Entry 12 – 2026 – June – Broome – Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia
We arrived at the town of Broome with an element of anxiety.
The Broome region provides magnificent weather conditions with stunning coastal scenery. Unfortunately, it is only for a short period of time during their yearly dry season. Tourists arrive by the thousands to enjoy the spoils provided.
Our previous Broome experience we found to be uncomfortable with large volumes of people about. Your movements were restrictive and it felt like every direction you took you were expected to fork out money.
2026 it still had the same atmosphere with even more restrictions in place.
For us we find Broome somewhat off putting with a seemingly “give us your money,” atmosphere.
It had been 12 years since our last Broome experience. Back in 2014 Broome seemed to be rather laid back and quiet. Fast forward to 2026 and it felt so much bigger and congested.
In 2014 on arrival at Broome, we remember our first stop was at the town’s information centre. We obtained a paper copy of the town map and information about available accommodation and highlights of the region. We now realise the information provided in 2014 was limited/minimal to what we can obtain today. Back in 2014 the majority of information gained was by word of mouth from fellow travellers.
The internet was present in 2014 and it did feel like a luxurious item. It is amazing how the information technology sector has grown in such a short time. Now we are all “tech savvy,” able to explore the horde of options available whilst seated in our own comfortable chairs.
We visited the “China Town” district and it had dramatically expanded in size, losing its special character of 2014.
We had an evening meal at the much publised Matso’s Brewery. We sampled one of their home brews and thought it to be rather ordinary and both our different meals were appalling. It appeared all of the staff were transient, overseas travellers and our thoughts most likely the food had been put together by these inexperienced people. We participated in their “wheel of fortune” night and enjoyed the entertainment.
Market night nearby town beach was enjoyable. We purchased a few items and shared an Indonesian meal obtained from many different choices of street food on offer. The food was delicious, ¼ the price of Matso’s Brewery, helping with a more positive presentation of Broome.
Cable beach access road was closed due to it being a construction site with a resort to be built at the site. We were able to view Cable Beach from the elevated heights of the Surf Life Saving Club building.
Gantheaume Point was a nice point of interest where you can get up close to interesting rock formations. There was some dinosaur footprints imbedded in the rock. It provided a different view of Cable Beach and the many boats moored nearby Gantheaume Point.
Gantheaume Point light house had some typical occupants for this region of Australia.
Osprey birds, also known as sea hawks, build massive, messy stick nests. They are large birds with wing spans around 1.8 metres. Their diet consists 99% fish.
It’s pleasing when you get to see these birds.
We spotted a mob of pelicans resting up, indicating an available food source.
We pushed ourselves to participate in some of Broomes publised experiences. We tried to be positive but unfortunately, we didn’t have the volume of disposable income, Broome expected from us. After three nights at Broome, we were content to move on.
We headed north from Broome travelling along the Cape Leveque Road into the Dampier Peninsula. We spent a night at Banana Wells Getaway. Initially our first sight was positive with a nice vista. We did have some expectations with a pricy $52 nightly fee for a non-powered site.
Steve did an early morning exploration. A bird hide was overlooking dry land as far as the eye could see. Birds noticeably absent.
It was good when he spotted some birds in the camp ground. He did locate a plaque in a non-focussed location indicating the original existence for Banana Wells Getaway campground.
Up the road a bit was Beagle Bay controlled by another aboriginal community. We viewed Beagle Bay’s community controlled Sacred Heart Church. Naturally at a cost, a community entry fee and a fee to view the church. There was some unique oyster shell artwork.
Back in February whilst staying at Cape Le Grand National Park one of our conversations with the camp ground hosts showed Dampier Peninsula as a worthwhile destination.
We conducted some research and found quite a lot of positive information. Located on the Dampier Peninsula was Pender Bay. It was a National Heritage Listed coastal wilderness, with some outstanding whale watching. August, Pender Bay has one of the world’s largest populations of humpback whales. Pender Bay becomes a nursery and resting ground before they migrate south to the Antarctic. During August, Pender Bay is declared a boat free zone. Research showed to expect around three whales to each square kilometre. Pender Bay is approximately 54 x 54 kilometres and around 10-15 kilometres across, quite a large area.
Back in February we found all nearby campground options to be fully booked during August and July. The closest we could obtain was for six days starting 20th June and locked it in.
Dampier Peninsula is controlled by various aboriginal communities. Many providing camp locations where sections of scrub/bush had been bulldozed to clear spaces and carving out some roads to the various camp spots. We paid $40 a night to camp at Pender Bay Escapes.
Turning off the bitumized Cape Leveque Road, to Pender Bay, it was a drive of about 30 kilometres, along a single lane width track to Pender Bay. For inbound vehicles it was recommended not to start along the dirt road till after 12 pm, allowing a suitable time line for the departure of outbound vehicles.
We set camp high up on a cliff face overlooking the ocean. It was a fantastic setting. There was a constant, soothing background sound of waves crashing onto the shoreline.
In Australia, spotting an eagle in the wild is a rare special sighting. A sea eagle is a very rare sight. We saw a sea eagle fly by us a few times. From the time we spotted it to the time it was out of sight would have been at best for several seconds. It flew by at quite a speed. Twice we just happened to have the camera in our hands and managed to get a photograph of sorts. Back in 2014 we spent time at a beach about 100 kilometres south of Pender Bay. At that time, we were exceptionally lucky to obtain a better photograph of a sea eagle flying past at speed.
Pender Bay Escapes camp ground was spread out over a vast area. There was a need to be self-sufficient. Some sites had water available. Those sites were close to the check in building. At the back of this building was an amenities block of sorts. There were three cubicles with a combo shower and toilet. At certain times of the day there was a queue of customers. We would strategize the timing of our days walk about, walking nearby the amenities block. Mostly late morning and it was generally empty of people. We would have a shower utilising one hand towel between us as there was no real need to dry off with the pleasant day time temperatures. It was a rustic setup with clam shells around the shower base.
There was no luck with sighting any whales. The annual whale migration was yet to arrive. We did spot a vessel we suspected may have been a coast guard patrol.
Each morning prior to sunrise, when first opening our eyes, we were greeted by a red glow on the horizon, announcing the pending arrival of the sun. It was such a delightful sight. We just looked at the red glow surrounding the bay, seemingly for ages before the sun poked up into view above the horizon.
We enjoyed a few swims in the mild temperature ocean waters whilst looking up at our cliff top located caravan. On our nearby beach was a rock titled “Heart Rock.”
As time progressed, we became more and more contented with our setting. We stayed for six nights and could have easily stayed a lot longer.
It had been a week since our last food shop. We had consumed most of our fresh food with a short life line. Our last night at Pender Bay we decided to have a camp fire cooked roast. It had been the first time we had got our camp fire pot out for a couple of years. We had a pork roast and it was too big to fit vegetables in the pot with it, thus we cooked them separately. Our taste buds were alive with so many different pleasurable flavours. Pork, turnip, parsnip, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes and carrot. Add a camp fire flavouring, it was delightful. Leftovers lasted another two days. It was still flavoursome but not quite the same as when it first came out of the campfire cook pot.
A bit up the road we set camp at another aboriginal community location at Lombadina. We were in a caravan park with old facilities. It was clean and everything was in working order. Generally aboriginal communities are a no-go region, out of bounds to outside people. Lombadina was recorded with around 40 residents. We were permitted to walk about in some areas. There was a separate bakery with fresh bread, a craft shop, an interesting church with a roof constructed of material from paper bark trees, fuel and an artifact’s building. We were permitted to view the local beach. We thought a walk to the beach would be good exercise. The sand was very soft and hard going. We hadn’t realised it was a couple of kilometres to the beach and turned around after walking about a kilometre. During our walk a few vehicles drove past us in the sand. Walking we did get to spot one of the local snakes.
We spent a day driving a bit further north, exploring the rest of Dampier Peninsula. A few kilometres up the road was the much publised Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm, established in 1946. There was some different signage indicating the turn off to the farm. There was an original water storage tank made from stone and cement. Alongside of the original was a current times water storage tank.
The main Dampier Peninsula Road had recently been bitumized in the last few years. Previously it had been a dirt road, over 200 kilometres of extremely rugged condition, discouraging many from venturing onto it.
With the sealing of the road, Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm near the northern point had greatly expanded. There were a large camp ground and accommodation for non-camping visitors. There was a restaurant and infinity swimming pool. It was a base for people flying via sea planes to the popular “Horizontal Water Falls.” There were several other boat tours on offer to view the pearl farm operation or to view many different nearby ocean features.
And naturally they had a pearl shop. Mary was eyeing off a pearl necklace in a locked cabinet. Within a blink of an eye the cabinet had been unlocked and the necklace was on display around Mary’s neck. It did look lovely. It did have an eye watering price tag of $98,000.
Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm seemed to be well patronised. Most of its available options were beyond our meagre financial constraints! Well, that’s how we felt in the Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm environment.
A little bit further up the road at One Arm Point in the Ardyaloon Aboriginal Community was as far north as we were able to travel on the Dampier Peninsula. The ocean views were delightful.
Our allocated time on the Dampier Peninsula had expired. We executed a U turn and started to head south. Our first stop was at Broome to restock the fridge and attend to phone communication requirements. It’s always nice to have access to our modern-day luxuries. Though we do love our quiet times camped in outback Australia, where it’s just nature and us.
