Our Adventure Tour through the Kimberly pulled up mid-Sunday afternoon, and while the trip was over, Richard and I arranged a get-together to have a cold, frozen drink at the Sunset Bar and, well, watch the sunset. So, one $14 cocktail later, we sat on the grass and watched the sun blush as we admired its beauty and it began the long journey to Europe and around the world yet again. Dinner was calling our name, so we were off to the Roebuck, which had a decent roast meal on, and slowly our last night together as a whole group wound down. I wasn’t sure how long I wanted to stay in Broome, but I had seen Alex’s $400/night resort and thought it could be fun to try a job there, so I walked up early the next morning and applied there and booked myself some accommodation while I was at it. No, not at the resort. At another hostel that didn’t remind me of the place I’d had my stuff stolen in Surfers.
Simon, that is my Canadian compatriot from the Darwin-Broome tour, and myself went into town to look around and I got a call for an interview the following morning. I also got my photos backed up on a DVD and updated my Facebook among so many other things. Nine days is a long time to be without Internet; and a Laundromat. So we washed the filth and red sand from our clothes and met up with the others again, though we missed the sunset and the picnic. Simon and I went for dinner and drinks at Divers Tavern instead and chatted with a real honest-to-goodness vagrant that had been traveling Australia since he was 19. He was now in his late 60s and could use a shower. Anyone worried I’ll keep traveling forever should take solace in my reaction to this gentleman.
The next morning I had my interview at the Cable Beach Resort and was offered a job, which I had to think about. It was my third day in Broome and I was already getting a little bored. But it was nice to be offered a job regardless. Simon came by for an interview that morning and also was offered a job. We ran into the Dutch ladies when we got back to the hostel and apparently Louise (the 78 year old) hadn’t slept in 2 days because of a toothache. To make matters more pressing, they were setting off the next morning for a 9 day journey to Perth which would leave them far removed from any medical assistance. Their attempt to get a dental appointment had failed as they needed an appointment, but I figured there must be a miscommunication since their English was a bit on the broken side so I called the dentist myself and explained the situation and managed to get her an emergency checkup. Simon and I brought them there with a cab and made sure they got in alright then got lunch in town.
I’d also seen a special on a trip down to Perth stopping at all the highlights and checked into it. It wasn’t with an official company, per se, it was a tour guide that worked for Adrenaline Check and was taking a bunch of people down the coast at the end of season for $450 to cover his costs. I checked into the company and everything looked fairly legit so I booked it – the trip is usually $1600 but was costing me $450 and I could hardly pass it up. So I leave Broome on October 1. I decided I’d still take the job and see how it goes. If nothing else it’ll make the days pass faster and pad my new Australian bank account. I arranged to meet up with Peter from Adrenaline Check, and my nerves were running a little higher. He not only seemed anxious to get my money, but was going to be showing up in some jeep, and I was supposed to pay him the cash. I arranged to only pay part of it as a guarantee that I would be going and had Simon hang back and take down license info and photos. While I was meeting with Peter, Simon apparently had the Dutch ladies walk by feeling much better, albeit Louise had left a tooth behind in Broome. They gave Simon $10 to buy us each a beer which was quite nice and not needed, but it did make us feel good.
We met with the others and went to Mangrove for the sunset view, which is non-existent from there. However, the sandflies were out in force, which was almost as good. Back to Coles for some groceries and then a picnic on Cable Beach, back to the hostel for Billy Madison, and then Simon and I said goodbye to all the others who’d be moving on towards Perth tomorrow. The next two days were about as interesting. I sat by the pool, decided not to take a job at the resort after all (for all the training, I wouldn’t be doing anything useful for them for that week and I felt quite guilty), and then a few of us went to watch The Bourne Ultimatum (again) in an open air theatre. It got really lifelike when a low flying plane buzzed us just as they were at an airport. On Thursday was the Staircase to the Moon, a festival that celebrates the way the mudflats make it look like there are stairs leading up to the rising full moon. I went to the Mangrove Bar early (5:00) and got a front row spot. It would’ve been a pretty big step because there was only one stair that night, which was a big disappointment to everyone there. Still, it was cool to watch the moon rise.
Friday, Simon had the day off, so we went to the beach with a boogie board after I moved back to Cable Beach Backpackers again. There were a few good waves and it was, surprise surprise, a nice relaxing day. Saturday was more of the same except that I went to the beach with some backpackers I just met and did so at night. This was great! But I’m getting ahead of myself. That morning the footy finals were on, and the one team I’d seen play and decided to support, the Geelong Cats, were playing for the gold. Divers Tavern was full but I found a spot on the pool table and watched as they made history and won the cup. It was at this point that I knew that the Roughriders would be winning the footy back home, too. Now, back to the beach party that night. The full moon shone on the water, the surf crashed in, and we sat in a big oval around two campfires because there were 60 of us. I left the beach around 3AM and was asleep by 4:30 since there were still people milling about the hostel that I had a drink with. Sunday gave me one last chance to enjoy Broome and get things sorted before heading down to Perth (hopefully) with twelve other adventurers.
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