Meanwhile, In Broome

Today it’s a very pleasant day in Broome in Western Australia’s Kimberley region.  It’s only 29°C (84.2°F).  It’s supposed to be much hotter, but then it’s only 9:00 am and there’s a little cloud cover.  Just for the record though, the humidity is 91%.

Last night there was a thunderstorm and a bit of rain.  It’s the first rain we’ve had for quite some time.  Though there was a few light sprinkles while we were in Rockingham, I think the last time rain kept us inside was back at the beginning of December when we were at Nannup, so this is a most welcome change given the extreme heat we’ve been experiencing.

We’ve been in Broome for six days now.  With the chance of rain keeping us inside this morning, I thought I’d update you on everything we’ve been up to.

We’re actually staying at Cable Beach and the park manager told me “This is not Broome!”  Silly me, though Broome is less than 10 minutes away (by car).

We’ve been down on the beach to see the sunset a couple of times, yet we still haven’t seen a breathtaking one.

Ok, that’s pretty spectacular, but you need a little cloud cover to upgrade it to breathtaking in my books.

As per my Photo of the Week earlier today, we went to on a tour at Willie Creek Pearl Farm and it was fantastic.  From the moment we arrived and entered the showroom to ‘check in’, until we left, we were made to feel as though we were the most important people on the planet.  Dean just said “We were, because we he had a wallet!”

Dean helping Paula open the oyster

The inside complete with Pea Crab and a Keshi Pearl

Mabe Pearls – see the ‘seed’ on the outer two?

Me wearing a $35,000 necklace

Our guide for the tour, Paula, was amazing, very knowledgeable and funny.  She involved everyone as she took us through an informative session about the cultured pearl industry.  We got to learn all about the life of the oysters, how pearls are cultured aka Mikimotto style, and how they then go on the develop into exquisite gems.  We even watched a marine biologist seed mabe pearls.

This would have to be the best tour we’ve been on, and real value for money.

(Yes, a pearl left with us, it’s been packed away until our wedding anniversary in October.)

From one type of Kimberley creature to another, our next stop was the Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park.  Dean was in his element, imitating Steve Irwin and saying “Crikey!  Did you see that!” at ever turn.

For my part, I was ok until they started feeding the 70 males in the biggest enclosure.  With only a little fence between me and the man with the food, and a smaller fence between him and the very hungry crocodiles, my adrenaline was through the roof and all the more so once they started snapping and growling.

After all that excitement, I needed something to calm my nerves and reduce my heart rate somewhat, and a cruise in Roebuck Bay, looking for Snubfin Dolphins with Whale Watching Broome was the perfect remedy.

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Roebuck Bay, on the Western Australian Kimberley coast, is a ‘hotspot’ of Snubfin Dolphin concentration with a known population of at least 161 individuals identified.

The Snubfin Dolphin closely resembles the Irrawaddy dolphin and was not described as a separate species until 2005.  It is the first new dolphin species to be discovered in 56 years.  You can read more about the Snubfin Dolphin here.

I’m so pleased we had the opportunity to see these rare dolphins.

We have another couple of days before we move on with our next stop most likely Fitzroy Crossing on our way to Kununurra and eventually across the border and into the Northern Territory.