN TOWN FOR DRINKS/BEST FOOD
Matso’s – has amazing ginger beer (apparently very popular here in Perth too)
Divers – sports bar/late night live bands
Mangrove Hotel – overlooks Roebuck Bay, stunning place for a sundowner drink and meal.
The Aarli – Mlle had an amazing meal here and her friend reckons this is the best eatery in town.
The Roebuck – Mlle suggests somewhat tongue in cheek that this is possibly not for my target audience but for anyone interested there is a wet t-shirt competition here every Thursday night and the winner takes home $750!
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS
Hire a 4-wheel drive if possible, so you can drive to the beaches to watch the sunset and go off-road for camping etc.
Also Mlle would highly recommend the dry season (as I said earlier she went there in August) as it gets really humid and hot for the wet season.
Personally I can cope far better on a hot dry Perth day that gets to say 35 degrees in the summer but wilt if we get an unusually humid day in the mid 20s or so. If you go up north in the wet season be prepared!
So that’s Mlle’s guide to Broome! Many thanks to her for sharing her tips and insights!
Copyright © 2020 Rosemary Thomas Le Chic En Rose. All rights reserved
Le Chic En Rose 
Mlle takes a good photo, and certainly makes a case for visiting. Maybe not just yet, eh?
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Thanks Margaret! I’m pleased to be able to share some photos of other parts of WA for a change! Broome and the Kimberley are so popular with both interstate and overseas tourists but it will be a while before our international borders are reopened. Our WA state ones are reopening to some low risk Australian states next weekend. Hope you’re doing ok as I know it’s not a good situation over there at present. My family are not finding it easy to say the least.
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The worst thing is not being able to see family, and it’ll be a while yet. But we’re OK thanks, as I hope you are.
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That is so hard Margaret and that’s the worst thing for my UK family too. My dad can’t see my sister at all (she has special needs and lives in a sheltered community) or my brother who’s working from home as they’ve had a Covid outbreak at his work nor his elderly sister who’s in a nursing home. I Skype twice a week but have no way of seeing my dad till who knows when. All ok here and fingers crossed it will stay that way when the borders are partially reopened this weekend (only the WA state ones to low risk Australian states). Best wishes for everything!
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You too. Life’s tough for so many just now, but your family seems to be having an especially hard time. Good wishes to them.
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Thanks Margaret!
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Just caught this one as I was about to switch off! 🙂 🙂 The Float does look fun, though like yourself I’m not sure how relaxed an experience I’d find it, despite the ‘tinnies’. I’d need a glass of something stronger 🙂 🙂 Hope the family are doing ok, Rosemay.
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Sorry I only came by this again today Jo thanks for visiting! Yes I’d need a glass of something quite strong I think! Mlle is a very strong swimmer, which of course is highly recommended – in fact no one should do the Float unless they have good water survival skills especially after some drinks! The Aussie family are good, the Uk ones not so happy very difficult times. Hope you are doing ok? So hard to make any plans at present 😦 I’ll come over now to catch up! xx 🙂
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Her pictures are beautiful, especially the sunset ones. Thanks Mlle!
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The sunsets are amazing in Broome (from all I’ve seen and heard) – I’ll pass on the compliment to Mlle! 🙂
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I visited there twice , from Darin when I lived there. I loved it then.. very different now though I would love to go back.. I imagine you can get smashed avocado and chai latte now lol.
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Darwin , that is.
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Yes I figured! You may well be able to revisit Broome soon – WA are starting to reopen their borders for now anyway. Fingers crossed it won’t prove to be a mistake!
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I think it will be fine .. we have to move on, is my take … just have to trust that we can nip any outbreaks in bud quickly .. that is the key.. Sydney and Qld have been good at that hopefully Melb have to ability now too. But agree fingers crossed too.
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Yes we do have to move on somehow and we have been very fortunate in most of Australia so far. Still got my fingers crossed…..
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Totally agree.
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🙂
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It has become very popular over the past few years! We’ve yet to go! Darwin would have been an interesting place to live though don’t think I’d cope with the climate and humidity!
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I loved Darwin .. was there for 6 years but the heat/humidity did get to me. You just got to slow down …. and that suited me fine lol. Darwin has changed immensely too from 20 years ago .. I have been back a few times – has lost its character a bit but thats progress, I am told…. I still like it and will go back soon 🙂
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I’m not good with humidity – Perth is more to my liking with the Mediterranean climate. Having said that I’d love to see Darwin one day. My husband went there for work once and there was a crocodile in the local supermarket carpark!
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Hard to imagine now I was born and brought up in Northern Ireland….. hardly tropical but on leaving there lived 13 years in the tropics .. PNG, Darwin and Fiji , in that order before settling in Canberra from which I spent many years travelling for work in SE Asia so got used to the humidity but in later years I have found it more difficult so don’t think I could retire there but that said am considering Brisbane!! I certainly could not return to UK weather. Perth is actually very pleasant. You should indeed visit Darwin in June/July!!!
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I’ve only been to Brisbane once in the winter, which was lovely and mild (we were living in Melbourne at the time so glad to escape the cold). However it is very humid in the summer months from what I’ve heard! Yes Perth has a pleasant climate especially if you’re near the coast and can enjoy the sea breeze. Go a few kilometres inland during the summer and it feels much hotter! I would definitely only consider Darwin in June/July – I would melt otherwise!! I could never cope with UK weather now – if we’d stayed in Europe I would have had to escape to the south of France or maybe Portugal 🙂
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Wow! Those sunset photos make me want to go there. Not so keen on ‘the float’ though! I wonder when your international borders will be open? My little Aussie boys will be teenagers before long!
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Yes I’d love the sunsets but not the Float! I can’t see the Australian international borders opening anytime soon apart from travel bubbles to low risk countries eg New Zealand (one way only from there to here at present). We’ve been warned to expect borders to Europe and the Americas to remain closed at least to the end of next year and in reality it may well be longer. The government are relying on a vaccination before they will reopen borders and in any event mandatory quarantine will be here to stay for a while (it may progress to self isolation at home for 14 days rather than in a hotel but who knows). Sorry I can’t be more positive but on the other hand we have managed to keep cases very low apart from the Victorian outbreaks and some clusters in New South Wales. Our WA state borders are being lifted to a degree this coming weekend so people coming from low risk states won’t need to self isolate for 14 days but will be required to do extra paperwork and take a Covid test if indicated. All arrivals from NSW and Victoria will still have to go into mandatory 14 days self isolation and have at least one Covid test on day 11. It’s hard being so far away from family – no idea when I’ll see my UK family again either. In meantime hope you’re keeping well with the new restrictions, take care!
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That’s not good news for my son in Brisbane who works for Qantas. He’s only on 2 days a week. Hope your UK family are all well. We’re fine, but getting rather bored by having to stay at home.
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So sorry I missed seeing this comment when you first posted it Jude! It must be a hard time for your son working for Qantas – the CEO was saying this week that there would be a no jab no fly rule but of course the vaccine has yet to be approved here in Australia. Who knows how it will all pan out. Yes the family are all fine but like you getting rather bored and frustrated. I think the strict lockdown is being relaxed this week to be replaced by the tier system but it sounds rather inconsistent.
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I heard about this place long before we leave WA but unfortunately there is no time. Beautiful place!
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We have yet to go there too – it’s a beautiful place by all accounts! Mlle is going up there again next month!
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