Day Two of our West Australian escape begins with a flight delay. There are issues with the plane, so it’s about 1pm by the time we finally land in Broome.
After checking into our accommodation at the Bali Hai resort near Cable Beach, we catch the local bus into town. But we miss our stop and end up at The Mangrove Hotel instead.
The hotel is perched on the edge of a bay, with a beer garden looking out over the turquoise sea.
It’s famed for being a great spot to see the Staircase to the Moon – the rising of a full moon reflecting off the exposed mudflats in Roebuck Bay at extremely low tide creates an optical illusion of a stairway.
Apparently it looks like this:
The spectacular sight occurs for a few days each month from March through to November. We missed it by one day, sadly. Instead, we settled at a waterfront table to order a late lunch: broccoli, walnut and feta salad for me and a burger for DD. It was a great spot to soak up the dramatically different vista to the east coast.
Our plan was to wander down the hill afterwards and explore the town, but we ran out of time. DD had organised to meet up with a friend in Broome and she texted to say she’d be picking us up in less than an hour to head to Cable Beach for sunset drinks.
We raced back to the Bali Hai without stepping foot in town, which was a pity as Chinatown is apparently worth a visit and features a few cool small bars.
But I can’t complain because having sunset drinks at Cable Beach was stunning. We sipped spritzes and wine as the sun slipped down in the sky and the famed camels ambled across the sand.
I would like to take credit for the amazing photo of the camels, but I stole it from a thoroughly nice bloke called Barry, who I met the next day on our transfer bus to our cruise. Barry looks and talks like a larrikin, but he’s also an excellent observer and photographer.
We enjoyed a glorious few hours at Cable Beach, which made it feel like our holiday had well and truly begun.
I made the most of my last night of wi-fi to publish a blog post announcing I’d be off air for a while and put a happy snap on Instagram.
Then it was back to our two-storey accommodation at the Bali Hai, which featured a signature Broome detail – outdoor bathrooms … it’s quite the experience to sit on the loo under the stars. Then it was time for an early night before the next day’s big event: boarding the Reef Prince for a 10-day cruise of The Kimberley.
Song of the day: The Bangles “Walk like an Egyptian” (camel reference)
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