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Willie Creek- Cultured Pearl Farm – Boat Trip Touring the Oyster Beds

Your tour to Broome wont be complete without visiting Willie Creek Pearl Farm. I booked a four hour conducted tour on our arrival in Broome Australia to better understand the subject of the pearl. During June this is a very busy Kimberleys town, & unless you book well ahead you will miss out.

The previous day we spent a bottom numbing day from early morning to 11 pm that night, bouncing along in a four wheel drive coach, in order to take a boat trip along Gieke Gorge, hundreds of kilometres to the east of Broome. Fortunately the coach trip to Willie Creek Pearl Farm is only around 38 k north of Broome.

The four hour coach tour cost $65 per adult and included the following:

• Hotel pick up/drop off

• Transfer to Willie Creek Pearl Farm

• Coach Driver commentary

• Willie Creek Pearl Farm tour

• Willie Creek boat cruise

• Morning tea

• Jewellery showroom time

• Souvenir guide

I had a hire car & my initial thoughts were that surely I could drive there under my own steam. Fortunately the front desk at the Seashells Resort, where we were staying put me right on that thought. While it is only around a 38 K drive each way, north along Cape Leveque Road, around 10 K of that trip is on unsealed red ochre coloured track and also over tidal flats. The hire car company would not have been impressed. In fact I would not have tried to continue anyway if I had tried the trip once the bitumen ran out.

If you have your own four wheel drive vehicle go for it!

The coach collected us right on the dot of 8.30 am from the front of the Seashells Resort. We picked up the remainder of fellow tourists at various other hotels and then drove north east along Broome Road for around 10 K’s then turned north onto Cape Leveque Road. The weather was perfect. Quite warm. Not a cloud in the sky and everyone in a good mood following a good night’s sleep following our previous day’s marathon road tour.

Our Coach driver turned out to be an excellent source of information. He gave us a full run down about the history of Willie Creek, pearling, luggers, how to buy pearls, and interesting facts about the cultured pearl industry.

The Cultured Pearl, Pearl Shell processing Demonstration

Once the coach left the bitumen I was delighted I had taken the Hotel desk’s advice seriously. The track was nothing other than red dust and the cloud the coach left behind us would have blotted out all vision for any vehicle travelling behind us for a few K’s. After around ten minutes of redness we travelled across tidal flats. You really needed to take care travelling here if this was your first visit.

After around a 45 minute trip the coach pulled up at the Willie Creek Pearl Farm. The Farm is quite an elaborate setup of attractive buildings consisting of a large show room, an outdoor area for dining and a separate area under a pergola structure for the pearl processing demonstration. Our guide ushered us direct to the pergola where a friendly couple of young girls gave an excellent presentation of how a pearl is extracted from the shell, as well as how each shell is seeded prior to being placed back into the sea water. (See photo above). We were provided with ample time to handle the pearl extracted from a shell, as well as given plenty of information about the pearl farm, cultured pearls & freshwater pearls, & variants such as Tahitian & Mabe pearls.

Following the demo we took a short walk to where the Tour Boat was moored. From there we were taken on a very pleasant boat trip to view the oyster beds. Our tour guide, who turned out to be the driver of our coach, then took us for a spin around Willie Creek, which is really a very large bay. Prior to heading back to the jetty our guide, assisted by a few others, gave us a demo of how the pearl shells are inserted into grids and then hung back into the water. The  boat trip was excellent & very informative.

Enjoying Morning Tea and Home Cooked Damper – Willie Creek Pearl Farm

On arrival back at the main buildings we were treated to an excellent morning tea, including a very delicious home cooked damper, with a selection of jams and cream. Very yummy. The environment & scenery were tops, the company great and the morning tea superb!

After morning tea we were let loose in the showroom where everyone, well mostly the ladies, ogled the exquisite selections of Willie Creek Cultured Pearls as well as selections of freshwater pearls, tahitian pearls and mabe pearls. The Coach Driver then collected us back into the coach & we enjoyed a pleasant, relaxed drive back to our resort at Cable Beach. I should mention that Willie Creek Pearls have a helicopter available for those who wish to take a quick flight around the region while visiting. (At that time $50 per person based on three passengers…but please check the current price at Willie Creek Pearl Farm)

I highly recommend the 4 hour tour. The amount of time was sufficient and left plenty of time to head to Cable Beach for the afternoon. Visit Willie Creek Pearl Farm for further information.

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Part 5 – Wilare Bridge Roadhouse to Giekie Gorge WA

View of Section of “Giekie Gorge” and “Fitzroy River” From Our Tour Boat

In part 4 of my Broome saga, I left you as our tour bus stopped at Wilare Bridge Roadhouse, some 190 kilometres east of Broome. Wilare Bridge Roadhouse…at last. A much needed, and friendly respite from the incessant, unending blend of monotonous flat scrub country and brilliant blue sky!

Wilare Bridge Roadhouse is one of very, very few places along this lonely section of the Great Northern Highway where you can refill the petrol or diesel tank. Plus the roadhouse serves an excellent selection of hot and cold meals and coffee, or take away food. If the blistering heat and humidity have really got to you, maybe enjoy a cold ale at the pub section of the roadhouse. Just one ale will do…you dont want to doze off and end up yet another statistic!

Much needed pit stop at Wilare Bridge Roadhouse on way to Fitzroy Crossing

The roadhouse also provides a pleasant outdoor area under covered pergolas. I recall with vivid memory how delighted I would be to see Wilare Bridge Roadhouse again that same evening! Everyone alighted eagerly from the coach and headed for the loos. After a 20 minute stop we were back on the four wheel drive coach and on our way…ever eastwards. We still had around 200 k to go before arriving at Fitzroy Crossing.

A quick photo stop on trip to Fitzroy Crossing to view the Giant Baobab Tree

The landscape began to alter after seventy or so k’s. The boring ,flat, scrub country gradually gave way to high ridges and more interesting scenery. After another long session of sitting in the coach, and experiencing yet another very numb behind, the Kimberley town of Fitzroy Crossing appeared in the distant shimmering heated air waves. Now I have often heard about Fitzroy Crossing. I dont think I had ever actually sighted a photo of the town which might have prepared me for the fact that there is very little of interest in the town.

Fitzroy Crossing essentially consists of a small and very old residential area, a few petrol stations and roadhouses, a very old Pub and a caravan park or two (or maybe three?). My apologies to Fitzroy Crossing if they have a lot more to offer than I have briefly described. However, as our tour coach was in a hurry to arrive at Giekie Gorge in time to meet our scheduled boat departure the trip through town was a quick one. He did give us more of a guided tour of the town on our way home. That took all of five minutes. Anyway my impression was that I would not wish to endure the long trip from the coast to visit Fitzroy Crossing again.

Finally, and with great relief to the nether portions of the bods, we arrived at the Gorge. Our coach driver/ guide then showed us another wonderful quality he possessed. He magically whipped up a first class luncheon for us at the side of the coach of chicken, ham, sausages, salads, plus much more, and plenty of coffee. Thanks very much to that most friendly and capable Tour Captain. Full marks!

Next we walked a few hundred metres along a track through heavily tree’d, rugged, colourful escarpment style country, and boarded our tour boat following our meeting with our Aboriginal Tour Guide. He gave us a fascinating rundown on the area and what lay ahead. He then led us to the Fitzroy River , a wide gorge river, to board the river Queen! When I saw our boat I knew that this trip to Broome and the Kimberley region would never run out of eye popping shocks!

Vine covered trees on walk to board boat at Giekie Gorge WA

You see, once again I am sure I had been given a wrong brochure for this whole trip. The photo of the boat in the brochure I had seen was a most comfy looking affair. Roomy, well fitted out with well padded seating and certainly looked very safe. As I stepped from the timber dock down into the square shaped tinny I profess to thinking…the way today has progressed there must be a crocodile waiting in the river for me! This little boat will surely sink with all us people aboard!

Nevertheless, our guide packed the 20 or so of us neatly into his little tinny boat, started the outboard motor, and we set off exploring the Fitzroy River and Giekie Gorge. The scenery is exquisite. The colours of the gorge cliffs which extend far above the river, the colour of the water, the birdlife and the many crocs eyeing us from either little sandy beaches, or from atop outcrops of rocks, were an experience not to be forgotten.

Cliff formations – Giekie Gorge – Kimberleys

Our Aboriginal Guide did a fantastic job of telling us all about the Gorge and it’s history from a tribal aspect. We stopped for a bit and after alighting from the boat our guide lit a fire in a very lonely, strange feeling canyon. He made us billy tea and continued to regale us with stories of his people. Altogether fascinating.

In fact almost fascinating enough for me to start thinking maybe the 900 K (est), round trip may be worth it after all. But no I wont get that carried away, because the trip back to broome which commenced around 5 PM was from my point of view an even more boring, bottom numbing long drawn out affair.

Around 8.30 that night out of the pitch black that surrounded us as our coach headed ever west some lights appeared in the distance through the front windsreeen of the bus. “There’s Wilare Roadhouse not too far ahead. Whos ready for dinner?” There issued a loud chorus of “thank goodness”, “how wonderful”, and similar heavy expressions of relief that we could finally escape these bottom numbing seats & hit the loos!

Once again the staff at Wilare Bridge Roadhouse were bright and friendly. How do they do that? Our dinner orders that our Tour Captain had left with the roadhouse on our way east were efficiently provided. We all sat outside under the pergolas, under a crystal clear sky jam packed full with stars, and enjoyed our dinners and a few ales or vinos. Then about an hour after we arrived it was back on the torture rack (the coach) and ever onward to Broome.

About an hour and a half later the lights of Broome hove into view. What a blessed relief that was. Shortly after we were home at Seashells Resort at around 11 PM….some eight hours later than we had expected. All in all a most unusual day. The sights were worth seeing but not at the expense of sitting in a coach for some eight or nine hours.

A lesson well learnt. Check out the details of a tour very carefully. Ask lots of questions and maybe avoid some nasty surprises. Best way to see Giekie Gorge my friends is get a Helicopter ride from Broome…not a one day coach trip!! Or if you wish to chance your arm with the coach trip take a good book and a big fat pillow to sit your rear end upon!

Please visit again. I will be posting “Part Six – Broome to Willie Creek Pearl Farm” in the next 48 hours.

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Broome to Geikie Gorge WA and Back – The Longest Day!!!

<= Never smile at a crocodile. Here’s a friendly (?) croc sun bathing on a sand bank at Geikie Gorge, in the Kimberley, as we cruised past in our “tinny” boat!

Day three, and we had decided to book a “four wheel drive” style coach tour from Broome, to enjoy a boat trip up the colourful Geikie Gorge river system. Now this trip to Broome had already produced a couple of “shocks” along the way. We were about to receive shock number three!

The coach collected us at around 8 am at Seashell’s Resort at Cable Beach. Prior to leaving the resort we made plans to enjoy an early evening BBQ amongst the tropical grounds of the resort when we arrived home from the tour. The evenings in Broome had been warm, balmy, and very still. We thought a barby would be the icing on the cake after our pleasant drive and boat trip up the fantastic gorge.

We settled into our seats on the coach. The tour guide/driver then passed back to each tour member a form to fill in as to what we would like for dinner that evening at the Willare Roadhouse along the Great Northern Highway? Hold on a moment….dinner this evening. We had been told we would be back in Broome mid afternoon….where on earth were we travelling to that we would be having dinner in the middle of the never never THAT NIGHT? And where and what was Wilare?

Well here came shock number three. You see, you need to really grill and quiz travel agents on matters like this. Either the travel agent gave us details on one tour and then sold us another. I will never know. Anyway a few friendly questions to our friendly tour guide soon wrecked our day! The trip we were on travelled some 400 kilometers east inland to Fitzroy Crossing. We then had to travel over some unmade road, board a small boat, conduct the two hour trip around the Gorge, get back on the coach and travel that same damned 400 + kilometers all the way back to Broome. Now I blame myself for this stuffup. I should have consulted a map before booking the tour..900 kilometres to take a short boat trip is a bit stoopid! And out in the outback it’s not like you are travelling through beautiful mountain country to make the long, long trip worth the trouble!

We were firmly committed by then. So we determined to make the best of the trip. A few hours later, with a very numb behind, I was already wishing I had stayed back at our resort in Broome! Eventually after driving through mind numbing, flat, scrubby country, occasionally relieved by a few odd shaped Baobab trees we reached Wilare Roadhouse. Thank goodness…another 30 minutes would have been too much.. Where’s the loo?

The Coach Stop at Wilare Road House a Few Hundred K East of Broome

There is nothing at Wilare. However I was that relieved, pardon the pun and the coffee break rejuvenated the old body to get ready to endure the next couple of hundred K’s to Fitzroy Crossing. Back later with the rest of the trip to Geikie Gorge WA and crocodiles!

Part Five is now posted : “Wilare Bidge Roadhouse to Giekie Gorge to Broome”

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Luxurious Pool at Seashell’s Resort – Broome Cable Beach

In my last post (Broome Part Two) I told you about our arrival in Broome and our first impressions. We were now driving to Cable Beach to book into the Seashell’s Resort. We had already worked out from the roadmap prior to leaving home where the Seashell’s Resort was, however we had also formed an impression of the Resort being surrounded by white, sandy beaches with views of the Indian ocean from our second story apartment. Wow were we in for a shock.

Firstly , the drive from Broome town west to the beaches was via heavily built up residential areas, and the landscape was scrubby and not in the least the tropical paradise we had imagined. Of course I was mildy aware of the second fact having visited Broome some twenty years earlier.

The shock was about to be revealed. We now had to turn right and head back inland away from famous Cable Beach. Lo and behold the Seashell’s Resort was nowhere near Cable Beach. It was a good 1.5 kilometres away from general access to Cable Beach.

Guest Entrance to Broome Seashell’s Resort

I double checked the resort address on the voucher and rechecked the name of the resort as we parked in the drive way entrance. Yes, we were at the right resort. It seemed our travel agent may have given us the wrong impression of the outlook of the resort. Anyway we accepted the fact that we would have a bit of a walk or a drive to visit and enjoy Cable Beach and checked into the resort.

Please dont misundersatnd me. We were delighted with Seashell’s Resort and would not hesitate to stay there next visit to Broome. We had just been given some incorrect information. Seashell’s Resort was glorious. The Staff were most pleasant and helpul. The apartment was large and roomy with a large balcony surrounded with tropical trees and undergrowth. The pool was exquisite and within the luxurious tropical grounds of the resort were excellent barbecue facilities.

And while we were disappointed that the beach was a good walk away we subsequently discovered that the ONLY resort close to Cable Beach was exceedingly pricey. We would probably not have stayed there anyway due to the over the top pricing.

Another plus we soon discovered was that Seashell’s Resort was right in the central hub of the cafe and restuarant region of Cable Beach. We could select from several places to dine and drink within an easy walking distance of our accommodation…and we subsequently fully exploited that fact.

We settled into our apartment then set off very early evening to watch the event known as the “Stairway to the Moon” back at Roebuck Bay. We went back to Town Beach along with hundreds of other tourists to settle in and observe this spectacular event. By around 6 pm it was getting dark and the moon was just rising in the east over the mudflats of Roebuck Bay. There were lots of family groups with picnic baskets and there was a general party atmosphere as the Markets were also underway on the lawned area opposite the Caravan park at Town Beach.

The evening sky darkened and as the moon rose in the east the reflections of the setting sun turned the moon an soft orange tint. The eerie moonlight then reflected across the mudflats and presented a spectacular appearance of stairs moving across Roebuck bay. We had planned out trip to coincide with this event and it was certainly worth so doing. Make sure you make your trip to Broome to see the “Stairway to the Moon” event.

We then drove back to Cable Beach, selected a delightful restaurant called the Zoo, next door to the Seashell’s Resort, and enjoyed an excellent dinner accompanied by a delightful Chardonnay. We then walked to Cable Beach and watched the surf rolling in towards the enormous expanse of the white sands of Cable Beach under the rising tropical moon. The reflected coloured lights from Cable Beach Resort and a nearby restaurant provided a magic mystical quality to the warm tropical evening.

Next day we had arranged to meet our friends who were arriving after a long flight from Melbourne at Broome Airport so it was time for a snooze after a busy and enjoyable day full of new travel experiences.

Our next big event would be our long, long trip to Geikie Gorge…and that would present all of us with shock number three…please revisit for Part Four.

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Part Two

Well here we are having just collected our hire car at Broome Airport. After packing our bags into the Ford’s boot we next went for a quick drive through the Broome streets to familiarise ourselves with our new north west country town environment. Now Broome Airport is unusual in that it is smack bang right in the middle of Broome, and the drive from the airport into Broome took only a couple of minutes.

Famous Cable Beach – Pristine White Sands

All those millions of hectares of empty red soil, and the powers that be, many years ago, built the airport almost in the centre of town.

The building structures in the town looked almost makeshift. Being apparently constructed of a type of cyclone proof, corrugated iron sheeting. Very different to the brick, concrete and tile structures we were accustomed to a couple of thousand kilometres back down south in Perth.

Anyway Broome certainly exudes it’s own unusual brand of beauty and charm in the form of unusual, mainly single story shops, a couple of great Aussie style pubs, a few enchantingly cool arcades full of cafes and restuarants and…well more about all that later. Can you see that Broome was growing on us as the culture shock began to wear off?

One Street of the Broome Shopping Precint

After checking out the four main streets of Broome town, which took all of five minutes by car, we headed south to Roebuck Bay to have a look at…well….I guess it was black gooey mud. You see the tide was out. Anyway we looked at the black gooey mud of Roebuck Bay from some green lawns at Town Beach, some 5 kilometres south of Broome town. Incidentally, there is a pleasant little cafe at Town Beach, plus the large sprawling Roebuck Bay Caravan Park. All very pleasant if you enjoy caravanning or tenting?

I think I got spoilt somewhere because I am definitely a lover of a thing called “five stars”.

Town Beach subsequently also proved to be an excellent vantage point to observe the weird and spectacular natural event called ” Stairway to the Moon”, plus they have an excellent fair and stall event here a couple of times a week. More about all that great stuff later.

Town Beach – Roebuck Bay – Broome

Hold on before I forget. The name Town Beach perhaps produces a picture of an idylic beach of white sands, blue water and surf. Forget it…it’s mud banks and cockle shells. Anyway I warned you!

Have I already mentioned it was damned hot and humid? Well it was! Fortunately the hire car had air conditioning. I can assure you we had the air con on every time we used the car. It was always unpleasantly humid..and the locals reckoned this was the “cold” season!! Maybe Broome locals hate us tourists and just rub it in that we are softies from down south?

We then headed west to Cable beach, some 10 kilometres west of the town, to check into our accommodation for the week at the Seashells Resort. Now we had expected to see tropical type jungles on our drive to Cable Beach. In fact what we saw were street after street of residential areas. I was stunned at the huge amount of housing expansion since my last visit 20 years ago!

Even when the residential areas eventually fizzled out we did not see any tropical jungle. Apparently someone had stolen it, or probably it never existed other than in my mind?

Now, the next little shock was awaiting us?

Please visit in a couple of days for part Three

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- Part One of Three Parts

Planning a holiday to Western Australia? If you want to visit a west Aussie town steeped in pearling history, that still exudes a touch of frontier country, make sure you include Broome in your itinerary. Broome has heaps more to offer than just pearling history…let me tell you about Broome.

<= (Section of famous Cable Beach)

Broome is the historic Pearling Lugger town of the wild north west coastal region of the Pilbara. Recently I revisited Broome after an absense of some 20 years. A major reason for my not returning to Broome for so long was due to my disappointment on my first trip to Broome way back in the late 1970’s. Back in those days I discovered Broome lacked much in the way of creature comforts and was a wild and rough place….maybe I was a softy?

However in recent years Broome suddenly developed a “wow” factor….like “Wow, just got back from a trip to Broome….fantastic holiday”. “Wow..Just spent a month in Broome in our caravan…what a life they enjoy up there”.

Many years ago we made a pact to meet up with some friends from Victoria to celebrate a very important mutual Wedding Anniversary. We had to settle on a place to meet and celebrate for a week or so. The other three participants had never been to Broome, and though I was somewhat hesitant after my earlier
experience, I agreed….if somewhat reluctantly.

We flew from Perth to Broome on a Saturday morning via Qantas. After around a two hour flight, the aircraft began it’s descent into Broome Airport. The descent via the coast was spectacular. The colour of the Indian Ocean was a brilliant blue green. The vividly red ochre coloured soil of the coast, plus the white ribbon
of pure white beach sands was staggering to behold from the air.

I had warned my wife about my old impressions of Broome and not to be disappointed on arrival. Well, the terminal was not vastly improved. Dont expect a world class international style airport terminal. It’s basic and serves the purpose.

This was in June. The sky was a bright hazy blue. And it was hot and humid. By the time we had packed our bags into our hire car we were really perspiring. I then gave my wife a quick drive around Broome township…and yes, we felt somewhat flat at our first impression of Broome! Broome had altered dramatically during my 20 year absence. Much bigger. The style of building is what jolts the visual senses.

Nearly all the buildings appear to be constructed out of corrugated metal sheeting which gives the place a bit of a rough and ready appearance.

Street in Broome Township

To be continued in Part Two (To be posted to this Blog in a day or two)

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