11 August

it was Ladies Day at the Broome Racing Carnival yesterday, and on Saturday the carnival will culminate with the Broome cup. This is traditionally the biggest week of the tourist season in Broome, and following the cup the tourists start leaving in their droves. With the town currently bursting at the seams like never before I’m sure the resident towns folk will breath a sigh of relief as they see the town begin to return to normality. It must be frustrating for them to walk around their supermarket with shelves stripped bare by tourists, and then to have to queue for 20 mins at the checkout – yes it’s that busy.

The crowds haven’t bothered us as yet. We’re enjoying staying at the RAC caravan park, which is the closest park to Cable Beach. It’s a difficult park to get into, and has taken us several years to secure a booking. It means we can take Tills for his early morning beach walk without having to get in the car. This morning the tide was low, so we explored around the rock pools. I love the way the receding tide leaves forest like patterns in the sand.

There are a lot of dinosaur prints in the rocks around Broome. We took a Hoovercraft flight a few years ago and were shown quite a few. https://lifeofrileyow.com/2017/06/11/broomes-own-jurassic-park/ They’re quite distinctive once you know what you’re looking at. Apparently as the tide washes away layers from the rocks, more prints are often discovered. I think we found one this morning.

I finally managed to give the caravan a good clean. We left home in a bit of a hurry so the caravan hasn’t been as well organised as usual. I think I have it sorted now! I don’t know about you, but I struggle to be able to relax if my environment is cluttered and messy. After the van was spic and span, Tills was next. Paul shampooed him in the shower. I towel dried him, then clipped his nails. He decided his reward for being obliging should be a walk. He picked up his lead and shook it in front of me – that was a first. It was just too cute to ignore, so we grabbed our towels and walked him over to the beach for a swim and some relaxation on the sand.

Apart from that the day was uneventful. The trip up here is long and tiring, but it only takes a couple of days of being here to feel the stresses from the trip melting away. I didn’t think we were going to make it this year. I’m so glad we did. As always, being in Broome – what a pleasure!