The best things to do in Broome
If you are looking for tropical weather, a place to relax and explore, look no further than Broome. This remote town in the north/west of Australia oozes history and has a relaxed Bali vibe without leaving the country.
We visited at the end of the wet season, it is quieter than the dry season, and you can pick up some good deals. Although the best time to go is dry season, the dirt roads are dry, and the humidity is low around May to October. There is plenty of tours to explore the Kimberly’s and so much more to see if you come during the dry season.
Because we came during the wet season, it rained on and off while we were here and missed a few spots we wanted to see due to road closures. Roebuck Bay is worth a visit. We researched this place, and it was at the top of our list. Things happen, and the road was closed; although if you are keen to see beautiful red cliffs leading into turquoise waters, you definitely should put it on your list. If you want to check it out, head down Crab Creek Road, which is slightly out of town.
Australias most famous pearling industry. By 1880 Broome became the Mecca for rich shell beds at Eighty Mile beach. When you walk down China Town (the central part of town), you will see all the peal jewellers. Stop by the pearler’s museum tour, or if your keen on a little more adventure, visit a pearl farm in Willie Creek or Cygnet Bay.
Aaron and I stayed in both a caravan park and a resort to get some relaxed time without Ted and the van. We found a fantastic dog sitter that worked at the information centre and gave us plenty of updates while we were at the resort.
We stayed at the RAC Cable Beach Caravan park. If you are looking for shady sites, clean amenities and a resort-style pool, this place is perfect for you. It felt relaxing, quiet, and only a short stroll to Cable Beach. There is also a Taven outside of the park, which has excellent options if you don’t feel like cooking.
The resort was just what we needed to reset. The Pearle Cable Beach was only a short drive from the caravan park and Cable Beach; The resort is made up of villas, from one-bedrooms up to four. It felt so good to cook in a large kitchen again, having naps on the couch under the aircon and swimming in your private pool. It felt like I was in Bali.
MATSO Brewery
I fell in love with their ginger beer about eight years ago, and since then, I’ve always wanted to visit the brewery here in Broome. There is a lot of variety to pick from, so give the tasting paddle ago for $13, you get five shot glasses of your choice. My favourites were ginger beer (of course), chilli ginger and hard lemon. It’s also an excellent spot for lunch. Aaron tried Barramundi, and I had the vegetarian share plate options. Matso’s have a huge beer garden, and I could see it being the spot to be during the dry season when you need a good night out.
Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park
I was pretty surprised how much I enjoyed this park. There are no bells and whistles at this park, but it is worth the visit. We learnt a lot about saltwater crocodiles and how they eat. A salty can hold its breath underwater for 7 hours and doesn’t need to feed for at least 100 days which makes them perfect semi-aquatic apex predators. They will stalk their prey for days learn their habits before they strike. So if you see crocodile sitting signs, take them seriously up north.
The park is only open for a couple of hours a day for the feeding experience. It is a refuge for rescued and troubled crocs. The ranger takes you around to each croc enclosure. The crocs know its feeding time from the vibrations on the ground of people walking around and make their way up to the gates. A few stayed in their ponds, not wanting to let us know they were there. We learnt about their behaviours; these reptiles are notoriously territorial and come plunging out of the water when they know something is in their territory.
The tickets are $35 pp for adults and $20 for children.
Cable Beach at sunset.
I am not a lover of animals for entertainment especially riding animals. But seeing the camels walking across the beach as the sun goes down is so beautiful.
When you get to cable beach, you need to walk across the rocks or drive if you have a 4WD, as you are allowed to go on the beach at low tide. They don’t walk through the on the main beach, we wondered for two days where they were.
If camels are not your thing, you can enjoy the sunset under a palm tree because the sunsets are spectacular and not to be missed. Have a drink or dinner at Sunsets Cable Beach, they have live music while you watch the sun go down.
Gantheaume Point
Located ten minutes from Broome’s town centre, Gantheaume Point follows on from Cable Beach and provides beautiful view of the pinden red cliffs cascading down to the turquoise water. When we walked down to the Gantheaume Point cliffs towards the lighthouse, you feel like you have stepped onto Mars, the rock formations are fascinating with colour’s of red yellow and pink. As you walk towards the beach and the tide is low you can find dinosaur footprints which they say are 130 million years old, we didn’t see any but we weren’t looking (we saw the sign in the car park). Relax and enjoy the rock pools or dive into the ocean off the cliffs
We wished we had more time to explore and given it was coming out of wet season there is definitely more to see. It’s a place I’ll want to see again.
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See you on the road.