Half-Lap Day 72: Broome

It was my friend’s birthday, so she and I were up early and went into the beach together, leaving the guys to look after the kids when they all woke up. We walked north along Cable Beach for ages, talking about all sorts of things and really rejuvenating ourselves. We saw lots of amazing shells (including one that was so orange, it looked like it had been painted), and crabs, and lots of changing light patterns on the water. It was cloudy when we got there and the ocean was a deep grey, then it lightened as the sun got higher and was sparkly at times when the sun broke through the clouds. It was a little windy and the sand was swirling around but it wasn’t too uncomfortable.

View over the rocks (low tide) towards Gantheaume Point

Eventually we turned around and walked back, seeing 2 of the camel trains on the way, and had great views across the rocks and now blue water towards Gantheaume Point. We walked up to the Sunset Bar and Grill and sat outside overlooking the ocean, and had a coffee (my first real (well, de-caf) coffee in many many years – it was delicious!). All around us people were eating a yummy looking buffet breakfast – my friend’s mum had given her some money to spend on something frivolous on her trip, so we splashed out and bought breakfast. It was quite magnificent, bacon and eggs and sausages and mushrooms and tomatoes and potatoes, which we followed up with pastries and yoghurt and fruit and muesli. It was so wonderful to have a long uninterrupted stretch of time with a good friend, and to add great food and a magnificent view into it – it was a great morning.

Our view while we ate breakfast

We went back to the caravan park and hung out with everyone else for the rest of the morning. We prepared some food for dinner (actually I didn’t help, the other 3 adults did the preparation, I was pottering around at our tent) and the kids played on their ipads, played with their toys, and rode their bikes around. LiAM borrowed one of the other girl’s bikes and had a practice on something bigger than Millie’s, and liked it, so we’re on the lookout for a bike that size for him.

After lunch the others went in to Broome to have a bit of a look around, and we stayed at the tent for a bit longer. Tony took the girls for a swim in the pool, then we got ready and went to Cable Beach for one last high tide swim. We got there just after high tide, and it hadn’t been a huge one (around 7 metres, the first day we were there the tide was 9m). We hired a boogie board and headed out into the water (Tony and Millie stayed in the car for a while reading Millie’s new Barbie book, Millie wasn’t keen on swimming in the ocean). The waves were quite gentle today, more like the first day we swam at Cable Beach. Every now and then though there was a bigger one, and Caitlin rode the first wave she attempted all the way in to the shore. She had a few goes then handed over to LiAM, who also caught a few waves. Caitlin had another go and didn’t get many waves, then gave the board to me – I didn’t catch anything. The one wave that might have been big enough, I got scared at the last minute and didn’t commit fully, so I missed it, and everything else wasn’t quite strong enough. Caitlin got out to check the time and found our friends from Kings Canyon. The boy grabbed his board and came out to join us, and Millie’s friend wasn’t using hers so said Caitlin could borrow it, which meant LiAM could hang on to the one we’d hired. The three of them happily caught waves for a while, then our friends from home arrived and hired boards as well, and joined my kids in the waves. Millie was at the beach by now, and played with her friend on the sand.

It was still quite windy and nowhere near as warm as it had been – the water was cold when we first got in then lovely once we were wet, but the breeze when we were out of the water was very chilly. We stayed in the water as long as we could – until the beach hut was packing up and we needed to return the boogie boards. The kids had a great time with the boards and I enjoyed being in the water one last time here, especially as sunset approached. Millie got into her swim

mers and jumped over the waves at the shore, but didn’t come all the way in. We returned the boards then popped back in for a little bit more of a swim, then got out to shower and get changed. The kids played on the sand for a while, we chatted to both sets of friends, then once the sun had set we left the beach and went back to camp.

We joined our friends at their van for a birthday dinner – slow cooked potatoes with bacon, onion and coleslaw, really delicious. We provided the wine. It was a lovely relaxing evening with great company. The evening was definitely the coolest we’ve had in a long time, we all got our jackets out and the wind made things a little uncomfortable. We were laughing though as it was barely under 20 degrees and at home it’s barely making it over 10 degrees in the daytime – will be a bit of a shock for us as we head south into colder weather!

We had cheesecake and chocolate Bavarian for dessert, then spent more time looking at maps and comparing notes on where we’d been and where we want to go, giving each other tips on campsites and activities. Everyone was really tired so after a cup of tea we headed back to our own tent and all got ready for bed. Caitlin got in her tent but it was too windy so moved her bed back into our tent and we read a chapter of Inheritance.