Road Trip Day 10 - Day 3 in Broome
Mar. 30th, 2011 03:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gemfyre12/3/2011
Today was shopping day! I slowly woke up and grabbed my scope to have a look at the mudflats and managed to ID a few waders that were out there – it's always a nice way to start the day.
I made myself what I thought was small breakfast of marmite and melted cheese on toast, which turned out to be quite filling. I ate it while watching footage of that massive earthquake/tsunami in Japan.
I headed off to the markets about 8 o'clock. Being wet season they are a lot slower than usual, with only about a quarter of the stalls that you get in the dry season. I wandered around and bought a few things – flavoured vinegars and natural bug repellent from Kanagae Estate, frozen fruit from the frozen fruit guy (he was there 6 years ago too), this is essentially chunks of frozen fruit put through a mincer like device – the result being an ice-cream/sorbet like dessert that is 100% fruit – I got mango, pineapple and coconut. The crepe guy wasn't there, but that was okay as I was plenty full from my breakfast. I spent a while chatting to Ali from Hidden Valley about their products and the proposed gas hub at James Price Point. She let me know that a new soap would be ready on Monday, so I should pop out to the shop then and ask for a block. Seeing as I want to get a couple more things from there before I go I will do just that. It's a vanilla soap called Sweet Dreams.
My original intention was to do grocery shopping after the markets, but I still had 2/3 of my frozen fruit left so I decided to head back to base and put it in the freezer (I've since removed it from the freezer to melt a bit because it froze solid). I was very sleepy so I had a brief nap and was once again woken by my bladder around 10:30. So I went to the loos, and as I was washing my hands I looked in the mirror at my necklace and though to myself, “I need a pearl!” I'd been wanting to find a nice pendant for the chain for ages, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
So I hopped back in the car and headed to Chinatown to do some pearl shopping.
I went past the poo ponds first to investigate things, I removed my sunroof and managed to contort out of the hole so I could stand on the car seats and get a bit more height to look into the ponds. We used to climb right on top of the old BBO Troopy to get a good view inside. Again there were very few birds. A couple of waders this time. Some Plumed Whistling Ducks (with chicks! Awwww.), and a lone Rajah Shelduck! A new bird for me. It is out of range down here, but not unknown for the Broome area. With all this water things are turning up way out of range everywhere.
I figured my budget could stretch to $100 for a pearl pendant. I quickly discovered that I was not going to get a south-sea (Broome) pearl pendant for under $100. Cygnet Bay Pearls (the oldest pearl farm in the Broome area) did have baroque south-sea pearls for $100 each, but they were loose. They were very helpful and told me a jeweller across the road, who opened on Monday could probably mount it for around $75. I was very tempted, the baroque pearls were quite lovely and a little less than 1cm across. But it would mean going over budget and I would either have to wait till Monday to get it mounted, or wait until I got back to Perth and probably get it mounted at a cheaper price. But I wanted to wear my pearl TODAY.
My other option was a freshwater pearl. These are farmed in China and India, but are still very pretty and still as genuine. They were also considerably cheaper.
I decided to go back to base, do a bit of research on mounting and pearls and come back tomorrow to make my purchase. I did my grocery shopping and headed home to make lunch. After a bit of pearl research I was becoming very tired and spent an hour or so just sitting in the air-con watching TV, reading about the coastal towns I'd be passing through on my way back to Perth, and uploading photos.
I wrote out my pearl options and came to a decision. It made a lot more sense to get a cheaper, freshwater pearl that was already mounted. They were just as pretty, a lot cheaper and I could wear it today. The pearl display showroom next to the visitors centre had a few pendants in the $50-$75 range that I liked the look of. So off I went, about an hour before they would be closing. The two suitable pendants that I found on display were a white pearl on a pendant with a silver starfish, and a simple drop pendant with a peach coloured pearl. The girl in the shop was very helpful and let me try both on. We both agreed that the pink pearl got kind of lost against my skin colour, but I was still tossing up between the designs. I kind of just wanted a simple drop, but would certainly prefer it in white. So the girl went to look at what they had in stock that may fit the bill. While she was doing that I discovered another, more ornate pendant with a white pearl that I also liked the look of. These had a small gem on them too – you could get different colours – ANOTHER decision to make! She bought out a few different coloured gems in that design and a few different shades of pink pearl on simple drops. She could only find white pearls on gold fittings.
I started trying on the new selections. The ornate pendant was pretty, but sat very low on my chain (it would have looked great on a shorter chain), I was still preferring the simple drop.
Neither of us really know where it came from, but among the samples she had got from the drawer, was one white pearl on a simple silver drop pendant. The girl told me she was sure they didn't have any left, the guy out the back agreed that they had none. But here was one! I tried it on and I was sold. It was white, it was simple, perfect for everyday wear, which is what I wanted. It cost me $55. I was very happy.
Back home I went to cool down and upload more photos and wait until the sun was a little lower, the tide was out a little more, and the day was a little cooler before heading to Cable Beach for a wander on the reef.
I went via Demco, a fancy suburb in Broome built where the old meatworks were, and the Port where I also took a walk around the Entrance Point reef. There was a Whimbrel on the rocks out here and a few Sanderlings running about.
I then made my way to the car access to Cable Beach. While I can't condone the whole driving on the beach thing, it really is a part of Broome culture and really, can there be anything more pleasant than driving down onto the beach with all your picnicking gear and just lazing around, watching the sun set? I took a wander over the reef there and waded in the water, which is very warm right now (unfortunately the warm water attracts the stingers). The sunset was absolutely beautiful. Even in the east the storm clouds were tinted pink and occasionally flashing with lightning. God, if I moved back up here I could do this every evening. As it darkened I made my way back to my car to go and get fish and chips for dinner.
Woody's Fish and Chips no longer exists, now there is Bluey's Place which is just down the road. It's odd that in a town like Broome, there is only one fish and chip shop (sure you can get fish and chips from lots of places, but there is only one place specialising in good ol' fish and chips wrapped in paper). As I got out of my car I saw out of the corner of my eye some birds flying past. I thought to myself, “Oh, probably Red-winged Parrots.” A few seconds later I had a rethink, these were fruit bats! I took a closer look and I was right, hundreds of fruit bats winging their way over at dusk. I ordered my dinner (fish and chips and 3 battered mussels) and waited outside for it to be ready. While I waited the bats just kept passing over until the sky got so dark I could no longer see them. They were completely silent. When they are roosting in the mangroves they often sound like a person being murdered.
Once again back to base camp to eat dinner. I was massively full afterwards but that was some pretty good fish and chips (and mussels). I now have to start packing things now so I can get packed up and ready to head to the Observatory tomorrow. This place is so damn nice, I really don't want to leave, but my finances won't allow me to stay.
12/3/2011 (Town Beach, Courthouse Markets, Chinatown, Sewer Works, Demco Park, Entrance Point, Cable Beach)
Bar-shouldered Dove
Bar-tailed Godwit
Black Kite
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Black-winged Stilt
Common Greenshank
Crested Pigeon
Eastern Reef Egret
Great Knot
Greater Sand Plover
Grey Plover
Grey-crowned Babbler
Grey-tailed Tattler
Lesser Crested Tern
Lesser Frigatebird
Little Friarbird
Magpie Lark
Masked Lapwing
Peaceful Dove
Pheasant Coucal
Pied Butcherbird
Pied Cormorant
Plumed Whistling Duck (B)
Rainbow Bee-eater (H)
Radjah Shelduck
Red-collared Lorikeet
Red-necked Stint
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo
Red-winged Parrot
Sanderling
Silver Gull
Singing Honeyeater
Striated Pardalote (H)
Torresian Crow
Whimbrel
White-bellied Sea-eagle
White-gaped Honeyeater (H)
Willie Wagtail
See the rest of today's photos here (among them are some awesome sunset photos).
Today was shopping day! I slowly woke up and grabbed my scope to have a look at the mudflats and managed to ID a few waders that were out there – it's always a nice way to start the day.
I made myself what I thought was small breakfast of marmite and melted cheese on toast, which turned out to be quite filling. I ate it while watching footage of that massive earthquake/tsunami in Japan.
I headed off to the markets about 8 o'clock. Being wet season they are a lot slower than usual, with only about a quarter of the stalls that you get in the dry season. I wandered around and bought a few things – flavoured vinegars and natural bug repellent from Kanagae Estate, frozen fruit from the frozen fruit guy (he was there 6 years ago too), this is essentially chunks of frozen fruit put through a mincer like device – the result being an ice-cream/sorbet like dessert that is 100% fruit – I got mango, pineapple and coconut. The crepe guy wasn't there, but that was okay as I was plenty full from my breakfast. I spent a while chatting to Ali from Hidden Valley about their products and the proposed gas hub at James Price Point. She let me know that a new soap would be ready on Monday, so I should pop out to the shop then and ask for a block. Seeing as I want to get a couple more things from there before I go I will do just that. It's a vanilla soap called Sweet Dreams.
My original intention was to do grocery shopping after the markets, but I still had 2/3 of my frozen fruit left so I decided to head back to base and put it in the freezer (I've since removed it from the freezer to melt a bit because it froze solid). I was very sleepy so I had a brief nap and was once again woken by my bladder around 10:30. So I went to the loos, and as I was washing my hands I looked in the mirror at my necklace and though to myself, “I need a pearl!” I'd been wanting to find a nice pendant for the chain for ages, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
So I hopped back in the car and headed to Chinatown to do some pearl shopping.
I went past the poo ponds first to investigate things, I removed my sunroof and managed to contort out of the hole so I could stand on the car seats and get a bit more height to look into the ponds. We used to climb right on top of the old BBO Troopy to get a good view inside. Again there were very few birds. A couple of waders this time. Some Plumed Whistling Ducks (with chicks! Awwww.), and a lone Rajah Shelduck! A new bird for me. It is out of range down here, but not unknown for the Broome area. With all this water things are turning up way out of range everywhere.
I figured my budget could stretch to $100 for a pearl pendant. I quickly discovered that I was not going to get a south-sea (Broome) pearl pendant for under $100. Cygnet Bay Pearls (the oldest pearl farm in the Broome area) did have baroque south-sea pearls for $100 each, but they were loose. They were very helpful and told me a jeweller across the road, who opened on Monday could probably mount it for around $75. I was very tempted, the baroque pearls were quite lovely and a little less than 1cm across. But it would mean going over budget and I would either have to wait till Monday to get it mounted, or wait until I got back to Perth and probably get it mounted at a cheaper price. But I wanted to wear my pearl TODAY.
My other option was a freshwater pearl. These are farmed in China and India, but are still very pretty and still as genuine. They were also considerably cheaper.
I decided to go back to base, do a bit of research on mounting and pearls and come back tomorrow to make my purchase. I did my grocery shopping and headed home to make lunch. After a bit of pearl research I was becoming very tired and spent an hour or so just sitting in the air-con watching TV, reading about the coastal towns I'd be passing through on my way back to Perth, and uploading photos.
I wrote out my pearl options and came to a decision. It made a lot more sense to get a cheaper, freshwater pearl that was already mounted. They were just as pretty, a lot cheaper and I could wear it today. The pearl display showroom next to the visitors centre had a few pendants in the $50-$75 range that I liked the look of. So off I went, about an hour before they would be closing. The two suitable pendants that I found on display were a white pearl on a pendant with a silver starfish, and a simple drop pendant with a peach coloured pearl. The girl in the shop was very helpful and let me try both on. We both agreed that the pink pearl got kind of lost against my skin colour, but I was still tossing up between the designs. I kind of just wanted a simple drop, but would certainly prefer it in white. So the girl went to look at what they had in stock that may fit the bill. While she was doing that I discovered another, more ornate pendant with a white pearl that I also liked the look of. These had a small gem on them too – you could get different colours – ANOTHER decision to make! She bought out a few different coloured gems in that design and a few different shades of pink pearl on simple drops. She could only find white pearls on gold fittings.
I started trying on the new selections. The ornate pendant was pretty, but sat very low on my chain (it would have looked great on a shorter chain), I was still preferring the simple drop.
Neither of us really know where it came from, but among the samples she had got from the drawer, was one white pearl on a simple silver drop pendant. The girl told me she was sure they didn't have any left, the guy out the back agreed that they had none. But here was one! I tried it on and I was sold. It was white, it was simple, perfect for everyday wear, which is what I wanted. It cost me $55. I was very happy.
Back home I went to cool down and upload more photos and wait until the sun was a little lower, the tide was out a little more, and the day was a little cooler before heading to Cable Beach for a wander on the reef.
| Demco The suburb is full of huge, fancy houses. |
 |
I went via Demco, a fancy suburb in Broome built where the old meatworks were, and the Port where I also took a walk around the Entrance Point reef. There was a Whimbrel on the rocks out here and a few Sanderlings running about.
 |
Entrance Point Next to the Port, the is the most south-westerly point of the Broome peninsula. |
I then made my way to the car access to Cable Beach. While I can't condone the whole driving on the beach thing, it really is a part of Broome culture and really, can there be anything more pleasant than driving down onto the beach with all your picnicking gear and just lazing around, watching the sun set? I took a wander over the reef there and waded in the water, which is very warm right now (unfortunately the warm water attracts the stingers). The sunset was absolutely beautiful. Even in the east the storm clouds were tinted pink and occasionally flashing with lightning. God, if I moved back up here I could do this every evening. As it darkened I made my way back to my car to go and get fish and chips for dinner.
| South Cable Beach Sunset over Gantheume Point. |
 |
Woody's Fish and Chips no longer exists, now there is Bluey's Place which is just down the road. It's odd that in a town like Broome, there is only one fish and chip shop (sure you can get fish and chips from lots of places, but there is only one place specialising in good ol' fish and chips wrapped in paper). As I got out of my car I saw out of the corner of my eye some birds flying past. I thought to myself, “Oh, probably Red-winged Parrots.” A few seconds later I had a rethink, these were fruit bats! I took a closer look and I was right, hundreds of fruit bats winging their way over at dusk. I ordered my dinner (fish and chips and 3 battered mussels) and waited outside for it to be ready. While I waited the bats just kept passing over until the sky got so dark I could no longer see them. They were completely silent. When they are roosting in the mangroves they often sound like a person being murdered.
Once again back to base camp to eat dinner. I was massively full afterwards but that was some pretty good fish and chips (and mussels). I now have to start packing things now so I can get packed up and ready to head to the Observatory tomorrow. This place is so damn nice, I really don't want to leave, but my finances won't allow me to stay.
12/3/2011 (Town Beach, Courthouse Markets, Chinatown, Sewer Works, Demco Park, Entrance Point, Cable Beach)
Bar-shouldered Dove
Bar-tailed Godwit
Black Kite
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Black-winged Stilt
Common Greenshank
Crested Pigeon
Eastern Reef Egret
Great Knot
Greater Sand Plover
Grey Plover
Grey-crowned Babbler
Grey-tailed Tattler
Lesser Crested Tern
Lesser Frigatebird
Little Friarbird
Magpie Lark
Masked Lapwing
Peaceful Dove
Pheasant Coucal
Pied Butcherbird
Pied Cormorant
Plumed Whistling Duck (B)
Rainbow Bee-eater (H)
Radjah Shelduck
Red-collared Lorikeet
Red-necked Stint
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo
Red-winged Parrot
Sanderling
Silver Gull
Singing Honeyeater
Striated Pardalote (H)
Torresian Crow
Whimbrel
White-bellied Sea-eagle
White-gaped Honeyeater (H)
Willie Wagtail
See the rest of today's photos here (among them are some awesome sunset photos).
