More Delays

We woke this morning eager to get back to Canberra. We had a few hours to kill prior to our flight so we dropped off a bag to the salvos of a few things we'd inherited and/or no longer needed. Ella's bag was bursting after all her op shop purchases in the last 6 weeks. She loves finding a bargain and I think she managed to buy more clothes than she brought over with her! Luckily Andy and I had spare space to help both her and Katy.

A last coffee and fresh juice was enjoyed at Dragonfly Cafe before we filled up the car then drove the very short distance to the airport. We found ourselves in the small terminal before the bag drop counters were open. Yep we were that keen to get going!!

In the departure lounge we had a bit of food while waiting for our flight and keeping an eye on which gate our plane would depart from - 1, 2 or 3! Between eating, reading and browsing the two shops, we suddenly realised that the monitor had flashed up departed next to our flight!! Panic set in as we hadn't seen a gate number appear or heard any announcements. Andy rushed up to the unattended desk to see what he could find out with several other passengers in the same position following him. I was sitting there stunned in complete disbelief. 

A few painful minutes later he returned to say that no we hadn't missed our flight - the monitors were on an automated system and failed to display the fact that the Brisbane - Broome flight was still on the tarmac with the passengers inside waiting for the WA police to arrive to check them off!! So we waited more.

Slowly though as the minutes ticked by our thoughts began to turn to worry as to whether we would make our connection. Eventually, when we did board the Boeing 737, it was quick as there was only 25 people on the flight! We left nearly an hour late with our 40 minute connection to Canberra looking dubious.

The flight was uneventful but not fast enough and the Canberra flight would not wait. As we disembarked we were met by a Qantas employee who let us know that we would be staying in Brisbane for the night. And so we collected our luggage along with 13 other people who had also missed their connections too (11 of these were on the Canberra flight.) The mini bus dropped us off at the Stamford Plaza Hotel, located on the banks of the Brisbane River.

By this stage it was 9pm at night, we were rather hungry. Once assigned our adjoining rooms, we made our way down to the restaurant for dinner then retired to bed.

A 9am flight meant an early start - breakfast at 7am before the mini bus arrived at 7.30am to take us back to the airport. No dramas with this flight and we touched down at 11am, very happy to see Sandra at the arrivals gate.

Back home it was wonderful to be reunited with a fluffy Indi. Not too sure who was more excited - Indi or us! Andy had time to shower, change and ride into uni for his 2pm lecture! Ella had a quick turn a round too. She was super keen to see her friends again so I dropped her off at school in time for lunch. Katy well she was happy to play with Indi all afternoon while I refilled the pantry and fridge trying to get organised for the week ahead and began down the long road of washing.

Interesting Snaps of the Salties

Another day to fill in. What was left for us to explore in Broome? On top of Ella's list was returning to the op shops she hadn't been in due to their limited opening hours. Katy was keen to go back to the Courthouse Markets again and then onto the Crocodile Park. Andy and I had the usual run and coffee combo.

We left the girls sleeping as we headed out north through the back of the Cable Beach suburb, running for a few km's before crossing the dunes to the beach. There were fewer 4WD's on the beach at this time of the morning but a camel train was leaving for its morning trip as we approached the main beach. While waiting for a takeaway coffee (yes Andy had to lower his standards a few times on this trip!) we saw the distant splash of whales.

Purchases were made at the op shop and markets before we returned to the apartment for lunch and a dip. Next was the afternoon outing to the Malcom Douglas Crocodile Park. We arrived in time for the crocodile feeding tour. While waiting for the tour to begin, the girls were able to cuddle a baby crocodile. 

 

Our tour began by feeding the 60+ salties that reside in the main lagoon waterway. The majority of these are male crocodiles with only 3 females who know their place. Feeding time was brutal with larger crocs exerting their dominance. Clashes were fierce with one encounter resulting in a croc splitting a tooth!

From there we walked viewing and feeding different crocs. In individual pens, each croc has their own story. Most were captured within waterways where they posed a risk to people and then relocated to this park to live out the rest of their days. Some had a Mrs in the pen, while others lived solo due to their highly aggressive nature and intolerance to other crocs including those of the other sex!

Mako, the tour guide was excellent. We learnt all interesting facts about saltwater crocs. Like if you get bitten don't try to poke out the crocs eye as they can retract right into the back their head; if a croc gets bitten, their immune system quickly kicks in preventing infection; and they can go for a long time between meals like over a year. All these characteristics have enabled them to survive so long however surprisingly saltwater croc numbers are now on the decline thanks to the cane toad invasion across northern Australia.

There was Fatso, Red Baron, Agro, Bluey and Manic to name a few. Maniac is the master of disguise. He has a lightning fast strike exploding from the water in the blink of an eye and is considered one of the most aggressive crocs in the park and Kimberly

Not much to see once the tour concluded, so it was back to the apartment for another splash in the pool to cool off. As the sun was sinking, we made our way over to Town Beach, where the moon was rising over Roebuck Bay. The reflections of the full moon rising over the tidal flats of Roebuck Bay creates the famous Staircase to the Moon phenomena.

Unexpected Holiday Extension

I woke up just after 6am thinking about how great it would be that we might get to Horizontal Falls after all. Then dread set in with the thought that maybe the spots would be gone by the time the office opened at 9am. So I got online immediately and opened up the page only to be shattered when it showed there were no tickets left! I was kicking myself. I did call the office just in case, but they revealed that the morning foggy conditions had cancelled the last three days (including this morning). They took our details and and said they wold call if anything changed.

We moved out of our spacious bungalow by 9am, but the apartment would not be ready until 2pm. So we made our way to the Cable Beach Store and Cafe for breakfast followed by the Mini Golf World Championships.

The 18 hole course, definitely had its challenges. We all had a one hole that was a shocker. Final standings Andy pipped me by 1, followed by Katy and then Ella. By the time we finished the temperature was rising and we needed to cool off. Following an ice cream, we made our way to Cable Beach for a swim.

The timing was perfect, as the resort called to say our apartment was ready as we were walking back to the car post swim. This new resort was only 500m down the road. We checked in quickly and once our gear was inside, the girls went straight to test out the pool.

In the afternoon, we made our way back into town for coffee and to replenish our food supply before returning to the apartment. Later that evening we settled down on the sofa bed to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Check In Disaster

We cooked dinner for the last time in WA, packed our bags, clean out the fridge all in preparation for our departure tomorrow. By this stage it was 9pm and Andy decided to check us in via the Qantas app. He then gasped, I looked over to see his horrified face. What could possibly be wrong I thought. 

He came over showing me the flight details on the app and then I saw the departure date was not the 23rd July but the 25th July!! What, how could this have happen? We looked at each other and realised we hadn't received an email from the phone call earlier in the week when Andy had called Qantas to sort out our flights.

Immediately he was on the phone to Qantas.... another 1.5 hour wait. The Qantas person was friendly as he listened to our problem however after several minutes and various hmm's from Andy it was clear we were in a spot of bother. Turns out Andy decided to keep the flight via Brisbane that was scheduled for Sunday as it was the quickest way to get back to Canberra. The Covid outbreaks in Melbourne and Sydney had thrown the flight world back into chaos. He tried to to re route through Perth where we could bunker down with the Grandies but the first flight out of Perth to Canberra was not until the Tuesday night.

Our next challenge was to find accomodation. I was very concerned as when we booked in January for the accomodation we were in, there was not much available then. A quick google search though showed our resort was fully booked, but we found another resort in Cable Beach. It was less than ideal but we had to take what we could get. A one bedroom apartment with 2 sofa beds in the living space with a nice price tag of $500 per night. That's Broome for you!

Next on the list was extending the car hire but Europcar was closed so that was a job for the morning. By this stage it was 11pm and we were exhausted after all this stress. I thought perhaps this disaster might have a silver lining and checked to see if there were any spaces to Horizontal Falls on Saturday. It looked like there were spaces for tomorrow and Saturday! We hadn't received our refund yet, so I thought I'd call first thing in the morning to organise this too.

Broome Classics

We had a few classic Broome adventures still on our list for our last full day in Broome. Roebuck Bay was hidden in fog on our morning run. We were glad that we didn't make it onto the Horizontal Falls tour today as a second early morning start only to be disappointed with a cancelled trip would have been hard to swallow. Back at the bungalow, thinking that the fog was a rare occurrence, we discovered that this was not the case! Broome has on average, 22 foggy days per year between June and September! In hindsight if we'd known that, we would have booked the bus option first.

Mid morning we ventured down to Cable Beach. We ended up hiring a surfboard, a SUP and an umbrella with chairs as you do while on one of the world's best beaches. With the fog still swirling around, Ella took off on the surfboard trying desperately to catch a wave on the small swell. Andy and Katy together tackled the SUP spending lots of time falling in! 

 

We'd all had enough after a few hours and headed off to find some lunch.We discovered Town Beach Cafe. A nice little cafe overlooking the turquoise waters of Roebuck Bay, that we could now see!

Late afternoon, we returned to Cable Beach for our last tourist experience - an iconic sunset camel ride! The tour operator Steve, was passionate about looking after his camels after being in the business for some 30+ years. Our group of 26 were assessed and then each pair assigned a camel carefully considering the riders and the camels personality.

Ella and Andy were assigned Smokey - the tallest camel on the beach and an ex-racer! Katy and I were assigned Elvis - the 26 years chilled veteran. Our camels were trained to kneel down for us to mount. Makes for a fun experience when they stand as you nearly get launched over their head as they straighten their back legs first!

Our camel train meandered north up the beach. The north end of Cable Beach is full of 4WD's. It seems that people love to drive on the beach, park their 4WD, pull out their deck chairs and enjoy the beach views!! After 30mins, we turn and weave between the car to loop back adjacent to the water for the return journey.

Smokey was giving the young girl who was on the backseat of the camel infront a hard time. He kept snoring and bumping her back nearly sending her into a panic attack. Our camel Elvis, was not keen on walking behind Smokey. Elvis liked to move up so his head almost leaning on Ella's leg!! Unlike Smokey, Elvis was a very gentle and chilled old man. Katy meanwhile had Red the inquisitive youngster behind her sniffing at her back and trying to eat her seat!!

And so as the sun was slowly sinking into the horizon, we soaked up the last moments of our wonderful holiday!

A Day of Disappointment

The alarm woke us up at 5am! It was dark and I could hear a dripping sound outside - was that rain I pondered? Looking out over the porch, the resorts path lights were barely visible in the mist. Ah must be condensation I concluded.

We made our way out to the front of the resort for the 5.25am rendezvous with the tour bus. It was an eerie sight watching the headlights of the cars and trucks appear through this thick pea soup as they made their way to the port. This road was very busy early in the morning.

Our bus eventually arrived and we were the first and only ones to board from our resort. The driver gave us a blue disc - significant for which aircraft we would be allocated to. Our bus wove its way through the Cable Beach suburb and picked up one more larger group. On our arrival to the airport hanger, the manager of the company boarded to inform us as to procedures from here on.

Due to the fog shrouding the airport and Broome, the seaplanes would not be allowed to take off. We would be taken through to the hanger to be weighed and attend a safety briefing so that we were all ready once the fog lifted.

Finishing that process, the fog was still thick. We were shuffled back on to the bus and taken for coffee at a local cafe where we would wait. The fog needed to lift within the next 1.5hrs so before 7.30am to allow the planes to reach Cape Leveque in time to continue with the planned jet boat ride to Horizontal Falls and Indigenous tour. So we sat and waited frequently assessing the sky every few minutes while drinking our coffee.

At 7.20am, we were hustled back onto the buses and returned to the hanger where the manager boarded our bus to inform us the disappointing news that the trip had been cancelled due to the fog. She then proceeded to talk to each group individually in an attempt to reschedule their trip. For us, we only had tomorrow as a spare day before our flight was due to leave on Friday. Given that we'd booked this trip in January, our expectations of scoring a berth on a trip tomorrow was extremely low. The manager tried to boost our hopes by saying they try to contact those who are on the trip and are in Broome for an extended period to reschedule their trip. We would have a nervous wait ahead of us.

Needless to say the trip back to the bungalow was a quiet one with us all lost in our thoughts. Andy and I decided to drown our disappointment by going for a run from Cable Beach. From the surf life saving club, we ran south through the Minyirr Conservation Park on the track parallel to the dunes. After a few km's we split - Andy continues on while I turn right to climb up and over the dunes and onto the tidal flat of Cable Beach. Andy catches me up as we run along the flat, hard sand back to the main section of beach. Our run is once again complete with a refreshing swim.

We returned to the resort with some breakfast. After a few hours of hanging around, we'd recovered enough from our disappointment to venture into town. Ella went back to the op shop, her latest passion, while the rest of us went for coffee. While out, we received confirmation that we would receive a full refund as they were unable to find any spare seats on tomorrow Horizontal Falls tours.

For dinner, we decided to try Matso's Brewery as it is considered 'the' place to visit when in Broome. It also holds the title as the most remote microbrewery. The menu was a little limiting in regards to kids choices. We ended up ordering a few starters and a couple of mains and then sharing! My salmon poke bowl was deemed the best! Andy and I also stepped outside of our comfort zone, to try a unique Matso's brew. Andy chose the Mango Beer (the tropics in a bottle) while I selected the Hard Melon (alcoholic watermelon with a hint of mint.) A good night out.

A Paddle around Gantheaume Point

A free unplanned day! Oh what to do? They are many interesting and touristy things on offer in Broome. However many of them are dependent on the tides, in particular low tides, or a full moon. As neither of these occurred today we were unable to fill in the day hunting dinosaur footprints, or searching for the wrecks of the WWII flying boats or watching the staircase to the moon. Instead we signed up for a sea kayak adventure!

Leaving from the southern end of Cable Beach, where three horses were enjoying a splash in the sea, we met Richard our tour guide who issued us with kayaks, paddles and life jackets. We were ready for another adventure!

 

Conditions were idea - sunny, calm day with a receding tide. Our group of 16 paddled out through a gap in the reef, heading south.. We were on the lookout for turtles.

The water was its normal stunning turquoise colour and against the red rocks of Gantheaume Point looked sensational. The colours up here are mind blowingly beautiful. Richard gave us snippets of info as we paddled along at a relaxing pace. He pointed out a rock shaped like a map of Australia and indicated when the tide was high, Perth and Sydney would be underwater.

There was not much to see in terms of marine life except jellyfish. As we rounded the Point, Richard indicated that we were paddling over the famous dinosaur footprints and despite the clear water we couldn't see them. A short time later we pulled up into a sheltered beach for morning tea. A great spot for a swim and rest.

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As we began our journey back in our kayaks we watched a sea eagle returning from the ocean fly into an osprey's territory. Richard thought there was going to be a David Attenborough moment with the osprey attacking the eagle. The osprey did approach the eagle, however the eagle turned direction and the osprey then lost interest

 

The return route saw us requiring to paddle further away from the beach as the gap in the reef we used at the beginning of the adventure was now rock, sand and void of water with the tide now at its lowest. Just as we were thinking that we were out of luck with the turtles, one surfaced close by then proceeded to dive and swim underneath us. Being so close to us in clear water we were able to identify that this turtle was missing part of its back flipper. Here is Ella's excellent video technique with goppy the go pro!

Our paddle session was almost over, only a short stretch back to the beach. Once onshore, we dragged our kayak out of the water, returned the paddle and our life jackets. The sun was high in the sky with its ray beating down on us so were keen to return to the water for a swim and cool off before returning to our bungalow for lunch and lazy afternoon.