BROOME

A beautiful pair of Tawny Frogmouth Owls appeared today in the tree outside our van.  Just beautiful to see in the wild.

Luke and Gerard Tedesco and Ben with the "boys' pool"!

Bridget, Tess P, Tess H, Beth and Jemma at the "girls' pool"

Ben, Gerard and Luke - still digging!

Ella, Ben, Bridget and Caleb digging to China, I think!

Celebrating the sea filling their "swimming pool"!

The tide encompasses the first pool (where the girls are standing) and heads towards Bridget's painstakingly-built wall!

A great team effort - the shovel being stuck into the sandcastle before the sea finally claims it!

DAY 57 – BROOME                                                                 Sunday, 28^th August

Off to Mass at the “cathedral” this morning and then for a drive around Broome to the Anzac Memorial (a successful Geocache finally!!) at Bedford Park to look at the William Dampier memorial and others.  We discovered lots of local history and discovered that William Dampier first reached Australian shores 100 years before Captain Cook!  Dampier allegedly buried a treasure chest in the region so I figure the kids have nothing better to do for the next week – they might as well try to contribute to the cost of this adventure of ours.  Keeps them out of mischief anyway!    There was also a French expedition to Australia led by Captain Baudin.  It is interesting to note the number of localities with French names down the coast as a result of this.  Marie-Antoinette’s palace even had an Australian collection of animals taken back there by the expedition!  There was also an interesting memorial to the Aboriginal and Muslim men who fought in the Second World War in the special “Z Unit”.They were commandos who fought the Japanese behind enemy lines. It was sad to realise that one of these heroes who fought in the Australian uniform was deported to Singapore after the war because the pearling master sacked him from his job.  He was only allowed to stay in Australia as a pearl diver.

The township of Broome is amazingly multicultural with huge influences by the Japanese, Chinese, SE Asians, and French. 

We decided to have two beach sittings today so off to swim between the flags in the morning.  Again the colour of the water was amazing and so warm.  No-one will believe that Sarah is even getting her hair wet!!!  Water just gorgeous!  Home for some lunch and journal writing before back to the beach again (thank goodness we could drive!!).  Four families (the Pattersons, the Dearness , the Hansens and the Tedescos) had dinner together and it was just gorgeous!  The kids just love all playing together.  As a parent you can’t believe how happy it makes me to see the kids playing together in the water, catching waves, making sandcastles – good wholesome fun.  Not a DS, X-Box or TV to be seen!!  Man, do I sound old? 

Just to see the kids having so much fun creating enormous swimming pools in the sand and their squeals of delight as the tide comes in and swamps their pool is so funny.  The effort Bridget went to to build a wall to protect her “swimming pool” was so amazing!  So intense!! So futile.