Broome's Great Bounty

As the southern gateway to the rugged Kimberley, Broome is a popular destination for travellers looking to explore this unique part of Australia. And as the glorious colours of the landscape literally stop you in your tracks, it’s easy to see why, writes Sue Wallace.

- Sue Wallace

Think glittering turquoise waters, sparkling sands, blue skies and ochre red dirt. No matter how many photos you have seen, nothing quite prepares you for those vivid hues of the historic pearling town that’s the southern gateway to the Kimberley.

Back in the 1890s, Broome was a ramshackle town as well as a world leader in supplying pearl shell. More than 400 pearling luggers would be anchored in Roebuck Bay and divers from Japan, Malaysia, China and the Philippines donned heavy canvas diving suits and metal helmets to harvest pearl shells from the ocean floor. The colourful history of the early pearling days can be discovered at the Pearl Luggers Museum, which displays original diving artefacts.

These days, multicultural Broome is still home to a pearling industry but instead of master pearlers’ houses lining the dirt roads, you can do a pearl store hop along Chinatown’s impressive showrooms, where you will find all the big names, including Paspaley, Allure South Sea Pearls and Kailis.

There’s plenty of other bounty to be found here – if you are lucky, you may catch Staircase to the Moon, a natural phenomenon caused when the full moon reflects on the exposed mudflats of Roebuck Bay at extremely low tides, creating the illusion of steps. It only happens at certain times of the year.