Camels on Cable Beach :)

Today we got on our scooters and rode into the town of Broome to look around.  Broome is famous for its pearling industry.  

We went on a walk on a historic jetty called Streeters Jetty.  The jetty was used for unloading the pearl shell.

In the old days the pearl divers wore old diving suits and fossicked for pearl shell on the sea bed.  I had my photo taken inside one of the helmets.  It smelled like the sea inside it.

After that we went to China Town and I saw an Indigenous man playing a didgeridoo and I gave him some money.  He was very good at playing the didgeridoo.

After we finished walking around China Town we had a look at the town of Broome and we had a look at a pearl shop.  It was really beautiful and had lots of rings, pearls, necklaces and earrings.  While we were at the shop they gave an information session on Broome and pearling.  We sat down and listened to the man.  He said that pearl shell was bred on a farm and he showed us how to get the pearl out of the shell and when he got the shell open, inside it looked disgusting!  The man showed us how to pick out a nice pearl to buy.  The price of the pearl depends on how shiny it is, its size, its shape and whether it has any marks on it.

The pearl inside the pearl shell

Me looking at different coloured pearls

The world's largest best quality round pearl

While we were having lunch near Roebuck Bay I saw a man cutting down coconuts and I asked him “why are you cutting down the coconuts?” and he said “because they are yummy!” and he asked me if I would like one and I said “YES PLEASE!”

View of Roebuck Bay from the park

Boab tree in the park where we had lunch

After lunch we rode to Cable Beach which is where the old telegraph cable came across to Australia from Asia.  I had a real treat because I went camel riding.

 

When I got on my camel I had to lean back to stop myself falling over the front of my camel as it got up.  My camel’s name was Zoran.  The camel train went right along Cable Beach and back.  The beach was beautiful and had lots of nice shells on the sand.  It was REALLY REALLY FUN!

Cable Beach

This camel was groaning and getting cranky when two big people got on him.  It was really funny!

The next day we went back into Broome to see an old convent where the Sisters of St John of God looked after Aboriginal children that were taken from their parents in the old days.  I think it was really sad that the children were taken by the Government!  I saw lots of photos of the Sisters and the children’s lives at the convent.

After seeing the convent we went to the Broome Museum and saw a big old pearl diving suit.  I also saw a big decompression chamber which was used to help the divers who had become sick from diving deep and coming to the surface too fast.  This causes sickness and sometimes death for the divers.  The chamber forced oxygen into the diver’s blood and removed nitrogen which was making them sick. 

Rock formations near the Port at Broome

In another part of the museum there was lots of military artillery and I read about the Japanese attacking Broome.  I had my photo taken with a big machine gun.  It was the tail gun from a plane.  I thought the museum was fantastic!

Later in the day we went down to the port and saw big cargo ships unloading big containers.  We then went down onto the beach where there were massive big orange rock formations.  I climbed all over them.  I also kept falling into rockpools which was very annoying and uncomfortable.

Just before sunset we drove to Cable Beach to see the sunset over the ocean.  The sun sets over the ocean because it is on the west side of Australia.

Sunset over Cable Beach

The following day we left Broome and drove southwest heading towards Port Hedland.  On our way we drove through the Gibson Desert.  There were hardly any bushes but just scrub and red dirt and messy red dirt termite mounds.  These termites must be lazy because they look scrappy!  On the side of the road I also saw a huge eagle eating a dead kangaroo.

At lunchtime we decided to turn off the highway and go to Eighty Mile Beach.   We went for a walk about 3 kilometres down the beach.  The sand was pure white and the water was aqua blue.  Nan collected lots of shells and Pop found a mummified dead baby shark.  It was very cool but really stinky!  I threw it into the ocean before Nan could take a photo.

Eighty Mile Beach

We are now at Port Hedland which is a big iron ore mining town.  Port Hedland also produces salt.  We drove past large salt pans which are the areas where the sea water dries out leaving the salt behind.  I saw the salt coming out of a shoot into a massive pile.  There were also salt trucks going up and down the road carrying salt to the port to load onto the ships.

Last night we went to a lookout and I saw the huge iron ore ships through a telescope.  I could see men on the ship and I think I saw the captain because he was wearing a captain’s hat. 

That’s all for now.  Till next time goodbye :)