Wheeee! Heading into the jaws of Horizontal Falls.Credit: Daniel Scott
Daniel Scott gives 20 reasons to visit this pearler of a town.
1 IT'S ON THE BUCKET LIST
Year-round sunshine, the vibrant red earth meeting the turquoise Indian Ocean, Cable Beach's almost empty 22 kilometres of white sand, spectacular sunsets, Asian influences and indigenous heritage all combine to make Broome one of Australia's most exotic and romantic towns. "Broome is growing in national stature," says Ron Sedon, Cable Beach Club Resort's general manager. "It's now on most people's bucket list."
Sunset: Home-going camel trekkers pass a pearl lugger in Broome.Credit: Tourism Western Australia
2 STAIRCASE TO THE MOON
While the sunsets over Broome's Cable Beach are justifiably famous, on the other side of the peninsula, between March and October, there's another spectacular natural phenomenon involving the moon. It occurs for two to three days a month as the full moon rises, lighting a staircase-like path, across the mudflats in Roebuck Bay. It's best viewed from Town Beach and the "moon market". See staircasetothemoon.com.au.
3 AUSTRALIA'S FIRST MULTICULTURAL TOWN
Thanks to the pearling industry, Broome was multicultural 100 years before most of Australia. The lure of pearl shell drew Europeans, Chinese, Malaysians, Indonesians, Japanese and Filipinos from the 1860s onwards. "Broome is a melting pot of races," says Kim Male, whose family has been in Broome since pearling's earliest days.
4 HORIZONTAL FALLS SEAPLANE ADVENTURE
If there is one tour from Broome not to miss it is this journey to the world's only sideways-falling cascades. The 90-minute flight to the falls takes you over the Dampier Peninsula's glimmering bays and red pindan cliffs and above the fjord-like inlets and islands of the Buccaneer archipelago. After landing nearby, there is the chance to snorkel, in a cage, with tawny sharks before you speed through the two gaps in the McLarty range on an inflatable. Riding the falls, created by some of the planet's largest tidal movements, is as thrilling as any theme park ride, in a landscape a million times more inspiring. Half-day tours depart 5.30am and 11.30am daily, April-October, $745 adults, $645 children. See horizontalfallsadventures.com.au
5 DINOSAUR FOOTPRINTS
There aren't many towns where you can see 130 million-year-old dinosaur footprints. Located on the seabed near Gantheaume Point, six kilometres outside Broome, they are visible at very low tides. At other times, a land-based plaster cast of the prints, set amid weathered sandstone rock formations, gives an impression of the size of the stegosauruses, sauropods and theropods that once roamed this region.
6 AUSTRALIA'S OWN RAFFLES HOTEL
"This is the Broome icon," says Ron Sedon. Opened in 1988 by Britain's Lord Alistair McAlpine and refurbished in 2012, Cable Bay Beach Club mirrors the Asian colonial style of old Broome and is the only resort positioned right on Cable Beach. Set among tropical gardens, the property features two pools (one adults-only), a spa, three restaurants and various styles of accommodation from family-friendly bungalows (styled on historic pearling masters quarters) to lavish suites adorned with antiques and original art. Try a cocktail at the Sunset Bar. Studios from $389 a night in season. See cablebeachclub.com
7 COURTHOUSE MARKETS
Colourful and laid-back, the markets are a local fixture on Saturday mornings. Grab a coffee and stroll around the stalls that encircle Broome's old courthouse, built in 1888. Get your tarot cards read, buy pearls, jewellery and indigenous art or try on floaty dresses perfect for Broome's balmy climate. Corner Frederick and Hamersely streets, 8am-1pm, Saturdays year-round, Sundays, Easter-October. See broomecourthousemarkets.com.au.
8 EXPLORE BY BIKE
With old Broome and Cable Beach a few kilometres apart, you can get around by bus, taxi or by rental car. But with a network of cycleways and traffic-light roads hiring a bike is a fun way to go, especially early mornings. See broomecycles.com.au, 2 Hamersley Street, have rental bikes for $24 a day.
9 ECO BEACH
In 2000, Eco Beach resort, set amid coastal dunes 130 kilometres from Broome, was destroyed by Cyclone Rosita. Undaunted, owner Carl Plunket set about building a more luxurious, even more eco-sensitive retreat, opened in 2009. With eco villas running off their own solar panels, a vast bank of batteries - recharged daily by sunlight - powering the resort and a micro-organic wastewater system, "it's now way beyond carbon neutral", says Plunket. Eco Beach is now just a 20-minute flight from Broome. The resort also has a new spa, new chef Brad Smith producing excellent, inventive fare and 21-year-old indigenous guide Domanic Matsumoto, who leads enlightening tours through the coastal dunes. Eco villas from $345 a night. See ecobeach.com.au.
10 GRAB A BEER AT THE ROEY
The Roebuck Bay Hotel isn't the most salubrious joint in Broome but it's right in Chinatown and is one venue where you're guaranteed to rub shoulders with locals. Live music includes bands like Broome's renowned seven-piece, The Pigram Brothers. Plus it's historic, it was established in 1890 and it was where, in the 1980s, Lord McAlpine bought the land on which to build the Cable Beach Club, a deal sealed on a beer mat. roebuckbayhotel.com.au
11 PEARLS
Without the discovery of the pinctada maxima pearl shell in Roebuck Bay in 1861, Broome would not have been developed. But by the early 20th century, it was the world's most important pearling town and pearls remain synonymous with Broome. To learn about the process of producing cultured pearls take a two-hour Willie Creek Pearl Farm tour (williecreekpearls.com.au. Tour only, $55 adults/$50 children). To take a pearl home, visit Linneys (linneys.com) or Paspaley (paspaley.com) in Chinatown. Between September 13-22, the Shinju Matsuri (Festival of the Pearl) celebrates Broome's connection with the gems - shinjumatsuri.com.au/
12 YOGA AT BUDDHA'S SANCTUARY
The Buddha's Sanctuary, incorporating a 3.5-metre tall quartz-crystal buddha and floors inlaid with crystal, was a present to Broome from the Cable Beach Club's Malaysian owners, one of whom is a faith healer. Daily 7.30am yoga sessions here draw on the powerful spiritual ambience and are free for resort guests, $10 for others.
13 SUN PICTURES
Opened in 1916, Sun Pictures is, according to Guinness World Records, the planet's oldest operating outdoor picture gardens and has survived cyclones, tidal flooding and Japanese air raids during World War II. The National Trust-listed cinema shows movies most nights. 8 Carnarvon Street, sunpictures.com.au.
14 HISTORY
For an intriguing historical insight, visit Broome Museum, (67 Robinson Street, broomemuseum.org.au).
Displays include William Dampier's journal from his 1688 world voyage, during which he came ashore close to Broome, and a panel detailing the role of Aborigines in early pearling, forced to free dive in dangerous seas. Open daily, 10am-1pm year-round; 10am-4pm, Monday-Friday between May-September, entry $5. The hour-long Pearl Luggers tour (31 Dampier Terrace, pearlluggers.com.au) brings the stories behind Broome's pearling past vividly to life. It features historic luggers, original hard-hat diving gear and includes a taste of pearl meat. $20 adults/$10 children, regular tours daily.
15 SPA WARS
Broome is one of Australia's most relaxing towns, running on its own languid "Broome time", and has several day spas to help you get into the mood. The Cable Beach Club recently opened the Chahoya Spa by L'Occitaine, the first entry into the Australian spa market by the sophisticated Frenchies. Treatments here, delivered in rooms featuring sumptuous Sidney Nolan paintings, include the Journey to Provence (price $250), a two-hour massage/facial indulgence. See cablebeachclub.com/chahoya-spa. Not to be outdone, the Pinctada Hotel's Li'tya spa offers authentic indigenous-themed treatments in a soothing courtyard-garden setting. See pinctadacablebeach.com.au.
16 STARGAZING
Greg Quicke is a Broome character from way-back-when and his two-hour astronomy experience tour, with super-powerful telescopes trained on the glittering Outback firmament, is as entertaining as it is educational. Tours cost $80 adults/$50 kids, including transfers. His site is astrotours.net.
17 AZUKI JAPANESE FUSION
Azukis is one Broome eatery that reflects its rich cultural heritage. Everything on the Japanese-accented menu is delicious but the okonomiyaki (savoury pancake) with banana prawn and the organic octopus salad with pickles, mango and onion is unforgettable. 1/15 Napier Terrace, open lunch and dinner, Monday-Friday.
18 BIRDS
The Broome region is of international significance for its shorebirds, attracting more species than anywhere else on earth. Around 150,000 avians visit the shores of Roebuck Bay every year, on their migratory routes covering thousands of kilometres from Asia. In all, about 300 bird species, or a third of all Australian varieties, are found along the watersides around Broome. The Broome Bird Observatory, 24 kilometres along Roebuck Bay, is twitcher heaven in a beautiful natural setting. Entry by donation, broomebirdobservatory.com.
19 BARRA
If you've never known the excitement of hooking a barramundi then Broome could be the place to experience it. Slim's Barra Charters (barramundislim@westnet.com.au, phone 04 2827 2475) run day-tours to the nearby Fitzroy river, teeming with barramundi, mangrove jack and saltwater crocs, and offer guidance on how to land the big one.
20 MATSO'S BREWERY
The 1910 building housing Matso's was once Broome's first bank and later a Chinatown store located in Sheba Lane. In 1985, it was purchased and moved to its current Hamersley Street location by the eccentric Lord McAlpine, who's certainly done a lot around here. For the past 16 years, it's been operating as a cafe, gallery and brewery and its exotic hand-crafted beers are now available nationwide. Offerings such as mango and desert lime cider and Matso's ginger beer are irresistible on warm Broome evenings. See matsos.com.au.
Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter
Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.