From serenity to . . . 'I've never felt more like singing the blues'(Al)

Possibly an exaggeration, but bear with me here.  So the day started with a blissful run on the eastern bit of Cable Beach.  Horses from the turf club being exercised, people launching small boats (in quite an extreme kind of 'reverse fast then stop suddenly and kind of shoot the boat of the end of the trailer and hope it doesnt get stuck in the sand' kind of way), the odd, (illegal) dog walker. A killer on the legs to get off the beach (via a nature reserve walking track up a massive sand dune), but otherwise sheer bliss . . .

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In the middle bit we did some  learning stuff.

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Went to the Japanese cemetery (of all the pearl divers who died as the Anglo-Aussie pearl-masters sat on the boats in their pith helmets and buttoned up long sleeved white jackets).  Most of the headstones were made of rocks from the sea, some with barnacles on them.  Really poignant.  Also caught the museum and did lots of reading about those times.  Pretty sobering really, but fascinating too in a kind of 'I've been on a school visit and hope there's not a questionnaire afterwards' kind of way.

The old jetty on the other side of the peninsula to Cable Beach did the whole red white and blue rather nicely.  With some seriously scary (think sandflies) mangroves too.  Bean got quite distracted by a flock of eagles (yes really . . . I saw them roosting on the mangroves and the taking off later).





Then we picked up some Thai food from a local foodie's recommendation for later tonight and did some people watching as we waiting for the chef to catch the fish for the curry (there were actually more people around than the shot below intimates, and quite a diverse array too . . .)



Later in the day, we did a horror trip (really, really, unintentional . . .  I wish this is a memory I didn't have) to Cable Beach West (where all the resorts are) to see the camels on the beach at sunset.  You know when you have an idea of what something will be like, then tell yourself to ramp it back because it won't really be quite as idyllic or romantic as the idea.  And then the reality kind of puts on a titanium knuckleduster and hits you in the head . . . ???  Or becomes west Glaswegian and headbutts you????

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Cable Beach camels.  Poor buggers.  Stuck in a traffic jam on the M25. It was really quite disturbing.  Really. Note Bean's pace.  How quickly can we walk through this and get get away?

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Even on the bluff above the beach, things were bad . . . how quickly really, can Bean walk away? Even the busker  caught the mood in his slightly out of tune C and W song, "I've never felt more like singing the blues . . . '.

We didn't stay for the final bit of the sunset, just the yellowy bit and the people getting their surf skis out of the water.



So . . . we decided to do a bit of drive before heading 'home', past where I ran in the morning on the point where the turf club is . . . sandy road for most if it, which was kinda weirdly fab for so close to town and the Cable Beach Resort and redneckson the beach mob (note Bean's still rather stunned expression).

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Now we're home, a wine on the verandah and the Thai curry for later.  Phew.

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Broome. Like it or don't. (Bean)

Not sure if I like it or don't. It certainly is a very busy hub bub of activity. Makes sense really. Remote, kinda pretty in places, expensive (fair enough due to remoteness) really caters for the 'fly in - experience- fly out - I have loads of cash  group.'

A nice tour on a boat with a personal helicopter transport watching whales and dolphins and oysters making pearls and then have  massage with essential oils that were probably essential to the creature it was stolen from.

Or be a backpacker hippy type - not care - pass out on a beach.

Broome. Like it or don't really. Personally I'm not sure. I'm a slightly confused (some say ugly) person.

We went to the cemeteries this morning to see how the Japanese one had been restored thanks to some keen backers. Most of them were from the pearl diver days (teh graves not the backers). (Plus ...a whole load of history here that I hope Al is posting - if not then here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearling_in_Western_Australia

It's actually quite interesting).



They used 'Beach Stone' for the headstones - works rather well I feel.

We also saw a 'jetty' which was rather small and apparently (the mangroves and surrounding area) was full of crocs and other things that stung, bit ,suffocated, maimed, killed etc.

Here's Al at the end of it:



We did some shopping. Al bought some shorts. We also bought a Thai takeaway curry. We went to the museum that was quite small but very interesting. I didn't take any photos because I thought I was in one of those museums where you aren't allowed to. My god I'm an idiot. This is Broome. So you'll have to imagine the sort of things they had on display. (This link doesn't really help, but it does tell you where the toilets are which I didn't know they had - extra point to them then.

http://www.broomemuseum.org.au/museum.html)

We then (later) went to cable Beach to see the famous camels at sunset ride. That idyllic mix of sand, sea, camel, and ... thought. (?)

This is the sort of thing:





We've seen the photos. How romantic. What a great idea.  Now, being slightly linked with the camel 'ways' (Al's paintings and out links with Yulara (Ayers Rock) Camel Tours etc) we were looking forward to sampling this experience.

Well, here it is. Brace yourselves:



Why oh why?

We are still in shock with the whole experience.

I think this shot of Al sums it up really, so I'll leave it at that.



Anyway. Tomorrow we head off somewhere else. Kimberley  methinks.

OH! OH! I meant to say - Oscar has suffered an injury. Look:



Broken indicator lens! Now this is the part that I go all sarcastic. Thank goodness he decided to have a coloured bulb and a clear lens rather than (everyone else) a clear bulb and a coloured lens. That should be so much easier to replace.

Still, good on 'im.

Until the morrow.

PS. No birds in Broome (some kind of democracy I think) so you've all been spared the ornithological educational section this time.

Broomewards (Al)

So, after a final (and much more enjoyable - as I'd worked out which bit of the beach is 'just right' to run on, not too squidgy, not too fluffy - run at 80 mile beach, where I too, enjoyed the sight of the little rivulets on the sand that looked like either great mountain ranges, or tree-lines, we headed to Broome.

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We were a bit trepidatious, given the nightmare stories of campsites in town we'd heard (I'll leave Bean to tell that story).  Our minds were not really taken off such anxious thoughts by the, frankly, rather dull landscape of the Great Northern Highway.  We did see some cows, however.



And when we finally ended up in the apartment we'd rather flukily scored, got rather over excited about the fruit we bought for our late lunch and coffee hit . . . (make up your own script for this sequence).

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The reason? No espresso for us either this morning or en route, as we'd left 80 Mile in rather a windblown hurry ... a result of the anxiety of getting to Broome in good time to get a campsite (phnarrgh, in retrospect), and because the gale that was blowing that morning, while helpfully drying BT's rather damp underside as we rolled her up, nearly took away Shady the trusty cabbana/wind/sun/light rain hidey-cavern, so Bean had to rather suddenly start packing up when I was merrily running down the beach (eyes left so I wasn't blinded by the Southerly blown sand).

BUT.  We made it to Broome.  We're in a fab place for two nights.  We've walked to Cable Beach and taken a couple of pictures there.  And now, down time . . .

80 Mile Beach Still. But then Broome (Bean)

So here we are in Broome. But I need to finish off 80 mile Beach first. (Yes a capital B for beach because it deserves it).

Woke up this morning to a very blustery wind. (Could it have been anything else?). Useful for drying out BT as last night we sat out to watch the sunset again and it was certainly colder. An amazing dew landed with less subtly than a very tired duck .

Everything was soaking. But anyway the wind sorted that out thankfully.

Overall score for 80 mile Beach is a 8 out of 10. Interestingly (or not, depending...) there was no one down there at night - apart from us. Beach, Sea, Stars and some rather dodgy photos (including possibly a UFO?)





Oh the Sunset last night wasn't as good as the night before but it tried it's best.



Meh, OK, it wasn't bad actually.

Which links me neatly to Al back at camp:



She is looking at where we can stay in Broome. That afternoon we had the joys of listening for two hours the campsite special live band. Imagine an retirement residence and one of the inmates allowed to sing karaoke. Now add a almost live drummer and backing vocals by a dear old lady that did manage to stand up. Now increase your imagination to 'The Streets of London', 'Tie a Ribbon Around (my neck?)', 'New York, New York' 'Australia Fair' (yes seriously).



For two hours.

Poor Al. I've never seen 'culture' do this to her so I tried to stop my humming along.

Which leads me very cleverly to pictures of shells. Lots of them out there on 80 mile Beach. (The shells not the photos).



See, told you.

Al went for runs and stamped all over them but I think that's allowed since most of them were dead. (Well, about 20%).





Then put into context how far she has come from:



Pretty cool really. Makes me tired just thinking about it.

Anyway. We left 80 mile Beach after chasing down bits and pieces of our camp that was blowing away.

It was a dusty windy drive along more amazing straight roads. Weirdly sometimes overtaking a roadtrain (up to 53.5metres in length) can be tricky since the road ahead is so long and flat that the mirage affect takes place so it can be hard to see. Plus traveling at 110kmph seems like 40. I find shutting my eyes, screaming, and hoping for the best seems to work.

After 4 hours though of rather dull bush scenery and the most boring drive ever into Broome we arrived ... in Broome.

We were ready to deal with the overcrowding and try and squeeze in to a camping site. Backpackers everywhere. The campsite we tried had to put us into the 'overflow' site. Backpacker Party zone. The space was already occupied by some young thing that hadn't renewed her checkout time (It was 1pm and they should have renewed by 10am). She promptly had a panic attack as her rather dopey friends looked on confused.) Next door's tent (about three inches away) pointed out (not the tent itself but the 'people' surrounding it) that it wouldn't matter if they moved since they would probably be passed out that night at the arranged beach party.

Here's the best shot I could get without being mugged.



To cut a long story short we got a good deal (for Broome) on some accommodation. The woman bumped us up a room size for the same price since we started talking about names, children, drunk family members etc etc. Actually I think it was Al's hair that did it judging by Kristy's (the woman's) tattoos.





View from our new accommodation. Thanks Kristy!

We also went for a walk on Cable Beach. Al has some pics that I think she is posting.

More from Broome tomorrow.

Look! (Bean)

Hahahahahahaaahahaha!

I'm so happy.

80 Mile Beach sunset and sunrise (Al)

From the decadence of Stella Bella Semillion Sauvignon on our first evening here... (after some obligatory sunset photography of course)




... to the clean-livingness of an early morning visit to collect shells at low tide (and watch shells clamber around, as quite a number were still being used as residences).



I also came across some creatures I was very pleased to see not clambering about.


This is one of the reasons there's no swimming from the beach.


And this is another.

But who cares when the beach itself is so lovely.

80 Mile Beach Day 2 (Bean)

It's 1.30 pm and the sky is blue and temperature quite warm. We are sitting in the shade of BT basically doing nothing. (Well, Al is reading and I'm doing this). Slept well last night. Although there is a big generator going 24 hrs the wave sound is more dominant when the tide is in. We had a glass of wine on the beach at sunset. So did lots of other people. But then that's Australia.
As is the case in much of the NW at this time of year it is quite busy here. The shore fishing is the main activity. We decide to partake in people watching and airing our insightful  opinions to each other.

Speaking of the tide, which I think I was a moment ago. It doesn't just go out here it completely 'buggers off' as is one description. About 1km out. The amount and range of shells are quite fascinating. We are collecting what seems to be all of them.

This morning as Al went for her run and I thought briefly about my own fitness ( I think I dozed off again though) I decided to hit the beach early and watch the shore critters do their thing as the tide had vanished. I've got a few photos that I intend to go through you count this as an early warning.

I will try now to post a couple of iPhone pics. This was this morning. Beach almost to myself!

A very nice tipple despite the sand:


Our shell collection is growing:

Here we are:


Oh and we had Ice Cream ( not sure why the capital letters but ah well) for lunch. Salad is hard to come by around here.

It has been mentioned that some sort of map reference would be useful as we move. This is the best I can muster so far:


Also I forgot to mention that both Karratha and Port Headland were fascinating places despite the huge gas, oil, etc etc works there. A very different type of place.

Now to see how long/if this publishes or not.