Thursday, 20 September 2018

Day 17 – Cable Beach, Broome

Probably the most iconic attraction at Broome is Cable Beach which is located approximately 6km from the town.  The beach is named after the 1889 Java to Australia telegraph cable which came ashore here.  The former cable station is now the Broome Courthouse which (purely by accident) I happened to photograph as it was adjacent to the Saturday Market.
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Cable Beach is 22km long and almost flat.  This means when the tide is out there is plenty of beach.   4x4 vehicles are permitted at the northern end of the beach with the southern end the exclusive domain of pedestrians.  When we walked down to the beach a Ranger was parked at the vehicle ramp to ensure all vehicles went north.
The northern end is also where you can take on of Broome’s iconic camel rides.  Monique is a keen equestrian and very interested in riding a camel.  Three camel companies operate, Red, blue and Yellow.  The most expensive time to book a ride is at sunset where you can ride along the beach as the sun sets into the Indian Ocean.  Monique opted for the cheaper afternoon trek on the Blue Camels.
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Northern end of the beach looking south
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“The Rocks” an area vehicles need to traverse when entering or exiting the beach
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You get introduced to your camel.  Monique & Carlin meet Jabul, who didn’t appear to be all that interested! Smile
A camel rises on it’s hind legs first and then front. This creates a forward and rear tipping motion for the rider.  Hence the grab handles on the saddle
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And they are off…… 
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I gave Carlin the action camera and asked him to record some footage.

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Eventually they returned.  But not before Jabul decided to bite the rear end of the girl riding the camel in front! LOL
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We were now starting to get hungry and Carlin suggested we eat at Cable Bay Resort across from the beach.
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They settled on a pizza whilst I opted for a hamburger and chips washed down with a cold bottle of Crown Lager (or two).
Then we realised the sun was setting.  Time to grab the cameras and try for that elusive sunset photo.
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I was reminded of an Australian I met 25 years earlier.  He lived on the east coast and had only seen the sun rise out of the Pacific Ocean.  At 62 he visited Perth and saw the sun set into the ocean for the first time!

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