Broome

Our camel cavalcade

G'day, fellow explorers! Finally, after our many days at sea, we made a glorious entrance into Broome, with the winds and tides thankfully playing in our favour. Fondly known as the "Pearl of the North", this sleepy little country town, perched on the edge of a peninsula on Western Australia's stunning tropical Kimberley coast, holds a fascinating history. Once famed for the mother of pearl that adorned buttons worldwide, its focus has gracefully shifted to the intricate art of pearl farming. And we, my friends, were primed and ready for an early morning immersion into the pearly world with a half-day tour to Willie Creek Pearl Farm.

We disembarked right on time and all 34 passengers were shuttled onto 2 minibuses. Our short off-road journey to the farm was an adventure in itself, with glimpses of wild brumbies and dingoes adding a touch of outback magic. Upon arrival, we were greeted by our chirpy and enthusiastic guide, Kirsten. She took us through the ins and outs of pearl farming, from the life cycle of the oyster, to seeding, growing and harvesting. Our tour also included a yummy morning tea, a short boat ride into the creek system, and the obligatory (and tempting) shopping opportunity. While we thoroughly enjoyed the experience, the leisurely pace, often dictated by the needs of less mobile passengers, did test our patience at times. 

Nevertheless, I gleaned some truly fascinating insights, and here are my top three pearly takeaways:

• The Curious Case of the Changing Gender: The pinctada maxima, the oyster species responsible for those lustrous white pearls, is a protrandous hermaphrodite. What is that I hear you ask? These little oysters start their lives as males and then, in a remarkable feat of nature, undergo a sex change to become female. Cool.
• Nacre - Not Just for Necklaces!: Biomedical research is currently exploring the potential of nacre (mother of pearl) as a matrix component in bone grafts. Fascinating.
• Pearl Prices - Not For Me: Alas, a big fat oversized pearl adorning my neck remains just that – a dream. My bank balance and the price tags were simply not aligned. Shame.

A working port

First off

Our minibuses

The ride included a free buttock massage

Brumbies

The shop and main building of the pearl farm

The pinctada maximus, ready for our group to harvest later on the tour

The beautifully iridescent mother of pearl or nacre. Traditionally used for buttons!

Ground up, mixed with patient's own tissue and used for bone grafting

Pearls are made with the introduction of a nucleus which the oyster then coats with nacre 

Our morning tea

The water looked so inviting, but has crocs in it! Namely 3 - No friend Nigel (the male) and his two girlfriends May and June (named after the months they were most sighted)

The boat for a creek tour

Lots of birdlife too

Marley, one of the divers, giving us insight into the process that occurs on the ocean

Kristen, our bubbly guide, showing us the harvesting process

The pearl found inside our oyster! Along with the pea crab (a symbiotic creature) keeping the oyster pong-free. The pearl was later valued to be worth $1840

The "Don" pearl, the biggest harvested at Willie Creek, scoring top scores in the 5 virtues.

Our bus driver did do a short town tour on the way back to the ship. Sadly I was asleep through most of it. We were back on board in time for lunch, and a quick refresh before heading out again. I'll take the opportunity to note that the port is only open to vehicles with permits so normal taxis aren't allowed in. The cruise ship provided shuttle buses that ferried passengers to Chinatown. Fiona managed to find a taxi company that did have permits to enter the port. This meant that we were able to picked up directly at the gangway exit for our independent trip to the famed Cable Beach for our camel ride. We weren't able to do a sunset tour because of the ship's departure time but we did enjoy our ride on Horatio our friendly camel. 

Our evening ended with a juggling show. It took a while to warm up to the act but he ended up being entertaining. So another good day!  Stay tuned for more tales from our Kimberley adventure!

The very long Cable Beach

Drinks pre-ride

Horatio

Camel-ride selfie