Broome

New-to-us Port #3.

Having completed the immigration formalities yesterday as we were sailing from Bali to Australia, we were ready to disembark Regatta as soon as it was cleared. The complimentary shuttle took us from the port to Napier Terrace in Broome.

Even as we got off the bus, we noted how quiet everything seemed to be. We had a few ideas about what we wanted to do, including going heli-sightseeing. But were hoping for a bit more information before making a decision. So, we asked the two people greeting the bus for directions to the Visitor Center and headed off to ask some questions.

We found the VC alright … locked up tight and closed until 8 January! That pretty much proved to be the case almost everywhere in Broome … except for the supermarkets, a few cafés, and some shops. The landmarks, including the museum, were closed. Why so with a ship-full of people in town? For one thing, this is off-season hereabouts. For another, the week following the ringing in of the new year seems to be a popular time for extended holidays and closures.

So, we hopped on the Broome Explorer, a city bus that not only provides regular transportation, but also serves as a Ho-Ho if you buy the day pass. We didn’t. We just paid the fare for a trip out to Cable Beach, said to be one of the top-five beaches in the world … Mui could swim and we could later get a bite to eat at Zanders.

The plan didn’t work out as expected, but it did give us something fun to do and rescued the day from being a total failure. For one thing, there was a strong, refreshing breeze that helped mitigate the hot temperature. For another thing, the scenery was beautiful … a long stretch of white sand under brilliant blue skies … rimmed with turquoise water on one side and a band of green consisting of palm trees, dune vegetation, and lush grass on the other side.

The surprising thing was that the long expanse of beach was all but deserted. I saw two people sunning themselves, and as the day progressed, some people came out for a stroll. That was it. Off-season? Yes. Stinger season? Yes. Rough surf? Yes. Then, there is that estuarine crocodile 🐊 sighted in the water yesterday … a definite deterrent to swimming no matter how inviting the water looked.

So, Mui headed over to Zanders to get us a table. I went for a stroll to take photos before joining him. Good food. Ordered the Trawler’s Catch to share … Exmouth prawns, calamari, Thai fish cakes, spring rolls, and baked scallops. We supplemented it with an order of pumpkin & feta arancini. We washed it all down with beverages from Matzo’s, a local brewery … ginger beer for me and mango beer for Mui. I’d rate mine OK … Mui’s drink didn’t have much flavor.

Returning to the ship early, we relaxed until dinner time … just as Regatta pulled away from its berth to continue south along the Western Australia coast.Read more