Broome Activities

As with anywhere in Australia, it is all about the outdoors here which kids love. Broome’s combination of lovely warm weather, excellent swimming beaches and loads of other kid activities means children here need never be bored. A public day care centre in town for infants is available if need be.

Camel Riding
Camel riding is the main activity in Broome with Cable Beach offering the perfect trek for camels. One-hour walks along the beach on red sun camels, which are suited to virtually any age of rider, are popular. Kids under the age of seven years are not recommended to travel on these camels, however. Phone: +61 8 9193 7423.

Childcare
Many hotels offer childcare facilities in Broome but if your hotel does not, or indeed if you aren’t staying in Broome, then the Broome Aquatic Swim School provides day care Monday to Friday mornings. The nursery is air conditioned and has some good play equipment. Phone: +61 8 9193 7677.

Mud Crabbing
Take the kids mud crabbing for something altogether different. There are many creeks and rivers in Broome where mud crabbing is popular. Although a wet and dirty activity, Broome mud crabbing is always lots of fun for little ones and is an ideal way to catch your dinner if you are camping in Broome.

Roller Skating 
Broome’s Skate Park is perfect for those who have active kids and comes complete with medium jumps, rails and slopes for beginners and up. The Skate Park is located on Cable Beach road at the Broome Recreation and Aquatic Centre (BRAC). The park also offers skate rental. Phone: +61 8 91 937 677.

Shell Collecting
All kids love to collect shells and Broome is one of the best places to do this activity, with its warm weather and massive amount of specimens. In addition, most other beaches in Australia forbid shell collection, yet due to the sheer number of shells in Broome (millions of tonnes) a few handfuls here don’t go amiss. The best place to go shell collecting in Broome is just to the north on 80-Mile Beach on the way to Port Hedland.

Swimming
Cable Beach is huge and one of Australia’s finest beaches. It has lovely, spotlessly-clean white sand and clear warm waters and is ideal for kids. Gantheaume Point, at the end of Cable Beach, has a perfect rock pool for swimming - Anastasia's Pool – as well as dinosaur footprints. In addition, many hotels have swimming pools, as does the Broome Recreation and Aquatic Centre (BRAC).

If you fancy digging deeper, you could easily spend an enlightened day or two uncovering Broome’s cultural attractions. There are art galleries, heritage trails, parks, wine tasting and, of course, the culture of beach life.

Aboriginal and Local Art Galleries
There are several high quality art galleries in Broome where Aboriginal painters have depicted scenes of the beautiful Kimberley landscapes in oil and watercolour. Matso's on Hamersley street has the biggest and best range of Aboriginal paintings in town, as well as a good supply of European art, sculptures, carvings, and pottery. In addition to the gallery, a quaint veranda café and a boutique brewery where you can enjoy beer tasting are also onsite. Phone: +61 8 919 5811.

Anastasia's Pool
Anastasia's Pool is a delightful swimming spot in Broome, located at Gantheaume Point at the southern end of Cable Beach. The pool was hacked out of the rock by a former lighthouse keeper who built it for his sick wife, Anastasia. She was crippled with arthritis and found the pool a great relief. There are also some dinosaur footprints in the cliffs at Gantheaume Point which are visible during very low tides.

Bedford Park
Bedford Park overlooks the lovely Roebuck Bay on Hamersley street and has some natty features including Broome's War Memorial. Check out William Dampier's sea chests and the old train coach which was used on the old railway that ran from Chinatown to the Town Beach jetty.

Broome Bird Observatory
A sizeable amount of Australia's bird species live in the Kimberley region and the Broome Bird Observatory is a wonderful way to check some of them out. Flocks of migratory birds gather here during the season including the blue, yellow, green and violet Gouldian finch, the tawny frogmouth and the Nankeen night heron. The Broome Bird Observatory research station lies on Roebuck Bay to the east of town and tours are given daily. Accommodation and camping facilities are also available here. Website: www.broomebirdobservatory.com; phone: +61 8 9193 5600.

Broome Heritage Trail
To get a good hold of Broome and its heritage, a wander around the Broome Heritage Trail is a must. The walk is only around a mile long and takes in many buildings of historical interest.

Cultured Pearling Monument
Check out the statues of Tokuichi Kuribayashi, Hiroshi Iwaki, and Keith Francis Dureau on Carnarvon street in Chinatown. These men helped shape the pearl industry in Broome and are thus quite famous in these parts.

Surfing
Surfing is a culture in itself in Australia and Cable Beach regularly has some substantial swells. Boards can be rented in town at any one of the surfing outlets and some places even give lessons. Boogie boarding is also lots of fun in Broome. Website: broomeslsc.com.au (Broome Surf Life Saving Club).

Wine Tasting
Although not actually in the town of Broome itself, you can sample wines of the region at the Kensington Pride Mango, which is 10 miles from Broome. Be aware that the wine here is cultivated from mangos as opposed to grapes, but is quite refreshing nonetheless. A small fee is charged for the tasting. Phone: +61 8 9192 1433.

Broome has a good spread of restaurants with most categories and ethnicities catered for. Establishments range from five-star restaurants in the top hotels and in town to more relaxed terraced cafés and fast food joints. There is a large amount of cafés with beachfront settings where full-blown meals and snacks can be had day or night.

The usual fish and chips, sandwiches and burgers are everywhere, while Broome's significant Asian influence adds variety. As well as some good ‘Aussie tucker’ and British niceties, you will also find Chinese, Japanese, and Thai food.

In addition, seafood is also high on the gourmet agenda in Broome, with a coastline stocked full of exotic tasty fish. Fresh seafood is available in any given month of the year and barramundi is particularly favoured here - a mild-flavoured, white fish with only a small amount of bones to worry about. Land-based food specialities in Broome include the succulent Kimberley grown beef.

With its remote location in the northwest of Australia, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Broome could not possibly offer much in the way of shopping. On the contrary; not only are there many unique shops to choose from, there is also great variety.

There are two major shopping malls in town, each with ATMs and banks, while the Chinatown shopping district has just about everything you could want for in a shopping destination. In addition, Chinatown has a bustling atmosphere and also features some great ethnic eateries.

Broome is most well known for its pearls. They are farmed here and as such prices are good and the quality is top draw. Many local specialists will install your bought pearls into jewellery and ornaments.

Australia is an outdoor lover’s paradise and the Broome coast and bush can be enjoyed at anytime of the year. Cable Beach is the main hive of activity with its lovely warm waters, soft white sands and camel riding. Boat trips are also popular from Cable Beach, and the diving and snorkelling nearby is also good. Inland, the Australian outback awaits, where some of the most delectable countryside is accessible by four-wheel-drive.

Camel Riding
Red sun camels take tourists up and down Cable Beach. Anyone between the ages of seven and 70 years can take part, with trips only lasting an hour. Rides are best done at sunset and must be booked in advance in the high season. Phone: +61 8 9193 7423.

Fishing
Boat trips are ubiquitous in Broome. There are numerous fishing expeditions, boat cruises and sunset cruises that go from Roebuck Bay or Cable Beach. Barracuda, barramundi, queen fish, trevally, tuna, shark, sailfish, marlin, and salmon are among the main species you can fish for in the dry season. If you don’t fancy taking a boat cruise to fish, you can always rent some tackle and throw a line off the deep-water jetty near Town Beach. The cyclone season runs between December and March, when fishing operations are thin on the ground.

Four Wheel Driving
Broome is surrounded by some fantastic countryside to the east and many companies offer four-wheel drive tours of the gorges and bushland. You can even go it alone and hire your own vehicle, but the bush is an inhospitable place and you need to have your wits about you if you breakdown in the middle of nowhere. Nearby Winjana and Geike gorges are among the most fascinating and beautiful landscapes to visit.

Snorkelling and Diving
The waters around Broome have good visibility for snorkellers and divers, and a nearby reef area harbours numerous exotic species of fish. Half day and full day tours are also available and generally include equipment rental, basic tutoring and lunch. The more experienced might like to try a trip out to Rowley Shoals between October and December. Rowley Shoals is around 150 miles offshore on the edge of the Australian Continental shelf and is among the world’s best dive sites. A combination of fantastic coral gardens, abundance of reef fish and clams, and up to 200ft visibility here is unheard of in most places.

Sky Diving
Those in Broome in the winter with a sense of adventure may like to try out a tandem skydive over Cable Beach. The Western Australia Skydiving Academy jumps during June, July and August every year and only a short amount of time is needed for instruction before you will be strapped to the front of a professional parachutist. Phone: +61 419 558 900.

Swimming
Cable Beach has the best swimming in Broome and is also sublime at sunset time when the blood red sun seems to hang on the horizon. The northern edge of Cable Beach has four-wheel drive access and a nudist section, while nearby Town Beach features Broome's Staircase to the Moon. In addition, the Broome Recreation and Aquatic Centre (BRAC) on Cable Beach road has a pool, as do many of the better hotels. Phone: +61 8 9193 7677 (BRAC).