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The trip to Cape Leveque with Roger Chumley specialist tours was awesome. His 4WD navigated what is literally known as one of the worst corrugated roads in Australia to take us to such beautiful places as Beagle Bay, cygnet Bay pearl farm, Ardiyooloon hatchery and Cape Leveque. Rogers local knowledge of this unique area enabled us to understand the indigenous ancestries and political milestones of native title and aboriginal culture that exists today. Roger's tour would have to be one of the highlights of our Top End trip and one that I would recommend to anyone holidaying in Broome.
We woke to an early start from my iPhone going off on Queensland time (1hour before) in order to link up with Roger at 6.45am. I now understand that when you change time zones you must change the time zones of your calendar to make the reminders work on your current time zone and not your home time zone. Because of this slight 2hour variable we were very organised extremely early for our new day!
Roger gave a wonderful commentary the entire day. This type of local knowledge is only possible from a guided tour. Also no one in their right mind would drive their own car or a hire car on this road known as the worst road in Australi (and it didn't disappoint!). The corrigations on this road have to be experienced to be be believed, especially on the long return journey. Thank goodness Roger has a mechanic as a partner.
First stop was the church at Beagle Bay. This church is surrounded in history of the earliest Christian churches to establish churches in the area to convert the local heathen aboriginals. The creative use of pearl shell in the Catholic church to create the alter and picture frames to must be seen to be appreciated. Hours of painstaking love was put into these practical artworks.
Next stop was the Brown family pearl farm at cygnet Bay. This farm is located on 3000 acres of land on the beachfront at cygnet Bay. The farm has been in the Brown family for 3 generations since 1946 and is a true Australian icon. There are only 2 pearl farms still operating in this region.
Tony gave us a grand tour of the farm and enabled us to get a "hands on" approach to grading the real things. We were fortunate to handle some of the most expensive merchandise on the farm. I have a wonderful photo wearing a $53000 string of Australian cultured pearls. wow did that feel great. cygnet Pearl Farms then provided us with one of the most exquisite luncheons you could imagine for somewhere so isolated from the rest of the Australian population. My commendations must go to the chef for this wonderful meal.
Roger then navigated our bus to Ardiyooloon trocus shell hatchery. Indegenous owned this hatchery spawns and transfers trocus shell back to the surrounding reefs to ensure the longevity of the species. At this farm they also have aquariums filled with local reef exhibits to provide tourists with detailed knowledge of aquatic conservation in this area.
Finally Roger drove our 4WD along the beach to a secluded little beach for a well earned swim in paradise. The water was clear and the temperatures was perfect. This provided an opportunity to rest our weary limbs for the shaking trip home. Before we departed we had a tea and coffee break on a closeby western beach to watch the sun go down.
Roger Chumley your trip was the very best. You provide everyday tourists with a cost effective way to visit one of those unique areas of Australia that few ever get to see. Roger operates a relatively small but specialised tour of Cape Leveque. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone visiting the Broome area. 5 stars to Roger.
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Mandy I want to be there!!!