Broome: a rewarding jewel at the end of a long dry road

Dear ones, please don’t be alarmed if suddenly the words drop off the paper as I fall into the first real state of relaxation for more than seven weeks.  We are in Broome.  The van was fixed yesterday so we are no longer living with the risk of roof drop. All the work is out of the way. Today it was time to chill.

Lunch at Zanders on Cable Beach included a cold mango smoothie and this view.

The bathers and umbrellas were like hundreds and thousands on the beach.

The dune plants were busy restoring the stability of the sand beneath them.

Over at the port, the commercial transactions on the jetty were taking place alongside stunning beaches, people fishing and birds sunning themselves on the rocks. It’s possible we may be here for sometime.

The Broome Cup is on tomorrow. We are planning an assault on our purses based purely on the names of the nags and the vibe of the thing. I will report the outcome as truthfully as I can bring myself to when the day is done.

Sun Pictures – Broome

in which we fly in a Caravan to find a different kind of waterfall

The sand flats and mangrove systems around Derby make spectacular views and patterns to capture. The tree-like shapes formed as the big tides recede are amazingly beautiful.

We were on a Cessna Caravan sea plane to see the famous Horizontal Falls, formed by the incoming and outgoing tides as they make their way through narrow gaps in the ranges.

The tide lines are evident on this shot.  The dark line is the oyster line.  The tides routinely fall up and down to the top of the white line every day.

We also met a few Tawny Nurse Sharks.

and were reminded that this landscape is indeed very ancient.

sunset shadows on Derby Jetty

Derby Gaol and the Boab Prison Tree

There are those who would say they do not subscribe to a black armband view of Australian history. I do not subscribe to that view. There are events in our history which we must acknowledge were inhumane and positively shameful.