Day 57 - Wednesday 29 August - Learning the history

Day 57

Wednesday

29 August

Broome

While we were both out early for the loo, we were also very happy to return to bed and stay there for another couple of hours. Once we were up, we got stuck into the usual morning routine, before finally being ready to get out for the day. 

We had seen in the Shinju Matsuri program that there were 2 events happening at the Sisters of St John of God convent, beginning at 10am, so we made our way towards town. As we trundled up the street we came across a couple heading in the opposite direction. It wasn’t until they were upon us that we realised it was Simon’s parent, Billy and Val. We had been told they were around, but didn’t think we would just come across them. 

We stood in the street chatting for a while, exchanging travel stories before we both parted ways. Our lengthy chat, meant we arrived at the convent 10min late, but it didn’t really matter. We joined the crowd on the veranda, listening to a talk, before moving into the gardens and learning a little more. We finished inside the convent, where the rooms have been converted into a museum of the West Kimberley area. There were plenty of photos and stories adorning the walls and I wished we had more time to really check it out. 

At 11am, the second part began with a movie Sisters, Pearls and Mission Girls. This relayed the story of the nuns that came from Ireland and lived in Beagle Bay. It was quite a tale and one many of the aboriginals interviewed, remembered with fondness. It would have been a real shock for the young nuns, coming out to the wild west. Not only did the work in Beagle Bay, but they also worked in Broome and the Derby Leprosarium. 

The movie finished at 12 and we made our way back to the van ready for our lunch break and afternoon rest. We were keen to get involved in further Shinju Matsuri offerings, so we made the most of the down time. As usual, it meant me heading with my bag of tech to the Wifi spot. 

I returned to Paul when I was all done, finding him watching Blue Jasmine. I caught the final 15min and wondered what on earth he was watching. At 3pm, we left the van and wandered to the museum on the other side of the Town Beach Park. We waited with a group that continued to build, until 330pm came around and we were finally met by Wil Thomas, who took us on a journey back in time from the early pearling days through to the bombing of Broome in WWII by the Japanese zeroes. He was highly entertaining and obviously highly knowledgeable. 

We wandered from the jetty, walking across the mudflats and finding all sorts of artefacts from the past, from parts of hulls to nails and old bottles. Our time with Wil finished an hour later at Matsos, where Paul ducked in for a beer, before we were met by our next guide, Bart Pigram. 

Bart was employed to give an aboriginal perspective of Broome. We were told to pull leaves off a tree and scrunch them up and smell them, a strong citrus scent was given off. Bart was keen to tell us of the dreaming stories of the area, explaining the significance of water. We walked to Kennedy Hill and wandered out on a sand dune where a large shell midden was housed. All of the shells had long been discarded after their contents had been consumed. 

We continued the trail down towards Streeters Jetty, where Bart left us and Doug Fong took over, to give his input into the Pearling industry, the old buildings and the Chinese influence. He is the oldest Chinese Broome resident to be born in Chinatown. He told the story of a plane not getting its landing gear up in time and taking out the roof of Sun Pictures and with the film strips. The films were found in the mangroves.

Doug showed us where he was born, where he lived and photos of the tidal waters engulfing the town during spring tide. Unfortunately, he became hard to hear and as we were getting hungry, we left the group 15min early and made our way to the Runway Bar, where we ordered some tapas dishes and a drink and quelled our starving bellies. 

When we were done, we made our way to Morgans Camp for the Jetty to Jetty presentation. We arrived after the show had begun, entering through the lit up Shinju arch and down the lantern path. A projection of images was beamed across an old building and we stood watching and listening. As we were late, there was nowhere to sit, so we milled around at the back. It soon became clear that tonight’s performance was going to be a Q and A of 5 locals and was focussing on the Pearling history. We weren’t prepared to hang around, so we decided to make our way back home. 

While it was dark, it wasn’t a difficult run home. Two weeks in and having travelled these streets numerous times, I was beginning to feel like a local, with the twists and turns read like the back of my hand. We made it back just before 8pm. Paul put on another movie and I finished off the computer stuff, before joining him in bed. 

Day 56 - Tuesday 28 August - 2 Month Mark

Day 56

Tuesday

28 August

Broome

It is hard to believe that today marks 8 weeks on the road, where has that time gone? We woke later than usual, with no golden light streaming in through the vents to rouse as. We both rose to go to the loo, opening the door to a white blanket, we were fogged in. Our usual bright morning glow and sparkling waters were missing in action this morning and explained the horn we had heard blaring for the last little while. I guess the port didn’t want an accident. 

We returned to bed and I settled in to read my book for the next 30min. Paul laid there for a while, but soon took off for the shower and when I had read to a suitable spot of my book, I also climbed out again. We had breakfast and then readied ourselves for the day. Paul was keen to play golf, so we filled the car with the clubs and made our way to the club. 

After paying the green fees, we set about getting on to the course and following the holes, as we had done last week. Paul started the round off well, but when we reached a slow-moving group, his golfing Zen turned to golfing frustration and it was all downhill from that point on. It didn’t help that his joints were aching, which had me wondering if he had been bitten by something. 

We completed the 9 holes, glad to see the back of the course, bundled everything in the car and returned to the van. Once back, I left Paul to go and wander along the beach. The water was up as high as I have ever seen it and I had to walk on the sand, rather than the flat rocks. 

I watched for crazy crabs, that were scuttling about the beach and picked up the tiniest one to hold in my palm, before returning it to the sand. I continued to walk, disturbing a flock of seagulls resting on the shore. I watched a dozen kites circling above. At one stage, they singled out a lone seagull and I watched, believing any second it would be toast, but it flew towards me and this scared off the kites, allowing it to land safely amongst the flock. 

I turned back for home, noting that the tide was on the way out again, with a little more beach available to me. I came across a tight circle of crazy crabs of all sizes that had me intrigued. I sat and watched them for a while, they were pawing and grabbing at each other and at first were happy to have me taking photos, edging closer with each shot. Eventually they began to disband and I continued on my way back to the van. 

We made lunch and ate, before Paul laid down to watch a movie and I went off to use the free wifi, finally feeling like I was getting somewhere. I returned to the van when I was done and was just in time to see the final 15min of Creed. 

We then decided it was time to get out and walk, so we returned the smelly sneakers to our feet and wandered up the road to Matsos. We ordered a couple of drinks and then sat in the beer garden to enjoy the sunny afternoon. I did a wander through the Sobrane art gallery located in the brewery grounds. The artworks were mostly of birds, but there were also some other native wildlife species represented. I thought the works were very cool. 

When Paul finished his beer, we made our way back to the van and began putting dinner together. The town markets were on and we had to pass through it, being tempted by all of the food truck smells. Both our bellies were rumbling and eager to eat. 

After dinner, I wrote up the blog to kill time before the Staircase to the Moon was to begin at 7.15pm. We set up outside the van, finding a spot on the grass to place the tripod and then wait it out. The deep orange glow was eventually spied breaching the horizon and it wasn’t long before it was in full view. The spot we were in wasn’t the best, but seeing we had already experienced the moon rising the past two nights, it wasn’t a big deal. 

I waited for the rich, red moon to rise further into the sky, leaving its moonbeam trail behind in the mudflats and once I was satisfied with what was taken, we packed up the gear and returned to the van for the night. 

Day 55 - Monday 27 August - Chasing staircases

Day 55

Monday

27 August

Broome

Today would have been our last day, had we not extended to Friday. I would not have been ready to say goodbye. I sat in bed reading for a while, then Paul was up and eager to get the washing on. I cleaned up and sorted breakfast, while he went off for his shower and when he returned I went. We put the washing out on the line, discussed what we needed from the shop and then grabbed our bags and made for the streets. 

It was hot out in the early morning sun, the wind having dropped right off today. We made the shop by 10am, grabbed what we needed and then began the trek home, backs and hands full of groceries. We were glad to finally make it back, Paul’s arms having grown a few extra inches.

After unpacking, collecting the washing and taking a short breather, we bundled ourselves into the car and drove out to 12 Mile to check out the Mango Place. Here there were all sorts of delights made from mango. We taste tested some of the condiments, but were ever going to buy at the prices they were charging. Instead we opted for the wine and port tastings, 6 very small samples, for $5 each. They were ok, but nothing yelled out, “you must have me!”

We returned to Chinatown, parked in the undercover park of Coles and wandered across to the Dragonfly café for a mango smoothie. We sat out on the balcony watching the world go by, as we slowly drained our pineapple glass of its goodness. It took a while, the drink being super thick. 

Once the glasses were empty, we did a quick beer run and then returned to the caravan park. I dropped into the office, as they had called my phone. Turns out they had expected us to move sites today, but forgot to tell us. It all worked out in the end and we were able to stay put. 

I collected the computer and took up my usual residency at the plastic, sweat inducing table. Paul joined me shortly after and we both put the free wifi to good use. Once I had done for the day, we returned to the van for a short reprieve. 

Just after 4pm, we cleaned ourselves up and made our way to the Mangrove Hotel, in preparation for the Staircase to the moon. We followed like ants, up the hill and in through the double doors of the venue to be confronted by a sea of people and we still had almost 2 hours before the event!

We found some abandoned chairs and a small gap that we proceeded to claim as ours. I blocked off the access with the chair legs and my tripod and we began our sit in. All the while, the crowd continued to swell. We waited out our time patiently. Paul had one go at the bar, but any future efforts were thwarted by the massive lines. He managed to keep his 1 pint going for most of the evening. 

I began clock watching, eager for the event to start. A woman in front of me and with prime viewing, offered to make room for me and the camera and from that point on I was set. Paul played bouncer, ensuring all others were kept well away and I had free reign. 

We watched the tip of the bright red moon rise over the eastern horizon, moving slowly into the sky and as it did so, leaving a trail in the mudflats below. I clicked away happily, as flashes haphazardly blazed and groans of disappointment emanated from those too ignorant to turn of the illumination. 

In the end, I came away happy and we packed up, before pushing ourselves through the sea of bodies and out onto the street. We passed Elaine and Dom on our way. They had been at a spot nearby taking photos themselves. We chatted on the street, before they had to run for their bus. 

We wound our way through, the now very familiar, streets and back to Town Beach where the markets were in full swing. Backpackers of all nationalities surrounded us, foreign languages being bandied about from twenty something kids having the time of their lives. We ordered up dinner at the Mexican and then found a bench to sit down at and eat. We scoffed our food, though it was not particularly appetising and then returned to the van for the evening. I sorted through the photos, finding a couple of reasonable shots and then we retired, to recharge ourselves for another day. 

Day 54 - Sunday 26 August - Enter the dragon

Day 54

Sunday

26 August

Broome

It was yet another lazy start to the day, laying in, reading and eventually rolling out of bed for breakfast. Once the morning routine was behind us, we donned the sneakers and made our way into town, eager to check out the 3 on 3 competition happening at Male Oval. We were to be disappointed though. There was nothing happening when we arrived, even though the program said it should have started over an hour earlier. We found the info booth and enquired there, but they knew less than we did. I ended up checking the website and that had me even more confused, strike three. 

In the end, we wandered through the court market again, bought another mango smoothie and corn fritter and slowly trudged our way home again. We stopped to survey the Town Beach, where the tide was up nice and high, lapping away at the base of the groyne. 

One we were back at the van, I left Paul to his TV and went up to the Wifi spot. As no one else was around, the upload was a little quicker and I was able to add a few extra things in the time that I had. 

I returned to Paul who was just finishing watching an episode and we decided on the plan of attack for the afternoon. By 2.30pm, we were ready to wander back towards town to watch the Float Parade. We found a spot on Hamersley St and stood by ready to watch the procession. 

Sammy the Dragon, lead the way, all colour, bells and drums and this was followed by a myriad of other floats from groups within Broome. Guards from the prison hung over the wall watching the flotilla pass by. I was particularly taken with the carnival drum group, though the kids were enjoying the free lollies being tossed into the crowd. The speedway and firies soon became the favourite, bringing up the rear. Water balloons were flying through the air and catching some spectators unaware and then the water cannons were unleashed, soaking the kids and sparking the electrical wires, when the water spray forced the wires together. 

We avoided the water, by moving on down the street to the Male Oval, watching the floats go by for a second time. We then cut across the lawn and wandered into the Roey for a rest and a drink. We made ourselves at home in the beer garden amongst the Sammy the Dragon volunteers and listened to the duo playing. The parade passed outside the pub and as the fire engine drove by, Sammy the dragon reassembled and joined the end of the parade, bringing it to a close on the oval. 

We wandered back out into the mayhem, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the carnival atmosphere. We walked passed the market stalls, most now very familiar and the many food trucks. We did a few laps, before opting on Thai for dinner. We stood and scoffed our boxed meals before opting to head on up to the Mangrove Hotel for a drink. 

The Mangrove was busy with people chatting, drinking and waiting for the moon to show up. We found some stools to sit on and proceeded to wait out the time. I eventually spied a group leaving a table at the front and I was onto it like a seagull on a chip. Now we had a good vantage point. 

We waited out the next hour, before the moon finally made its showing. Unfortunately, it was still quite light, so it didn’t have the effect that I was expecting, but the purple hue was lovely in its own right. 

We left when it was obvious that the show was over and walked back to the van, settling in for the evening. I went through the days pics and then we retired to bed, another day down.