Wednesday, April 23, was our day to visit Broome, Western Australia. It appears to be the place where the Red Centre of Australia meets the Indian Ocean. The red soil was quite evident around the port. the Port of Broome is not cruise ship friendly. Firstly, high tides are essential to provide access to the harbour and there was less than two metres of water beneath the keel as we entered and exited. Our berth was nearly a kilometre from shore at the end of a long pier. No foot traffic was permitted along the pier and only a few busses at a time could be loaded at the berth. Tours required some time to get on their way. Ours was 30 minutes late departing. No complaints, we really had nothing else requiring urgent attention.
Once we were on our way we saw considerable green atop the red soil. Homes along our route seemed quite modern and well treed and the vegetation was quite consistent to our first stop, the Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park. The park also had a number of birds, lizards and dingos on the property but mostly, it was a retirement home for crocodiles that acquired bad reputations in their original habitats. It was a bit hurried but we got back on schedule after initial delays and we saw all we needed during the brief visit. We returned to our rather cramped 25 passenger bus to continue our tour.
Our driver provided a bit of narration as he retraced much of our earlier journey before taking a new path to Cable Beach, so named for the communications cable to Indonesia that came ashore here. As we stepped down from the bus we first saw a grassy park overlooking the bay. The beach itself became more and more visible as we walked across the lawn. A rocky area gave way to 
ide crescent of sand stretching around the bay to Gantheaume Point which we would later visit. The tide was lower than when we arrived at 4 AM and the water’s edge was some distance from the sun bathers.
Our third stop was along the main street in Broome where we visited a display documenting the pearling industry of Broome’s past. Pearl luggers by the hundreds frequented Broome throughout the 19th century and a considerable portion of the 20th century. When I first heard of pearling on Australia’s west coast my thoughts turned immediately to pearls of the spherical variety. However, it was the oyster’s pearly shell upon which this industry was built. It was both fascinating and saddening to hear and see how small statured Chinese were stuffed into diving suits made for much larger Europeans. It was a rugged environment that frequently took lives.
Our fourth stop was a quick trip to Gantheaume Point which was just visible from Cable Beach. By this time the sun was hot and there was no shade. It was only a five minute walk to the rocky point. We passed a lovely residence, the light keepers I presume, and a light house tower. I would not like to be responsible to change the bulb atop the tower. There were two eagle’s nests on different levels, one of which was definitely occupied. A young eaglet could be seen sitting on the rail. It seems probably that a climb near the nest would attract momma eagle. The red soil gave way to sedimentary rock etched by wind and water. When the tide is out it is said to be possible to see dinosaur footprints in the rock, all we could see were likenesses in a concrete pad. We retreated, gratefully, to the coolness of our coach.
Our driver was in communication with coordinators at the berth and took us on a couple of short side tours while we awaited our turn to transfer back to the ship. The first was a modern housing subdivision. Most homes appeared to have metal roofs and, we were told, metal frames. We saw one with a brick exterior. Although major storms have been rare in Broome all construction must be able to withstand force 3 cyclones. From the subdivision we approached the port and detoured to a public boat launching site to wait the last few moments before our turn to get onto the pier.
Once back at the port it still took another ten minutes in the blazing sun to mount the steep gangway and get back into the comfort of the air conditioned ship.