Midnight at the Oasis (Broome)

The day began as usual with breakfast at the Bar and Grill. Nothing to report really. Another perfect day in paradise. Blue skies that go on for ever and a sparkling turquoise ocean. I could sit here forever. Going back to work on Monday is certainly going to be a shock for the system.

A little dude at the jetty

We went for a walk on the beach post breakfast as has become the routine. The heat builds quickly, so it is advisable to do as much activity in the morning as you possibly can and then hide from the afternoon heat. Not possible for us today as we have a Jetty to Jetty tour booked for the afternoon. As it turned out we were the only passengers on the coach - read minibus. What attracted us to this tour was the cultural underpinning. We had also seen something similar, I thought the same, on another site that was actually conducted by a local Aboriginal man. I was a little disappointed to be greeted by a white bus driver, who, it turns out, is from Cairns. Another person here for work in the dry season.

The cultural component of the tour was delivered by cd over the sound system on the bus. Not quite the real thing. The stories were interesting and it is a good way to orient yourself in Broome and identify places to visit later. If you have the luxury of time that is, which we do not. It is peak season and many of the options we looked at were fully booked. The tour went from Streeter's Jetty in Chinatown to the old jetty at Town Beach covering points of interest in between.

The Sun Pictures is the longest running open air picture theatre in the world and opened in 1913. It is quite unremarkable in the current age, but in its day was incredible. On a big tide the patrons would have to wade through water as they exited the theatre. The foyer has memorabilia dating back to the early days of the theatre, cameras, photographs, advertisements and a rickshaw. There was of course, segregation and seating was arranged accordingly. In a counter intuitive move the indigenous were placed at the back of theatre and would have been the last to get wet on a rising tide. The children were seated on the floor at the very front of the theatre. About this I make no comment, imagine a wry smile on my face dear reader.

A photo of a photo of high tide

The statue

The pearl masters regularly used the local aboriginal population as divers, even though they weren't supposed to. It appears 'blackbirding' was common in many parts of Australia. The most concerning of these practices was the use of pregnant women because it was believed they had superior lung capacity. There is a statue of a pregnant Aboriginal woman emerging from the water holding a pearl shell in front of her. I'm undecided as to whether this recognises their contribution to the industry or if it represents their abuse - they were slaves and completely powerless. Have the intervening years changed this aspect of history? We have a marvellous ability to rewrite history as far as our indigenous brothers and sisters are concerned.

Town Beach looking toward the new pier

We have discussed returning and would probably come here for a week. That would allow us to visit the Bird Zoo, go fishing and participate in some of the genuine cultural experiences, without feeling rushed or pressured. Despite the obvious wealth of activities, Broome is also a great place to relax. Cable Beach Resort is ideally situated a stone's throw from the beach - late breakfasts and long walks on the beach make for a very relaxing holiday.

All up, the Jetty to Jetty tour was exactly what was advertised. I guess our expectations were a little too high.

Our last night in Broome began with dinner at the Sunset Bar and Grill with a front row table and a view of the sunset for which people would have queued. Thank you to Jonti for organising such an excellent table for us. Of course, the camera was back in our room as we sipped a glass of champagne and watched the crowds arrive and the sun sink slowly into the Indian Ocean. I didn't even have my phone, dear reader, with which to chronicle the moment. However, Jayne had hers and the photos are courtesy of her handiwork.

Midnight at the oasis

As we sat and watched the sunset and made significant life choices, like what to have for dinner, we became aware that a very aromatic event was happening before us. Well, it was apparent to our noses before it became a visual spectacle. It was midnight at the oasis (Maria Muldaur, 1973) and the camels were going to bed. They were returning from their sunset walk along Cable Beach. Happily for you my fortunate reader, the attached picture is not a scratch and sniff. We watched as three lines of camels made their way past the restaurant and down the road to where ever it is they sleep. It provided momentary interest and distracted the crowds from the sunset and the increasing traffic jam of 4WD vehicles attempting to exit the beach.

Our last supper was not quite without event. The scallops and duck rillette were very nice, but Jayne went adventurous with her rib-eye fillet and ordered medium-rare to my my rare and had to send it back for some more time on the grill. Other than that, this is a great place to dine and while away the evening.

The next morning commenced far earlier than anticipated as we were woken by a knock at the door. After the scramble to make myself presentable, I staggered to the door and opened it to find a surprised housekeeping person standing there with a handful of coin. "You asked for your change to be brought to your room ... oh, sorry, I think I have the wrong room." Yup. It was 6:14am. Not quite the wake up we expected. As a result we were at breakfast earlier than we have been since we arrived. It was of course another stunner of a morning. It really is perfect weather up here, if you can avoid the afternoon heat ... and you're not working.

Checking out found us sitting at the Cichetti Café blogging, clearing email, reading, drinking a very nice Italian Rosé from Venice and waiting for our 1:30pm airport shuttle.

The Broome airport has a Regional Lounge. Emphasis here is on regional. It is tiny. The wine is in those teeny weeny bottles they serve on the plane. The red wine shares the fridge with the white wine. Once we managed to find our way up the stairs, there is no disabled access that we could see, we discovered the fridge with the alcohol was locked. Apparently we passed the attendant on the stairs and she locked the alcohol up before she left. Seriously Qantas? That is pathetic. What are you concerned about? Do you think your Business Class, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One flyers can't be trusted? Absolutely ridiculous. You have done northing to encourage me to maintain my loyalty on this trip. Almost 6 and a half hours late leaving Sydney and all we get is "sorry". Customer care in your company extends to lip service and ticking boxes so it appears you've done the right thing.

Aside from that, it was an uneventful trip home. We made lots of friends in the "lounge" discussing the lack of Qantas customer care. And we are now home watching the Ashes Test on TV.

The next holiday dear reader is to New Caledonia ... in November to celebrate, or avoid celebrating with people I know, my next significant birthday. But then, at my age, every birthday is significant.

Until November.