From Derby, it’s west to Broome, well known for its place in the Australian Pearling industry. We took a drive to Willie’s Creek Pearl Farm, up a red dusty road, to find out more about pearl production and its history. We had a great tour with an Irish guy who explained how the pearls are seeded and harvested, making you realise just why quality pearls are so expensive – it is a specialised and labour intensive process. He let the boys harvest a pearl out of a shell, and it was a beauty, but unfortunately not to keep! I tried on a $20,000 golden pearl necklace, but it just wasn’t my colour so we didn’t buy it! A visit to the Japanese and Chinese Cemetery gave us a good insight into how dangerous the industry was historically too, not only from the dangers of deep water diving but also the frequent cyclones that hit this area.
The location of the farm is incredible, the water is azure and clear, so another good spot to take a short helicopter ride for the boys to spot whales from the air. Later that evening we had a drive onto Cable Beach for a picnic to watch the gorgeous sunset and the camels.
A spot of fishing for Ben and Ollie at Pardoo Station Stay.
From Broome, it was inland to Karijini National Park. Ben still talks to EVERYONE we meet, and it seemed to be one of the places most hotly tipped as a ‘must’ to visit. With good reason too, it has some incredible, and challenging walks into stunning gorges and waterfalls – just what we needed after some long car journeys. We met another family at the Dales Gorge camp ground, with boys the same age as ours, who instantly bonded and we all enjoyed spending a day gorge walking with them, and the evening building their own den in the park.
Fantastic geological features.
Descending into Handrail Pool
Hancock Gorge
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