Camel Riding Along Cable Beach in Broome.
As any tourism operator will tell you, running a tourism business isn’t easy. Potentially we are available 365 days a year (although we do take Christmas Day off!) In reality of course we take other days off, if we burn out we have nothing left. To that end we make sure we take at least two weeks off every year, usually during August the quietest month for most tourism businesses down here in Tasmania. This year we went to Fremantle, Perth, Broome and Darwin. I had never visited Western Australia and Chris had always wanted to see Broome.
The weather in Fremantle and Perth was ordinary to say the least but we hadn’t shed our Tassie coats and scarves yet so we were fine. As we only had a weekend we elected to do a Triple Tour, which involved a ride around Fremantle on a tram- like bus with commentary, a cruise on the Swan River up to Perth and a ride around the city, also with commentary, on a double decker bus. It’s nice to be a tourist for a change! This lightning tour gave us a good overview of the two cities.
Back in Freo (it’s what the locals call it) we visited the Fremantle Market for supplies for dinner. We loved it – such a great atmosphere and wonderful fresh produce. We used TripAdvisor to f ind out what other travellers thought were the best places to visit and where to eat and the recommendations didn’t let us down. A visit to Fremantle Prison the next day was definitely a highlight of the stay.
Then it was off to Broome. Nothing had prepared me for the warmth and the beauty of Broome, we would definitely visit again just to unwind at this time of year. Perfect weather, 30 degrees every day, beautiful beaches and plenty to see and do with a strong artistic community too. I fell in love with Boab trees! My family had given Chris a camel ride for two along Cable Beach for his birthday (I love gifts like that, experiences beat things hands down in my opinion). We rode with The Blue Camels and it was indeed a memorable evening – see the photo.
We reluctantly left Broome where we had been staying at a lovely little B&B called Chez Marguerites very close to Cable Beach. Our hostess was Carolyn and she had thought of everything in the beautifully equipped flat. We tended to eat lunch out every day but have other meals at home as we were usually too tired after a day of sun, sand, swimming and sightseeing to think about going out in the evening. We wished we had booked longer because we could take that sunshine for at least another week.
Off to Darwin for just two nights. The only place we had managed to book was Melaleuca on Mitchell which was a backpackers – well it was okay for just 2 nights! We met up with a very dear friend there and it was great to touch base with someone from home. The aspect of Darwin that most impressed me was the way they have connected their wharf and waterfront areas with the CBD. It’s done with clever walkways and glass fronted lifts. Down on the waterfront there is a stunning wave pool. This in no way detracts from the working port itself. We both felt that Hobart town planners, who haven’t yet managed to solve this problem of how to connect our CBD with the lovely waterfront, could borrow some design ideas.
So, now we’re home and have already performed a couple of Louisa’s Walk shows. The weather has been kind enough to turn on a bit of sun and it has stopped raining. For the first time for many weeks we have seen the mountain without a generous mantle of snow – it’s melted to a fringe now. We were thrilled to be texted by a friend this morning who alerted us to a great photo and article about us in today’s Weekend Australian. It’s a brilliant article and can only serve to bring us even more visitors in the coming season. Book early!
