and I'll sail her up the west coast…. through villages and towns…….. I'll be on my holidays……. they'll be doing their rounds…... they'll ask me how I got her I'll say "I saved my money"…… they'll say isn't she pretty that ship called dignity.........

What a fantastic few days away we just had. I took my laptop away with me so I could blog whilst away !! Fat chance !! No chance !! Far too busy reading trashy beach novel & basking by the pool.... when it got too warm dipping in said pool and then returning to said trashy beach novel to continue reading about the saga of the girl that lost her engagement ring only to fall in love with the guy she met when she found a mobile phone in the rubbish bin.... I know you want to know so much more about the book but that's all I'm going to divulge to you !! I mean, you might stumble across this book one day so I won't give away the ending..... although I'm guessing you may be able to take a wild stab in the dark as to how it all ends up?

Anyway... Broome !! aahhhhh... total relaxing bliss. Five days was not long enough, but we had a fab time all the same. Great company with our friends Ben & Bec. Just perfect people to travel with. No fuss, same interests and easy going. It took us all a couple of days to wind down from Perth life / work life / the last few months etc etc. We arrived in Broome at midday on Friday so went straight to the pool and lay down. I think I fell asleep. The rest of the afternoon is all a daze. I can't remember too much as we were so zonked from the drain of the past few months. Our friends were't arriving until later that evening so we had a bit of time to acclimatise and get a feel for the resort, get our bearings and arrange a table for dinner. They arrived around 7pm so we went straight to the restaurant and caught up over steak and vino. Not a bad start to the holiday. I started to feel a bit tired and achy so took off around 9pm for bed. I woke up the next day with a pretty bad sore throat. Hadn't slept well, and by the morning was feeling ... well, pretty shit really ! So straight to the local Dr's for something to help. He gave me a 3 day course of antibiotics. Brilliant ! I was fixed within 24 hours. Never again will I opt for the 10 day doses. 3 days and it was all gone.

That first full day (Day 2) we all pretty much zombied out by the pool and did a lot of staring around. The days are around 30C. We did head into town briefly and did a quick shop for snacks & drinks for the room. I also had to purchase a jumper as it gets quite cool at night. Down to about 17C which is chilly when you are sitting outside and have only bought light summer tops or singlets to wear - gotta love Best & Less for a bargain !!! But that was about it. Evenings were always at The Sunset Bar & Grill where you could watch the amazing sunset and then the camels coming in from the beach. The hardest decision is whether to order a cocktail, a beer or a glass of wine.

Day 3 we decided to plan our daily tourist duties. 

There were only a couple of things we wanted to do.... a camel ride and a sunset cruise on a yacht (well an old pearl logger) I had decided that I'd rather like to go out to a pearl farm so Dirk & I decided to do that one by ourselves. 

So at 4pm on Sunday we took to the beach and were introduced to the camels... I got Alice ..... Alice? ....who the fuck is Alice? She was a sweet thing, pretty friendly and liked to be scratched. We became firm friends in that hour.... I'm not sure she'll remember me now but I'll never forget her !! Apart from the annoying backpacker in front of me that thought she knew everything about sand crabs and photography it was a really enjoyable ride. ("Get a big black dog up ya" ......Backpacker !!! - that's for you Nags) After the sunset ride we headed back to the hotel, quickly freshened up and we had booked to go to the Thai restaurant at the hotel - very nice - a perfect way to finish off the day. We were well and truly beginning to relax now. The boys had played tennis and crazy golf the previous day and had a date with a table tennis table to decide who was the overall winner..... all bets were off .... Bec & I went to bed !! 

Day 3 was the day Dirk & I had decided to go Pearl shopping .... <cough>.... I mean go and learn about how Pearl farming is done in Broome. We had to be outside the hotel ready to go by 8am !! yikes... which also meant breakfast was at 7:30am !! Double yikes.... that's the earliest I'be been up in ages. But I managed it.... just. We were squeezed onto a bus with a bunch of over 70's. We were the youngest by about 30 years - at least !! It was 1/2 hour bus ride to Willie Creek Pearl Farm - actually just the next beach from Cable Beach which was only approx 5 km's away up the coast, but 38km's by road. Most of the trip was on a dark red, iron rich, dirt track. Straight past the Police lines and the protesters against Woodside's Gas Hub at James Price Point. And up into Willie Creek farm. We were introduced to the "gang" (more backpackers) and then shown to a tin shed where we were taught about the history and how to's of pearl farming. It was actually very interesting. And I also got to stick my fingers into a oyster's scrotum and pull out the growing pearls. There were four of them in there !! Bloody hell - even the backpacker was also amazed !! Said he hadn't see 4 come out of a scrotum before !! Yeah right, I bet he says that to all the girls !! After the lesson, we were treated to morning tea and then were whisked away to a small tinny (boat) and taken out to the creek where they had a "simulated" oyster string out in the ocean. We were shown how they are cleaned and told about the history and procedures of cleaning and checking the shells. The a boat ride through the estuaries... everyone had their eyes peeled for crocs but we didn't see any. After we returned to dry land (and lucky as Dirk was getting queazy from the 20 minute boat ride) we were then taken to the 'pièce de résistance'..... the shop !! However, at this point we were reminded that during morning tea, I had excitedly signed us up for a helicopter ride ...... suckers !!!..... so we were whisked away to the Helipad (dirt gravel clearing) next to the shop and taken up on a 5 minute ride over the bay and estuary - by another backpacker - I have to say though, it was totally amazing. The views and scenery were fantastic and you couldn't have seen it that way any other way. Totally worth being ripped off for. So back to the shop, where we now had only 5 minute left of shopping. I saw something I liked, but there wasn't the exact one that fitted me available. I'm pretty sure the poor bugger that was serving me worked on a commission, as he had just about every pearl in the shop on the counter and was doing the most amazing sell job on me. But I left confused and empty handed..... a little disappointed ..... but I had a plan.......

We were escorted back to our retiree coach and started the trip back down the bumpy red tracks also known as the Broome Highway !! On the way out that morning, just before our hotel, I had spotted a Willie Creek Pearl Showroom. This was my cunning plan..... I got the bus driver to drop us here on the way back (much to Dirk's dismay - I think he thought he had got off lightly... asif !!!) ..... and low and behold.... they had the exact bracelet that wasn't available in the other store. Can you believe it.... I mean... what luck !! I didn't leave empty handed after all !!! hee hee !! Fabulous !!

We (finally) returned to the resort to find our friends, have a dip in the pool and have some lunch at the pool bar. Lots of oohs and ahhs from Bec over the pearl <insert happy grin here> That evening we ventured into town and went for tea at Matso's Brewery - where Dirk decided to share the beer tasting with me and got quite merry very quickly !! Hilarious for us all.
It was now Day 4 of the hols and I was beginning to realise that this was our last day. So I had better make it a good one !! 3 straight hours on the sunbed getting as golden as I could - there was no way I was returning to Perth without some summer glow about me !! And at 1pm we were once again in reception waiting for a bus to take us to our sunset cruise. The demographics this time were much more mixed and relatively younger ( I was pleased to say)
The bus was also full so this was obviously a popular one !! We were driven just a few minutes south of Cable Beach and onto the sand. Then asked to remove our shoes and jump into a tinny where we would be taken out to the boat (yacht?) The Intombi - a beautiful old Pearl Lugger that had been painstakingly restored and was now used for sunset cruises. Once on board the bar was opened and orders were taken. I decided it was a Bacardi & Coke kind of day.... just perfect. We were brought drinks and then told we could jump into the water while the boat slowly cruised up the coast line. There was a long rope to hold onto and also a boom net to sit in. Drinks could be passed down to you too if you liked. About 10 people jumped in (all of us included) and after getting kicked and almost drowned by some fat twat I decided to get back out.... easier said than done. I nearly lost my top and bottoms hanging onto the rope (and I'm sure the skipper of the boat started going faster as he saw I was loosing them) but eventually managed to pull myself up the rope and then steps and back to my B&C.... nibbles were offered around and we cruised on. It was gorgeous. The four of us found a nice little spot at the stern (?) (back) of the boat and settled in for the cruise. Ben & I decided to have one last swim - this time none else did so it was just the two of us - much better. The once back on board the sunset part of the cruise started. More B&C's and the sun started to set..... There was almost no wind, the sea was felt and still and the sun sank into the horizon. The perfect end to a perfect holiday (almost) 

We returned to the resort, quickly showers and changed and met at the Italian restaurant within the resort. This was a nice one !! I ordered a champagne cocktail while we waited for Ben & Bec and we relaxed.... some more.... again......

The food was fantastic.... I had tortellini with soft shell crab and pearl meat (from the menu - prawn & pearl meat tortellini, shaved fennel salad, crispy soft shell crab, lime & herb butter sauce).... bloody gorgeous. Best tasting dish I've had in AGES and would highly recommend it. Still dreaming of it now as I write this (btw it is now 3:27am - I am soooo in trouble tomorrow morning when I have to get up !!..... must finish)

So this was the perfect end to a perfect holiday..... great friends, great location, great weather, great sightseeing.... what more could you want?

We got home around lunch time on Wednesday - I was absolutely knackered !! I think my pills had finally got the better of me. I'd also forgotten to take my dexa's with me so had to take them as soon as I got in - better late than never - we cuddled and cuddled the furries. Decided to bath them and then took them to the park to dry off. Our legend of a house-sitter had once again done a fantastic job. As much as we hate leaving them all, at least we have someone that looks after them so well and they don't have to go into a kennel when we go away..... after that we pretty much collapsed on the couch. Only to catch the weather forecast and be told it was dropping to 5C overnight !! WTF !!! Dirk was very quickly sent into the garage to bring up the gas heater !! Winter is finally here !!

Work today and back into the slog.... Being on Dexa's always helps as it gives me the energy I need. The downside is my loss of taste and then the coming off them..... I have 2 more days then will bomb out !!

Well, I'd better leave it here as it's nearly 4am and I'm in more trouble than the early settlers. I've been busy baking sausage rolls and cupcakes for tomorrow's (todays) Biggest Morning Tea for Cancer Research..... Feel free to donate !!.....

   

 

    

    



       

Footnote: no responsibility is taken for the layout or spelling mistakes found on this entry.... it's too god-damn late to check .... I'll do it tomorrow - if I have the time !!!
Thanks :-)