Relaxing by the pool isn't hard after doing some laps , so we do it some more and drip off before heading back to the RV . Something to eat , check the maps to plan the next expedition and places to stay .
We head down to the front of the park to be picked up by bus and start our tour . Waiting for about 15mins before the bus showed up , and then had to wait for some others to come down as well - they were told 12 noon !!!! Anyway , off we went , down to Gantheaume Point for our transfer to the larger boat . We thought we may have been transferred out in a small boat that actually has wheels and drives up the beach , but not today , we had a small outboard that took 5 at a time . The sea was rising to high tide and had a bit of swell happening , we were getting chucked around a bit while we waited for the 2nd group . The bigger boat didn't seem to be any different to the dinghy , as we cruised off up to the north , up & down , back & forth , the swell running at about 2m .
The cruise took us all the way along Cable Beach - all 23 klms of it . It was a different view of Cable Beach and showed us the bars & surf club , also Kerry Stokes small house at the end , and the owners of Argyle Diamond Mine have the house next door - this is about the only way to get the smallest glimpse of them .
Continuing on , we were seeing a few large sea birds and lots of jellyfish , there was a turtle of reasonable size , but as soon as it saw the boat , it was gone ! I feel the swell may have something to do with not seeing too much wildlife !!
Reaching the end of Cable Beach , we pulled into Willie Creek and as you would expect , the swell ceased , just had the current from the tide on its way in to contend with . The first house / building that we saw , used to be a immigration detention centre - not for too many I think - the next house is Willie Creek Pearls . We pulled up on the beach and climbed down the ladder out of the boat , making our way up to the building .
We were ushered into the gazebo to the side and had a presentation about pearls and what they do to cultivate them - they can be seeded four times , then used for pearl meat and pearl shell , which can be ground up and used in makeup and lots of other things !!
The demonstration showed us a pearl shell that was a bit sick , and therefore useful for demo purposes .
If you look closely , you can see a soft shell crab and a pearl . Every pearl shell has its own crab for housekeeping purposes . The pearl inside is only small and is a Keshi pearl - as close as you will get to a natural pearl - they are usually small and irregular in shape . Here it is -
The demo continued and they passed some pearls around to have a look at - certainly a contrast in the 2 photos .
Next , we headed over to the outdoor area for lunch - guess what we're having , yes beef of course !! Well beef in the shape and taste of barramundi , and it was lovely , washed down with a Matso's Pale Ale !!
Next step was the boat again & out to the 2 lines of cages they have in the creek . Stopping and tying up in the current , they pulled out a cage full and showed us a few different ones from previous problems they've had - worms & other parasites . The shells need to be cleaned and barnacles removed , every 5 weeks in the wet season - a bit like painting the harbour bridge , when you've got thousands of pearl shells to clean and rehang .
They took us for a little cruise - about 15mins - around the creek , showing us where high tide came to a few days ago at the highest tide for the year . Mother Nature has left a little sculpture of an elephant seal on the banks .
Back to the showroom ( the lower level of the house ) and they gave us another chat about the care & storage of your pearls , what to look for when you buy your pearls , and how much you may expect to pay when you buy your pearls , and then left us to have a browse in the shop , just in case we want to BUY some pearls !!!
They didn't extract any more money from us , and we waited for the others before jumping on the bus for the ride back to Broome !! There were some interesting flowers at the entry .
The track took us beside a large area that gets inundated by water in the highest of tides and of course also in the wet season rains . The roads get closed if they have 50mm or more of rain .
The road left the lowland area and then went straight to the red dirt tracks that are so prevalent here .
The dirt is Pindan and is a bright orange / red in colour - another contrast with the green & blue .
As most tracks here , this one too , was corrugated and sandy , the difference today is , we didn't have to drive on it !!
Before much longer , we were out to the highway and back in Broome getting dropped off . Time for some salsa & beer .
A bit remiss of me , you really should have a look at the blog from last month at the Bungles (23/8/15) - only 2 people have viewed that one - there's lots of photos people !!
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