Australian Travel - Broome to Perth Pt 1: Beaches, Desert and Pearls

It was with a flurry of excitement and anticipation waiting to leave for a trip to Broome with my mother and three sisters back in 2009. We hadn't been on a trip together for years as we had all married, raised children and concentrated on work and careers. Broome is known as the southern gateway to the Kimberleys where the land meets the sky and the desert meets the sea, and if you have a love for fine south sea pearls, this is the place to visit.

Our preparations weren't without mishap, mum broke her coxyx bone a couple of weeks before we were due to fly out, and my second eldest sister, Robyn, had a fall on a school outing to ten pin bowling and twisted her knee. All very inconvenient but not enough to stop us, hiring a wheelchair for mum and crutches for Robyn we were ready to go.

It was a grey day in Melbourne when we headed for the airport, checking in and meeting up with everyone, before settling onto the plane and heading off for Broome. What a shock leaving dreary Melbourne and alighting wearing jackets that looked totally out of place in the heat of the Broome mid-morning sunshine!

It didn't take long to settle into our rooms at Cable Beach Club Resort and after taking a wander around the resort decided to take a walk to Cable Beach before relaxing by the pool and having a scrumptious buffet dinner, a few glasses of red and an introduction to our fellow travellers with AAT King, before retiring for the night.

The next day was a free day and who could resist heading into Broome to check out the shops and of course their famous pearls! We wandered China town, bought a few nic-nacs from stalls, visited the Willie Creek Pearl Farm and checked out the Paspaley pearls outlet (and some of us even bought some ) before heading out to Gantheaume Point, where we dragged, pulled and pushed mums wheelchair across the red rocky walkway to reach the fossilised dinosaur footprints the area is famous for.

Some more relaxing by the pool before heading off to Roebuck Bay to watch an event that is spectacular, staircase to the moon. In a market atmosphere we joined the crowds of people wandering the foreshore to the smells of delicious food, craft stalls and bric-a-brac as we waited for the setting sun to deliver its magic and create the illusion of steps across the ocean leading straight to the moon itself!

A long walk back through the township and a quick McDonald's snack before catching a taxi back to Cable Beach Resort for a hot shower, comfortable pj's and a good book to curl up with before falling asleep to the sounds of wafting laughter from party goers outside and the sensuous frangipani scents wafting in from the night air.

(If you enjoy a mystery in 2003 the Taiwanese vessel High Aim 6 was found drifting in Australian waters apparently abandoned by its captain and crew. The vessel was towed to Broome for forensic examination and despite an extensive search of the area no traces were found of the crew.)

The next morning we were up early for a delicious buffet breakfast, the choices too numerous to mention then back to our rooms to pack everything and get loaded onto the bus for the next leg of our trip.

Mum and I were delayed taking back the wheelchair we had hired and finalising the account which made us unpopular with our tour hosts, Peter (driver) and Nellie (tour guide) as we were on a tight schedule and had another tour bus on our heels - or should I say wheels, vying for the best accommodation and stops along the way.

We were very fortunate in having only about 15 other travellers so we could spread ourselves out nicely and had plenty of choices of where to sit on the coach - or sleep as the case may be. Starting our journey across the outback we were heading off across a desolate landscape of spinifex and sandhills to reach Port Hedland, the gateway to the Pilbara and a major shipping outlet for the mining interests in this mineral rich region.

Some of the oldest examples of Aboriginal art can be found in the Pilbara region and the area is rich in history and folklore.

View Aboriginal art

And so our journey continues ... Off to Port Hedland