Our second lot of guests, Di and Bob, arrived earlier this week. In case you’re wondering how one can have house guests in a caravan it’s easy. Just bring a tent and a couple of air mattresses. We hadn’t thought of it before, but having brought the tent with us for the Gibb River, we put the invite out there, and had two lots of takers.

Flying up to Broome, with a tent for accommodation and sharing our site, car etc makes for an affordable winter escape for our guests. And we all get to spend some quality holiday friendship time together – how good is that.  I think the tent may become a permanent fixture in our caravan boot.

Di and Bob’s arrival corresponded beautifully with Broome’s famous ‘staircase to the Moon’. During the winter months as the full moon rises over Roebuck Bay at low tide, the reflections on the ripples in the damp mudflats creates a stunning staircase effect. It usually happens for three nights over the full moon period.

We took drinks and chairs down to Town Beach and settled down to watch the moon rise on the first night. The second night saw us at the Mangrove Hotel for a few drinks and some dinner, and to again watch the moon rise. Both showed off the staircase beautifully, but each with a totally different atmosphere.

Town Beach has night markets on Staircase nights, so there’s a market place, mardi gras type atmosphere. At the Mangrove, we sipped cocktails while waiting for the moon to rise – a far more sophisticated experience. The the lights dim heralding the start of the moon’s ascent over the damp, glistening mud flats. A didgeridoo playing accompanies the whole experience creating a haunting, almost spiritual experience. Both very different nights – both memorable in their own way.

We’ve spent a bit of time at the beaches, either walking and beach combing, fishing, or just sitting watching the waves, with a bit of a dip to cool off. The ‘glow in the dark’ skin colour they both arrived with is gradually fading. Di, with the help of carefully applied sun screen is now a creamy light brown. Bob’s sun screen application looks to have been a bit hit and miss, and he’s looking a bit more pie-bald in colour – a nice mix of creamy tan ,with some not so lovely beetroot red patches….. whoops! A bit of unwelcome sun burn, and sadly, still no fish!!

Planned for next week we have a couple of days at the races. Tuesday is ladies day – so we’ll put on our glad rags and head down to the race track for that one. Then next Saturday is the Broome Cup, a huge event in Broome, so the glad rags will be out again for that one. Hope we have more luck at the races than we’ve had with the fishing rods.

Looking at the weather forecast is a daily occurrence. The rain continues to fall in Perth, while the sun continues to shine in Broome. A frequent comment whilst sitting under the beach umbrella looking out at the turquoise waters of Cable Beach continues to be, “What a pleasure”!