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.