Broome and the Dampier Peninsula

We were sad to leave Karijini but keen to get to Broome to meet up with Jenny’s Mum and her partner, Charles.  They were also holidaying up here and it was lucky that our dates coincided.  Our good friends Jo and Darren were also in Broome with their boys, a couple of months into their own caravan adventure around Australia.  We went to visit Jo and Darren at their caravan park and while we were there Jenny bumped into our travelling friend Simon.  He, Rachel and the kids were also staying in that caravan park and we arranged to meet up at the Broome Races the coming Saturday.

Jo and Darren were heading off to explore the Gibb River Road the following day so it was a short catch up but it was so very good to see them.

We had a lovely couple of days with Jenny’s Mum.  We all went to the Malcolm Douglas Wilderness Park where we did a crocodile feeding tour and all got to hold a baby croc. 

Ben and a baby croc

We went to the races together and met up with Simon and Rachel, the kids and also with Jo’s Mum her friend who were also staying in Broome.  We had a lucky day with the horses, winning on a horse that I bet on because it had the same name as my brother and also on a box trifecta that we only learned how to place from Rachel.  

Ben and Jamie dancing at the races.  Nice air Ben!

 It was a really hot day and as we left later in the afternoon we got a text from Ross, Barbara and Daniel telling us that they were on Cable Beach having a swim and waiting for sunset.  We were keen to catch up so we joined them and it was awesome.  You can drive onto the beach and along the sand until you find a spot that suits.  It’s pretty packed, like a big 4WD car yard with cars stretching for miles along the long white stripe of sand.  The water was really warm and sunset was spectacular, particularly when the camel ride trains walked by casting their long, interesting shadows across the sand.  

On the sand at Cable Beach.  Drive to where you want to swim and park!

Ben and Daniel

Lombadina

Ros and Charles headed off on a boat tour for a week so we left the caravan in Broome and drove north up to the Dampier Peninsula.  We stayed 5 nights in an Aboriginal Community called Lombadina.  The road up there is really corrugated dirt and very rough in parts before suddenly becoming bitumen after about 100km.  There are numerous types of accommodation available up there, ranging from unpowered tent sites in smaller communities, to luxury cabins at the Kooljaman Resort (those are very $$).  We chose something in between.  We didn’t have the van because it would have got trashed going up that road but we also didn’t feel like spending a week in the tent because we are about to spent 3 or so weeks in it when we travel the Gibb River Road.  Lombadina is an Aboriginal Community stay and we booked a single room that had enough beds, tea and coffee making facilities, small bar fridge and aircon.  There were shared bathrooms and a well-equipped camp kitchen.  It was reasonably priced and perfectly fine for us.  We planned to do day trips to the other areas up there that we wanted to see.

The first thing we noticed about Lombadina was that was really quiet.  We’re pretty sure we were the only guests and after looking around the community we weren’t even sure how many permanent residents the community had.  There is a bakery (open Mon, Wed and Fri), a store, a clinic, a craft shop, a school and a beautiful old church.   We had hoped that there would be lots of people around and kids for Ben to play with but it wasn’t the case.  Their beach is a 5min 4WD / 30 min walk through deep, soft sand and it is spectacular.  We went down for a swim at sunset and had miles of white sand and warm water to ourselves.  The sunset was bright orange and reds and we had a completely unobstructed view.

Beautiful beach all to ourselves

Sunset

We did several day trips.  We went up to the Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm, where we ushered Ben out of the swanky pearl showroom after he broke a pot plant and then we swam in their pool because the beach had crocs.  We saw One Arm Point, where we visited the aquaculture hatchery and were lucky enough to tag along with a tour group as the guide explained about the different sea creatures there.  We also watched the tide rip past in between the islands there.  The speed of the current is phenomenal as the 10-12m tides rush through.  This area has the second highest tide differential in the world (behind Nova Scotia where the tides span 18-20m) and is the location of the famous Horizontal Falls.

Crocs closed the beach so into the pool it was!

Lombadina is run by a large family, headed by their matriarch, Caroline.  Several brothers manage different aspects of the community and it is a tightly run place.  The grounds are clean and tidy, everyone has a job to do and it is quiet and beautiful.

We spent an afternoon mud crabbing with one of the brothers, Gary.  He had been crabbing there since his childhood and it was clear that he knew every part of his land in detail.  He picked us up in his 4WD and we drove on narrow tracks, turning here and there and eventually popping out above the mangroves where a creek met the sea.  We jumped out and he gave us a long metal pole each with a hook at each end.  One end was a handle and the other was to hook the crab.  We walked through the mud and shallows of the creek poking the poles into all the holes under the mangrove plants, hoping to hear the clack of it hitting a shell.  We didn’t have much luck.  The tide was out and the creek bed was just sand and puddles so we walked deeper upstream seeking out the elusive mud crabs.  We could see that Gary was surprised that there were none there and he hypothesised that perhaps the very poor wet season had caused a decline in numbers.   As we trekked deeper and deeper into the mangroves we met more and more mozzies and despite having put on repellent, we were absolutely hammered.  Still, there were no crabs.  As we crossed the wide creek bed to check out the mangroves on the other side we came across hundreds and hundreds of little orange and blue soldier crabs.  They are about the size of a 50c piece and they were all over the ground.  Ben was a bit freaked out and wanted to be carried, which was problematic because he is pretty heavy and we had a long way to walk.  Gary saved the day by picking up a soldier crab and when it rolled itself into a ball, plonking it in Ben’s hand.  The crab unfurled, crawled across Ben’s palm and in not nipping him, became his new best friend.  From that moment onwards Ben cared nothing for mud crabs and just wanted to pick up and play with all the soldier crabs.  

Mud, mangroves and mozzies.  No crabs though...

 After about 3 hours of slogging through mud we decided to call it a day.  Gary had only found one big crab and it had given up both its claws before scurrying away (they drop them when threatened and then grow new ones).  He had seen a smaller on back near the car so he grabbed that one, although it only had one claw.  Even though all we had to show for several hours slogging through mud, sand and mozzies was one small crab and 3 claws we had a brilliant afternoon.  It was an experience like no other and we loved learning from Gary and hearing about the land.  That evening, Gary cooked up the catch for us and we all shared crab and some kebabs that we had made.

Crab fear cured!

The following day we went on a fishing charter with Gary’s brother Robert.  Two other guests came along as well and we set off from Lombadina beach.   In stark contrast to the mud crabbing, this turned out to be a fish fest.  Almost as soon as our sinkers hit the bottom we had a fish on so it was an exciting day.  We ended up throwing back lots of fish as we had plenty in the ice box.  Robert also said that his people throw back the really big fish as they don’t taste as nice.  After a couple of hours we stopped fishing and headed into the mangrove creek area that we had been crabbing in the previous day.  This time the tide was in so the sand we had walked over was under a couple of metres of water.  We saw stingrays and small sharks and lots of fish as we motored towards a small beach that Robert’s family regularly swim at.  Ben was calling out to his soldier crab friends and was disappointed that he couldn’t see any of them.

Family fun on the boat

Jenny and Benny catch a big one!

Robert anchored the boat just off the beach and the others jumped in for a swim.  I stayed to watch Robert filet the fish and learn any tricks he might have.  I was keeping a close eye on the water, slightly worried about crocs and those sharks and rays we had just seen. This concern increased when Robert started casually throwing the fish carcasses overboard once he had finished with them.  Luckily the others took this as a sign that lunch was imminent and they came back to the boat.

After lunch we motored to a couple of other spots and the fish just kept coming.  We ended up with a very nice haul and decided that we would all meet at the camp kitchen for a communal cook up at dinnertime.  It was a fantastic night.  Our fishing companions Rohan and Chantelle were there as well as Robert, his partner Amanda and three kids.  We all contributed vegetables and salads to accompany the beautiful fish.  We sat outside in the warmth and talked while the kids all ran around in the dark.  It was a real community experience and exactly what we had been hoping for from an Aboriginal Community Stay. 

On our last day we drove up to Cape Leveque to visit the Kooljaman resort.  It is a modern resort that was full of tourists and had a restaurant and gift shop.  We had to pay for a day pass each to enter and it was going to be an additional $25 to take the car through their gates.  We decided to walk, but the path down to the western beach is a sandy road and walking it was a pain.  Ben got tired in the heat and was a bit unwell so halfway down he refused to go any further.  Jenny ended up going down by herself, taking some photos and coming back up.  You can’t swim at that beach because of the strong currents and it pissed us off that they would expect us to pay $25 to drive down there.  We walked across to the swimming beach, checking out the lighthouse on the way.  The beach is nice, with white sand and warm water but the Lombadina beach is much better.  Kooljaman would be a nice place to stay if you didn’t mind the expense and wanted to have a restaurant and resort style facilities but we decided that we preferred our more budget, community style digs.

We headed back to Broome and met up with Jenny’s Mum and Charles again.  They had just returned from their boat trip and were preparing to head back to Melbourne.  We also heard from Ross and Barbara who were back in Broome too and while we visited them one afternoon we also bumped into Rachel and the kids.  Simon, Rachel, Ross and Barbara had all met at a campsite a few days prior and we laughed about how everyone knew each other now. 

Ben and Daniel get along famously and have become inseparable.  Ross had hurt his leg pretty badly while we were at Lombadina and they have to stay in Broome for another week or so while he heals.  Our caravan park is considerably cheaper than theirs so they have moved and are now set up next to us.  The boys are thrilled.  

We have had a brilliant time with Barbara, Ross and Daniel.  We went to the circus, we've swum at the beach and pool, been fishing, seen dinosaur fossil footprints at Gantheume Point and had to cancel a few trips to Cable Beach due to crocodiles!  We are very glad we got some good beach swims in when we arrived as we have not been able to go for the last 3 days.  We bumped into Jo and Darren and the boys on Cable Beach the other day and it was awesome to catch up again.

Ben and Daniel made a crab racing circle

We head off along the Gibb River Road tomorrow and will be out of service range for around 3 weeks.  We will also be leaving the caravan behind in storage and doing it all in the tent which will be a big adventure.  Jo and Darren gave us some good tips as they have just arrived back from the Gibb which was excellent and fortuitous timing!