July 26 ... Broome

Our days in Broome have been relaxed but busy. Most days we go to Cable Beach and it has been beautiful. Surprisingly, there was a croc sighting yesterday so the Ranger was pretty busy this morning but they opened the beach after a while and nothing has been seen since. I would have thought that the water was too cold for crocodiles ... I am sure they like something warmer than 23 degrees, but we will certainly be keeping an eye out from now on!
As well this past week we have had a good look around the shops; traded our "read" books at the book shop;bought a few things for the van like new chairs and an outdoor lamp; and been to the markets which were horribly overpriced.

We have always wanted to go further north up the Dampier Peninsula to Cape Leveque but it is strictly 4 WD on a sandy, badly corrugated track, and over 200kms each way, so we booked on a tour ($250 each). It was a very long day, pick up was at 7am and we did not get home until 9.20pm, but it was all really interesting.
The drive was loud, bumpy, rough and long. The vehicle we were in was shaking and rattling unbelievably. There was no way anyone could sleep or even relax too much. It was so noisy that conversation was difficult but the tour guide, Roger Chomley had a good sound system and he told us heaps about the area and its history. His knowledge of places, cultures, local politics, flora and fauna was excellent. It helped pass a relatively boring drive and he did well considering the challenges of the road.

Roger Chomley and our "tour bus"

The main road to Cape Leveque lined with spear grass

Another "road" we traversed for some kms!

We had only just started our trek when we passed the protest at James Price Point. This has been very controversial in WA over the past few weeks. Woodside Petroleum has done a deal whereby they are trying to access this pristine area to establish a major natural gas hub, and many people here in Broome are opposed to it, including many indigenous residents. After blocking the machines for some days, lots of riot police were sent up from Perth and they started forcibly removing and arresting people. It has been a major event in this region and we have been listening with interest. Things got a bit nasty last week and one of the aboriginal elders has now gone off to try to get the area protected under Native Title meanwhile, a small group continue to hold out.

Protesters at James Price Point

After two and a half hours our first stop was at the settlement of Beagle Bay. Essentially this is an indigenous township but it has quite a history. Named after  the HMS Beagle, it has been an Aboriginal Mission since 1890 run by the Pallottine Missionaries and the Sisters of St John of God. It was a major centre for the children of the Stolen Generation during the many years indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families.
During WW1 the German priests were placed under house-arrest and, to pass the time, they built and decorated a church. Local shells were collected and used for mosaics in the church and while some of it has succumbed to white ants, much of the original construction remains, and it was very beautiful. Not at all grand but truly representative of the local people and the area.

The Altar decorated with shells

All of the windows had shell decoration

Sacred Heart Church - Beagle Bay

The school bus

The township itself was fairly neat and organized with a nice looking school, a shop and an oval. A lot of money goes into the upkeep of the town and this was evident in all of the new or renovated homes. An initiative of the Federal Govt has been to allow family groups to return to their traditional lands and these may be some distance from the settlement which affects whether the children can attend school regularly. The new "school bus" has been bought to help solve that problem.

We had morning tea here (great coffee) before pressing on to the Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm. I was very interested in the spear grass. This thick "jungle" is all over the peninsula and it can grow over 3 ms tall. The cattle eat it when it is young but it grows thick and tough with the season. I have wanted to see it since reading about it in the Durack's biography. They mention it as being a terrible thing to have to ride through as it towered over a horsed rider.

Young spear grass

Just before Beagle Bay we were back on bitumen. Again, this is a Govt initiative to allow people on the peninsula all year access to the airstrip and the Flying Doctor Service. The road to Broome is impassable much of the time in the Wet and very hard going. So, in much greater comfort, we continued our trip.

The Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm has quite a history.  It is the oldest in Australia and was the first to cultivate cultured pearls. It has been in the same family for over 60 years with three generations managing it, and it employs over 70 people. It's setting was really beautiful but the work is hard and it is very isolated.

An example of a pearling drop line

Cygnet Bay

Begun in 1946 by Dean Brown, he originally just collected mother-of-pearl from the ocean floor. Now it is a huge wholesale pearl industry and we had the opportunity to buy pearls at cost price! But these are "good" pearls, and while some people did buy a few, they were way out of my range, even though they were very beautiful. In 2004, the Cygnet Bay Pearling Company grew the world's largest unblemished, white, round pearl. This is kept in Broome and despite multi million dollar offers, this pearl is not for sale!

World's largest white round pearl ... 22mm; 156gms

Mother-of-Pearl Shell

Strands of pearls ... each worth many $thousands

The Pearl Farm also had four !! chefs so after a delicious lunch we were back on the tour ... next stop was to be The One Arm Point Aboriginal Community and the Aquaculture Hatchery. Again we saw a pleasant small township with the basics, and then we drove out to the hatchery. This is a community project but it is in jeopardy because the only involved party is the school children.
However we had an excellent and interesting tour. The main focus is on the cultivation of the trochus shell. It is sold mainly to Europe to be used in the fashion industry but is also used for jewellery, cosmetics and as a paint ingredient in Australia.

The natural Trochus Shell

The polished trochus shell

As well as the shells, the hatchery had a number of tanks with some interesting inhabitants. The barramundi are quite an aggressive fish and it was good to see them hand fed, with great caution. There was also a "touch" tank and it was interesting to hear about the marine animals, especially the sea slug (trebang).

The Aquaculture Hatchery

Snapping Barramundi

Two Green Turtles

"Nemo"

Various reef sponges

This is the start of the Buccaneer Archipelago and from One Arm Point it is possible to see the massive tidal surges that happen when the ocean tries to enter and exit King Sound, but there was nothing dramatic to see when we were there.

From here we drove up to Cape Leveque. By now it was about 4 pm and while a swim was possible because the water was so warm and it was a sunny afternoon, we felt it would be rushed so settled for a beach walk during which we collected some white shells for Morgan and some trochus shells for me.

Beach at Cape Leveque

Beachside accommodation

There is some flash accommodation options at the Cape and some unusual ones, including these brush shelters which you hire and camp in. They are right on the beach and have a "castaway" feel about them.

Sand dunes at Cape Leveque

On the western side of the Cape are the Red Cliffs and this was to be our last stop. We were there for the sunset and they were the highlight of the day.  By now our tour guide was getting a bit tired and he wanted us to have afternoon tea so we could get on the road  before dark. We had plenty of time to enjoy the spectacle though and it was beautiful to see the sun sinking into the ocean and the cliffs reflected on the wet sand.

The happy couple at Cape Leveque

We really had a fabulous day but we were very tired by the time we got back to the park having bounced over 460 kms! The trip was expensive but it was the only way we would ever have been able to see the Cape so we were very glad we went and we really enjoyed it all.

The Red Cliffs

The Red Cliffs of Cape Leveque