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Broome Broome Baby!

Posted by Ray

Posted on November 26, 2009

Like writing all posts it's hard to quiet capture the experience and relive it in words, pictures and videos. My four months in Broome were a definite case in point. Broome was a place where I met amazing people, lived like Ray Mears (bushcraft wizard), worked at a breathtaking location and partied most nights away with stubby in hand (usually Amsterdam).

Over the the four months in Broome I spent the majority of my time in a tent (the last two weeks I upgraded to a bed in an air conditioned hostel). Starting off in a blue two man tent for two months (which also slept my suitcase, guitar and very understanding girlfriend Lauren) I was given a random packed up tent in a bag from a campsite neighbour, which turned out to be a grey three man dome tent with porch. This was the height of luxury compared to the last tent with an abundance of head room and width. The tent did need some general repairs, but a little duct tape here, there and everywhere gave the tent some real character.

Tent life was something that I found easy to do and enjoyable. The heat at times was annoying and the fact that you had to get out of bed no later than 8:00am, hangover or not due to the soaring heat and humidity. Everything is just back to basics, which really hits home what little you need to survive. Cooking was simple with everyone chipping in and sharing. Nightlife was a brilliant time to chill, chat and listen to music. The other great appeal to camping is the cost, which works out really cheap compared to hostels or renting making saving easier.

I stayed in the Town Beach area of Broome for two months before moving over to Cable Beach to be close to work. I worked for three months in Zanders. A bar and restaurant situated perfectly over looking Cable beach with stunning views of the sunset. Working at Zanders was heaps of fun. All the staff were mainly backpackers and we had a blast. The annoying thing with working there was the average wage we received along with the "no tips" policy which was very frustrating when you work hard and give service with a smile. I did though gain some great experience in the hospitality industry, which might prove useful in the future.

Living at Cable Beach was cool. Most days we spent down the beach doing a variety of activities to keep us busy. I started to surf (well sort of) at cable. I got given a board which was a little to short and thin for a first timer like myself. I did enjoy though paddled around, wiping out and catching the odd wave. I tried to stay in shape with cycling, running and a few boot camps on the beach. With the constant heat though any tiny bit of exercise was a work out.

At night is really where the campsite wins over. In all the campsites especially at peak season everyone is in party mode and lives it up till the early hours of the morning. There were a number of beach parties I went along to on Cable. They were all free and BYO and usually had a proper DJ with decks, speakers and lights. Everyone went along with a couple of hundred backpackers there easily enjoying till the sun came up! Other big nights out in Broome were the famous "Wet T-Shirt" competition in Oasis every Thursday night and Bungalow. Broome's only nightclub was a dive, but was the only place open after 12. Stupidly difficult to get into and filled with drunk aboriginals, this place was a joke.

Other notable things that happened in Broome were working at the Broome Cup, the Miss Cable Beach Contest, the Staircase To The Moon, Dragon Boat Racing, the Malcom Douglas Croc Farm, Willie Creak Pearl Farm and my Birthday at Middle Lagoon (post to come on this soon).

Thought it would be cool to mention a good handful of people I met and worked with in Broome. These people made Broome the experience it was. Cheers guys and gals: Lauren, Jona, Simone, Brandon, Mel, Andy, Kev, Sarah, Dan, Anna, Laurent, Oli, Daan, Ben, Dave, Bean, Chris, Vinny, Vincent, Sandra, Jaye, Svenja, Niall, Donie, Rob, Yahn, Harold, Kenny, Alexus, Cedric, Jas, Jenni, Emilie, Siobhan, Vicky, Fred, Maz, Else and Eitje.