This morning Matt and I were able to head off and drive in Bridget. The new alternator is working a treat. We left early from Broome and headed out to the Dampier Peninsula. Our first stop was Beagle Bay, where there is an Indigenous Community. Within this community, is an historic Catholic Church, famous for the intricate mother of pearl inlays and designs that ornately decorate various parts of the church. We read about the history of the church and community and the area. It was unique and beautiful and the history was quite fascinating. Some monks from France came out and started the church in the late 1800’s and they learned the local language and then spoke it and translated it, to minister to the indigenous community. They ran a school and tried to help them run a pearl farm, amongst other endeavours, but this failed for them, the women were the main decorators of the mother of pearl in the church. The church is still in use today and has survived many cyclones, though the church bell tower has been restored after falling down in a cyclone, in the early 2000’s. 
From there we continued up the road and to Cygnet Bay. This was a pearl farm, with a tourist hub comprising of a cafe, pearl gallery, caravan park, poorly positioned infinity pool, and many tours left from the beach. There were options for tours of the pearl farm too. We just headed down to the beach and enjoyed the white sand, and ‘azure’ waters ( I stand corrected by my previous description of the water colour at Cable Beach, the water isn’t turquoise or aqua, the locals say it is ‘azure’ blue). The sand was a bit like sinking sand, as you would sink in the wet sand if you stood in one place too long. We found a lookout, so we could see above all the mangrove trees growing by the waters edge. It was a lovely place to enjoy the water.
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| The road up to cygnet bay was pretty straight. |
We headed onto the next Indigenous community of Ardyaloon. We had hoped to drive through to check out the water and views here, but you had to pay for a permit, and as we had already paid for one at Beagle Bay to see the church, we opted not to here. We turned around and had lunch just out of the community and headed back to Broome. (We had hoped to drive out to Cape Leveque but sadly the road has been closed as they haven’t been able to maintain the area and provide adequate facilities for tourists, which is a shame, as the photos on the net make it look like a spectacular place to see).
Tonight was Elise and Simon’s last night, so we had dinner out at the golf club. The golf club is on the only hill in Broome and has 360 degree views. We got to enjoy the sunset on one side and the darkened night sky on the other, that overlooked the water and the port. We had dinner together to celebrate Brenda’s upcoming birthday. It was a lovely night with wonderful views. We returned to the caravan park for a dark chocolate mud cake dessert that I had made for Brenda.
