| 25 August 2004 |
| ...So as we settled into "Broometime", we were impressed with our hostel, it was like a resort, complete with pool and palm trees!! We spent our 4 days in Broome mostly at Cable Beach, sunbathing and splashing around in the warm ocean (who wouldn't?!), checking out the nightlife, and I went to my first ever horse-racing meet!! It was a fab day, and I really enjoyed it...got a bit carried away and bet on all 6 races, but my backpacker budget only allowed me to put a dollar on each race, so no huge losses!! I did have the biggest win out of our group, a huge $3.50, finishing the day down by only 50 cents!! Can't complain I guess!! We got to check out the famous "camels on Cable Beach"....every day tourists can take a trek along the beach on camels....camels are wild animals in big numbers around Australia, and this country is the largest exporter of camels to the rest of the world would you believe it?! The sunset rides in Broome are the most famous, and provide an essential Broome photo opportunity!! So I couldn't resist...take a look at the pics...it was a beautiful sight, the sunset was one of the nicest I've seen so far in Australia! We got to meet up briefly with some mates we met in Perth, who had been following us up the coast...we found that this was a common thing...coz most meople are stopping at the same sights you can get to a new town, walk into a hostel or bar and recognise someone, it was great! Our time to leave Broome had come, and reluctantly we left this laid-back sunny town, on another "Easyrider" bus to head up to Kununurra, and our next "jump off" point for a few days. Kilometres of driving later, we spent the night at a campground in Fitzroy Crossing, where there was a decided lack of cooking facilities...so we improvised and cooked baked beans in the tin in the fire, and toast over the flames! It was fab!! Love this camping thing...food always tastes so much nicer when cooked on an open campfire!! We stopped the next day for a boat cruise along Geike Gorge, a beautiful river filled gorge with alot of Aboriginal significance. This is another site which has been returned to it's Aboriginal owners, and our tour was run by Aboriginal tour guides, which was a pleasant surprise...it was nice to hear first hand the stories and importance of the area. The river & gorge is inhabited by a whole load of freshwater crocodiles, and we saw quite an abundance of them!! So when our tour guide offered us a swim in the river, we all politely declined!! Apparently the "freshies" are not violent towards humans like the "salties" (saltwater crocs) are, but there was no way I was getting in!! We arrived into Kununurra, and another champagne sunset on "Kelly's Knob" the highest point in the area and a great vantage for the surroundings. We had arranged to go on a tour of the "Bungle Bungles" at Purnululu National Park, a recommendation from a Norwich work colleague (thanks Pete!), but the tour had been delayed by a day, so gave us a well-needed break before we headed out again. So with a free evening, we headed with our tour group to the local pub for a spot of karaoke!! We had an amazing following 2 days in the "Bungle Bungles"!! There are 2 main parts to the park, the gorge side and then the "beehive" section. After a long and very bumpy 4WD track to get into the park, we did the gorge walks on the first day, walking through "Echidna Casm", where parts of it narrowed to a body width! Was exciting, had never been in anything like that before. We weere reminded of the Aboriginal Dreamtime creation stories for how the area was made, and then up to a huge limestone ridge for sunset. Typical for us, we got lost fiding our way back down to the campsite and turned up almost late for dinner!! Oops! Most of the rest of our tour guide were alot older than us, so we could just see them disapproving!! (Thank God you girls were there Kerry & Raine!!) Well, the campsite was very posh, with an enclosed kitchen and running water and a dinner table and everything!? And the food was beautiful...cheese and biscuits...on a backpacker tour?! We weren't complaining though!! After roasting marshmallows, we settled into our swags for the night, and it was surprisingly warm inside them compared to our experience at Ayers Rock!! We were woken the next morning by our tour guide just as the sun was rising, and the sky was beautiful!! This was the part of the tour I was looking forward to, as we headed to the "beehive domes"...they're alternate layers of rock, formed by alot of erosion, and are stunning to look at, and make you feel very insignificant to stand beside!! This being the dry season, allowed us to do a huge walk along the dry creek bed, which was beautiful in itself, with the river having carved interesting shapes in the rock. Into "Cathedral Gorge" on the way back...a huge cavern carved by the river, and a stone-skimming contest in the lake there!! Unfortunately we didn't get a chance to stop at the local Aboriginal culture centre, due to a few of the older members of our group dawdling and holding up the rest of us, which was disappointing, as it would have been good to have put everything we'd seen into context, but these things happen! It was still a beautiful part of the world and another fab experience!! |
| "Bound for Broometime & the Bungles!!" - part 2 |