Feature by Fleur Bainger
Marvel at the natural diversity found in Broome as you fly over curiously flat waterfalls, witness a breathtaking mudflat moon-dance, and watch a rare dolphin species play in a turquoise bay.
Day one: a seaplane water landing, remote outback properties and wild waterfall boat ride
5.30am – The early start is totally worth it for the eye-popping adventure you’re embarking on. Not only do you fly over the extraordinary Horizontal Falls as they gush and froth, you also land on water and join a white-knuckle boat ride between the narrow ranges that the falls squeeze through. Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures has a full day tour that includes pick up from your accommodation and trips to the family-owned Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm.
6pm – Grab a wine and a white garden chair at the Mangrove Hotel, arguably the best viewing spot for Broome’s lunar light phenomenon known as Staircase to the Moon. Each full moon from March to October sees the mudflats at Roebuck Bay illuminate as though they’re a flight of white stairs leading to the glowing orb. Get goosebumps as a didgeridoo warble begins just as the moon emerges.
Horizontal Falls
Day two: turtles, crocodiles and round-headed dolphins
9am – Start the day by turtle-spotting from a kayak. Broome Adventure Company will pick you up and whisk you to an ocean of patchwork blues, where turtles dart like shooting stars. The guide sets a relaxed paddling pace and, over three hours, takes you through a marine environment you’d never otherwise see. If you’re lucky, you might cross manta rays, dolphins, dugongs and, from June to September, whales.
1230pm – Stop in at The Good Cartel to grab a tasty take away lunch and point your wheels towards the legendary Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park and Animal Refuge. Found 15 minutes’ drive out of town, past Cable Beach, the park is home to some seriously hefty crocodiles. Getting up close to these captivating creatures certainly triggers the adrenalin, even if they are behind sturdy chain fences. Spend one hour croc watching, and pop in on the emus, cassowaries and kangaroos loved by the eponymous filmmaker and action man.
2.30pm – Pinch yourself as you watch the so-cute-you-want-to-cuddle-them snubfin dolphins. With their melon-shaped heads, they almost look like puppets. Rarely seen elsewhere in the world, in Broome’s calm and protected marine park, Roebuck Bay, they fish (by spitting at their prey!) and frolic happily in the open. They’re so accessible, David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II filmed them for the latest series. Join Broome Whale Watching’s 3.5 hour eco tour to ooh and ahh.
Roebuck Bay
6.30pm – With only an hour to devote to dinner, pop in to new Vietnamese restaurant Mr Saigon for fast, excellent pork skewers, pho noodle soup or crispy skin chicken salad.
8pm – Spending a night with Greg Quicke might just blow your mind. Don’t get the wrong idea; the bearded astronomer delivers star gazing tours that will change the way you look at the night sky. Almost as much a showman as a devotee of the universe, the quirky TV personality uses lasers, telescopes and eloquence to explain the earth’s constant turning and unveil the expanse of stars, planets and dark matter beyond our stratosphere. Two hours you’ll never forget.