Broome

O'Toole, the camel.

I thought Geoffrey Boycott taught me the meaning of tedium years ago but it appears that I have been under a misapprehension about the true depth of the word. Tedium is not watching Boycott grind a meaningless two day 100 it really involves driving from Port Headland to Broome.  I think the distance is a mere 500kms but it feels like an eternity as nothing changes, nothing. Even the Wedge Tail Eagles move around in the same pattern. Unless I had the steering wheel to bash my head against I might have sworn I was in a very bad dream or watching Geoffrey Boycott blocking full tosses for five hours straight.

Here is a Wedge Tailed Eagle floating endlessly over the highway waiting for a car to smash a cow,  wallaby, snake  or lizard or presumably anything that they can eat.

I apologize for dribbling from the start but I think Boycott, eternity, real tedium and 100% humidity took it's toll on me. Broome was not I expected. There is an airport in the middle of town and several hundred eagles circling above it. Broome itself does not really have a town centre, it sits on a peninsula with Roebuck Bay, China Town, the pearl stores, an ice cream shop, Sun  Pictures garden cinema and Matsu's brewery on one side and Cable Beach with all the resorts, caravan parks and camels on the other. And the airport in the middle, planes fly low over the cinema which really added to the effects of the action sequences in Ironman 3.

There is a little bit to do in Broome. The museum is a good place to start. Run by volunteers and staffed at the front desk by Mormon elders doing their tour of duty. I was surprised and amused to see two clean cut boys sitting there in the aircon and not out on the streets doing the door to door thing but who could blame them. Broome started off as a bit of a crazy lawless town and proceeded to become even crazier and more lawless until customs and police arrived after 50 years of operation. Far too late to save the local aboriginal population who had many of their men shackled and forced to dive for pearls until they were too consumed with lung infections to be of any use. Later Japanese, Indonesian  and Philipina's came over to do the dangerous work until eventually WW11 happened and people ended up using plastic instead of pearl for buttons. Pearling made a resurgence in the 60's when pearl farming became established. There is a good exhibit of pearls at the museum as well as a very impressive shell collection, there is also a lot of random stuff like the telephone exchange exhibit which is pretty funny.

After being filled up with history you can duck around to Matsu's Brewery for a good feed and a selection of fine beers. Chilli or Mango beers would not normally top my list of brews to try but up here in this humidity they make sense and taste good too. They also knock out good pale ale, pilsner, ginger beer and a dark ale. All of this is created on the former premises of Mr Matsu's trading house which has a big wooden bar, cool rooms and a shaded beer garden. Finn enjoyed it too.

On Saturday's and Sunday's there is a pretty decent little market out near the court house. Knick knackery, cheapish pearls and some good asian food and that sort of thing mainly. If you are hot go and see the lady that sells hats as she also sells those cool neck tie things that you did in water and tie around your neck to cool you down, handy...kept this family alive along with the $16 pedestal fan from Target.  

Camels are wonderful animals, resilient, strong and graceful mostly and they also look funny but they are not designed to be ridden, I mean there's a hump on the back innit. Anyway it has not stopped three operators making a mint out of convincing suckers like us to get on one and go for a stroll down Cable Beach. It was hot and yes uncomfortable but it was fun. The boys and went on a camel with some unpronounceable name which I renamed O'Toole after the lead in David Lean's epic Lawrence of Arabia. "Kill them all, take no prisoners." I mumbled to myself as we heaved off. 

Ships on the beach

All smiles, notice O'Toole with the biggest grin "Sorrre bottoms foorr you my friends, ha ha ha haaaaaa!!!"

Camels were a lot of fun and all of them were boys bar one, apparently they get a little frisky and naughty when there are too many girls present. After we did the ride we went to say sorry to our bottoms with a cocktail, the kids had slushies and we watched the sun go down.

And Cable Beach is not a bad beach, a few rocks but the water is warm and you can swim with sting rays, heaps of them. You are also allowed to drive on the beach if the whim takes you. If you still want more after the sun goes down head back to Chinatown to Sun Pictures cinema garden (grab a takeaway to take in) and plant your camel sore bum in a deck chair and take in a movie.