Spunkeymonkey does Broome in winter

It's my 3rd time out to Broome in the past 18 months or so. I've been pretty lucky in experiencing the Wet and Dry seasons here. Broome time is a different beast altogether and i do not think i can get used to that!.

An example: clients never arrive on-time. If their appointment is at 1400, they'll get there exactly 1405 or later. Of course, if they have to wait..then all hell breaks loose. Realistically, if everyone came in 5-10 minutes late, one session taking 15 minutes or more, then by the 4th person you can easily face wait periods of more than 30 minutes. So, do people bother showing up early?. Do they call beforehand if late?. Nope. I hate Broome-time. I am given to understand it is because it is relaxed and laidback and dreamy here but No. It is rudeness.

Broome in winter though,ah it is so nice (for me). The last few days have been cool in the mornings, enough for a light sweater and then heating up nicely to 30 degrees celcius and then at night cold enough that snuggling under a duvet is heavenly.

Today has been wonderful. I had stayed up late after a "house-warming" party at this new residence. All the key players showed up and it was fun and loud and lots of laughter. After all the rest left to watch Paul Kelly, i cleaned up, had a nap in preparation for footy. Dazed and delirious, saw that Germany won, tried to watch the Tour de France (at this point it was 0130h) and then conked out. Received text from Festival Virgin who was at Hop Farm fest in the UK, at that point it was 3 in the morning and i was still awake because i was bloody hungry but too lazy to get up.Finally got up and received rather cryptic message "Good advice about the wet wipes". Let us not ponder deeply about situations at music festivals requiring wet wipes. I put a mental block each time after a festival.

Knowing that i had sea-kayaking planned later at 250p.m, rather groggily and looking like a rock band groupie after a Hard Night with the band, i started walking on Cable Beach. It was ideal. Strong winds to drown out me singing-along to Goldfrapp's Supernature, cold enough to prevent my muscles overheating and full of life at 7a.m. By the time i finished Supernature and got on to Basement Jaxx it was nearly 9a.m and i had bloody well nearly walked all the way to Gantheaume Point!. A bit too much fun there yowling like a kitty cat but i climbed back into bed after doing all the exercises and stretches the physio taught me for my back.

Ah, my back. I have a torn QL, likely small tears in its attachments to T12-L1, a "divot" in my erectus spinae along T9-T12 and of course some minor disc compression L5-S1. For all that, i thank god for mental strength and general stubborness because i believe that's why i've still managed to get back to work full-on and recovering adequately just 2 weeks after the incident. I am still extremely pissed at DR CJ from DoctorCall at 121, Harley Street who basically said "It's just soft tissue and i won't examine further because you are just too sore". Right, thanks mate. I can't get registered as a GP in your country but i think that's just bloody crap. I have to say this is why i still trust Traditional Chinese Medicine doctors and other allied health like Chiropractors and Physios because they do listen to you and they do trust you. I'm a GP myself and i would never let someone leave after falling down a flight of stairs without checking them out. Or at least give the number and address of some allied health professionals so that early therapy can be started. Big breath out....

Sadly, kayaking has been cancelled as it's a bit choppy out there in the bay with all this gusty winds. I think another walk is called for but i'll make it reasonable, maybe 40 minutes instead of 2 hours plus.

It is wonderful up here at this time of year.

Spunkeymonkey does Cape Leveque

 

Short 1 day trip to Dampier Peninsula courtesy of Kimberley Wild adventures based in Broome. We had an early start to the day, with the massive 4WD truck/bus picking up passengers at 650a.m. I was picked up from Cable Beach Club Resort which was about 10 minute walk from my current accommodation.

There were 17 of us, a good mix of newlyweds, older couples and a very fun bunch of Spanish emigres who are from Melbourne. I especially enjoyed listening to Estella, a very cheerful and sprightly Nanna from Spain, telling me about their family, how they live in Spain and her grandchildren. What can i say, a lot of oldies remind me of my own Gran who i wish we travel a lot more!.

The ride started off smoothly but once we got onto the turn-off to the Dampier Peninsula is what like riding a wild thing. The recent late heavy rains had caused deep corrugations in the road,and had covered bitumen with the bright red Kimberley soil. No sleeping on this trip!. The rough and wild ride lasted nearly an hour. It was with great relief we stumbled off the bus to visit Beagle Bay indigenous community. The main attraction here is the Sacred Heart Church which is has an altar made of Mother of Pearl and decorated with shells. A compact church, it serves the Aboriginal community of Beagle Bay. A quick morning tea courtesy of our guides with Anzac biscuits and Fruit cake. An unexpected attraction was a visit by a curious lad and his wonderfully adorable dog.

After a refreshing tea break, it was back on the bus to One Arm Point community. Both Beagle Bay and One Arm Point are self administered Indigenous communities and they are alcohol free. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beagle_Bay_Community,_Western_Australia)

One Arm Point is located on King Sound, which is a large bay that extends all the way to Derby about 200km away. Looking out North, you can see Thursday Island and the rapid and powerful tides that will give rise to the Horizontal Waterfalls. If the wave energy or current energy was ever harnessed, there would be enough energy to power the whole of Australia (according to our guide!).

At One Arm Point, we visited an amazing hatchery: breeding anemones, soft coral, barramundi, clown fish and greenback turtles. Some of these marine creatures were found in trouble and then rehabilitated here. I loved it as i fed one of the turtles and got to scratch their shells!. Apparently, turtles love having their shells scratched. All you had to do was be a bit careful where you position your fingers. If it is too much in their faces, watch out!.

Feeding barramundi was a highlight as well. These fish are agile and powerful. As soon as they grow to a 100cm long, it's barbecue time. There was also a Lion Fish:spectacular and deadly. Being able to gently stroke anemones and soft coral that are grown there was another highlight. A special species, Magnificent Anemones is home to clown fish and quite essential for their survival. Smaller clown fish hide amongst the tendrils and are kept safe from bigger clown fish that would have simply ate them!. Clown fish are very advanced. They are all born male and then if water temperatures rise to more than 25 degrees celcius they become female. In another circumstance, if a female clown fish is eaten, the male will change and become a female.

Barramundi are interesting too. As soon as they grow to 4-5kg, they switch over and become female. I would not mess with barramundi though. Just eat 'em.

Another highlight at the hatchery was lovely shells polished to a sheen for sale. Some of these shells were made into lovely bangles. As i did not know we could have purchased, i was short of money!. So sad, but i do recommend them as you cannot buy them anywhere else and the bangles are gorgeous.

After spending close to an hour at the hatchery, we stopped by the shore to get a closer look at the rapid tides going across King Sound. In the hazy blue horizon, a faint outline of Sunday Island can be seen.

15 minutes away was out next stop, Kooljaman resort, the only one in the area. Kooljaman is administered by the Indigenous community there. It is strongly advised to make bookings early on. Space is very limited at Kooljaman. However, it's location close to One Arm Point is well-worth the trip. It is MUCH cheaper to take a flight to view the Horizontal Falls from Kooljaman than from Broome ($290 vs $575 or $690 depending which company you go with). A very short and cheery lunch was had in one of the thatched shelters close to the beach. At this point it was midday and broiling.

Quite a few brave souls headed out to the beach for a dip. Sadly, they reported to me it felt more like a hot bath than a refreshing dip. Another quick tea and coffee and we were off to visit Lombadina.

Lombadina is another Aboriginal community of the Dampier peninsula. The main attraction there would be the Bush Church which is a wooden structure. It is quite rickety now but charming in its way. Lombadina was our last stop and our way back, Jeff our guide pointed out Cygnet Bay-a pearl farm. Cygnet Bay used to be closed to the public but now people can come and visit and there are tours from Broome that stop here as part of the Horizontal Falls trip.

The ride back was certainly wild and bone-shaking for about 2 hours. I swear, at times i flew up out of my seat, restrained only by the seatbelt. Sticky, tired but rather happy, i was dropped of at Cable Beach Club resort. Definitely recommend traveling with this company as you are well-fed on their trips.

1.www.kimberleywild.com.au
2.Horizontal Falls:
http://www.horizontalfalls.com.au/
www.kimberleyextreme.com.au/
www.bushflight.com.au/horizontal-falls-tour.php