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Woke up around 6 and left our gravel pit to head into Broome. Quite a few back packers were still parked there, and the loud German group already had their radio blaring as they sat outside.
Headed in and stopped first at Town Beach to make some brekky and enjoy the beach/bay location in the quiet and cool of the early morning. Then we went to the visitor centre to get some information and then headed out of town to Buckley's Bush Camp, the farm we plan to stay on while in Broome. We set up in a shady location with plenty of trees for shade and a dam about 20 metres away. Despite the 31 degree heat, a lovely breeze kept things bearable. We set up and then chilled out for a while (seeing as we arrived at 9.30am!) before heading out nearby to see the world famous Cable Beach. I didn't know that this beach was named for the cable run in 1889 beneath the ocean that connected Broome to Java.
Arriving at Cable Beach, with its incredible long white sandy stretch of beach, hordes of beach goers sitting beneath shady umbrellas or under the harsh sun, and people swimming between the iconic Australian lifesaver red and yellow flags, that felt touristic and very much like a holiday - rather than what we have been doing up until now, which I would call travelling. It felt surreal but nice to feel the soft sand underfoot, and lovely for Cadbury to run free on the beach and go for a swim. After a quick stop we headed back to the car and then drive 100 metres further north, where you can drive your car right on to the sand. Given our previous experience at driving on the beach (and getting bogged back on the west coast of the Yorke Peninsula, SA back in April, I was somewhat nervous. But it was fine, and there were many cars doing the same thing. We watched the lines of camels waiting to go out on rides, and took heaps of photos of them quite close up as they set off on an afternoon ride along the beach. We headed back out again, this time the traffic on the beach made it difficult, as so many cars were heading towards us (some areas the hard stretch of sand was only wide enough for one car) ahead of the famous Cable Beach sunset. We drove back up to the car park and stopped to buy a snack and something to drink and settle down to watch the sunset from the top of the cliff. As
The sun set it was pretty, with hues of rosy pinks and pale yellows in the sky, but the real magic happens after the sun sinks below the sea line. Slowly the sky turns dark pink with streaks of clouds arching up above in the big sky, then gold shimmers of light interplay with pink streaks until you are eventually left with a deep line of gold and red across the horizon, juxtaposing against the dark outlines of palm trees and people outlines in their shadow. Stunning!
After dark we headed to the area known as Chinatown and did a quick shop before heading back to our campsite in the dark (down the long dirt farm track). We were happy to eat a light dinner, shower and settle down to catch up on some TV - we haven't seen The Voice for a couple of weeks, so watched that.
Time to say good night and hope the night cools down.
Sleep tight xx
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