Black Rock Tourist Park

I’ve just arrived at Black Rock on the outskirts of South Hedland. Not much to say really. It seems mainly aimed at tradies. There are cabins great and small as far as the eye can see in all directions. Mine seems quite new and has everything I need for a one night stop.

On the Road Again

Half way between Broome and Cygnet Bay is the small town of Beagle Bay. It’s a ramshackle place but famous for its church with mother-of-pearl decorations:

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Now I’m back in Broome for one last night. I’m staying at the Pinctada Hotel. This has recently been taken over from the Kimberley Sands, where I stayed with Val some years ago. It’s undergoing some refurbishment at the moment:

Nice room on the first floor

The best thing is the large pool, the biggest around, though many of the tiles round the edge are in need of repair.

I enjoyed one last dinner at the Bali Hai, which is just down the road. I just had an entree and a dessert:

Sno crab salad

Tiramisu

I could eat one of these every day!

Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm

When  I discovered that the Cape Leveque Road is now sealed, I made an impromptu decision to drive north. In the past, this was a gravel road and I travelled up here with the post bus. They offered this service to tourists.

So I am now staying at Cygnet Pearl Farm in a “glamping tent”, which is the best accommodation in this remote spot.

This afternoon I did a one hour tour of the farm, which covered the history of pearling and the operation of this farm:

Intro and film in the old school shed

Waiting for the opening of a shell

Our guide will crack open a shell

The view out to sea

Inside the shop

I didn’t buy anything. I have lovely pearls at home, but I wish I had them here!

At the Black Stump

I always pay a visit to this gallery. Today there was a lot of moving around, as they were preparing for an exhibition opening tonight. Emma Blythe’s husband seemed to be doing the heavy lifting.

This is the artist who is the subject of the new exhibition:

She seems to use gold paint in some of her work.

After that, it was time for a coffee at Matso’s:

Sculpture in the garden outside

RAC Caravan Park

I’ve moved, but only a few minutes drive away:

I wanted to try the cabins in this caravan park, which is just across the road from the Bali Hai where I’ve often stayed in the past.

It’s cheaper than Beaches, the only downside being its further away from Cable Beach. Apart from that, it has a lot going for it. My studio cabin is about 3 times as big as at Beaches. It’s very quiet, situated right at the back of the park. The kitchen is extremely well equipped and the big TV actually works - though up here you only seem to get Channel 7.

Breakfast in the sun

My plan was to visit the Museum, where my friend Alison used to volunteer on Sundays. It has been enlarged since her day, with several additional rooms. The verandah has also been enclosed , with a display about Broome in wartime. I was mainly interested in the history of pearling:

Pearl buttons

These pearl shell buttons were popular before the advent of plastic buttons.

Pearls growing in the shell

Aboriginal designs carved in the shells

I learned some interesting facts from the volunteer. At first, pregnant aboriginal women were used as divers, because they had greater lung capacity. When they were forced to go out into deeper water, they started to get the “bends”. This is when the expert divers from Japan were brought in.

The Japanese divers couldn’t live without soy sauce and started producing their own locally:

Soy sauce flagons

Japanese tea set

An annexe to the museum is the Sailmakers Shed, where skilled craftsmen prepared the canvas sails for the pearl luggers as well as other items:

Petrol

FYI I’ve just worked out the cost in petrol to drive to Broome. I now have a full tank for further travels.

• 24/5  Burswood.          $42.22
  
• 25/5. Geraldton              41.70
• 26/5. Carnarvon.             56.72
• 27/5. Nanutarra.              30.00
• 27/5. Roebourne.             55.82
• 29/5. Port Hedland.         28.46

• 31/5. Broome.                  84.26

Total cost                                  339.18

I had no trouble finding petrol. I preferred to buy higher octane, but occasionally had to settle for 91. I never bothered checking Fuelwatch to find the cheapest. Remember that my Prius is very economical, so driving other cars would cost more.

Camels

The mystery of the camels is now solved.

Last night I went across the road to get a beer at the Spinifex Brewery. There was a bewildering choice of beers on tap. I was given one to try in a small glass and decided to settle for that.

There was a sign outside which read Camel Feeding at Dusk. That was in 10 minutes (5.47 pm). The camels were soon making their way along the road: their distinctive smell preceded them. All the diners came out of Spinifex with their cameras at the ready. The staff brought carrots and we were all invited to give one to a camel. I preferred to watch!

One woman said her camel just spat out the carrot! You can probably eat too many carrots!

Apparently they now come up off the beach by the surf club, since their original way near the Cable Beach Club is all fenced off. They have a lot of handlers with them as they are on a public road.

About 25 minutes later, all the blue camels came past, but they had no carrot feeding to detain them.

I paid the price for my camel watching by getting a million mosquito bites.