​Dinosaurs, pearls and plums ..... 22-26 July 2017

The Sam Male pearl lugger built in the 1950s

Broome is a popular spot and an area if great contrasts. It delivers lots of glitz and glamour but importantly it has quite unique things to offer as well. I really had no idea what to expect before we got there - apart from Horizontal falls and Cape Leveque. But what captured my interest were simple things like no houses have guttering because of the torrential rain. When you looked around the reality of cyclones on everyday living was quite evident but woven seamlessly into the life of the area; this is the case all along the NW coastal areas. New houses are built of metal and designed to withstand a category 6 cyclone. That and the history both of natural and 'man made'.
Being a plant tragic, I was curious about the native Gubinge fruit (aka Billy goat plum) a small plum native to the Kimberley. They are good bush tucker and also considered a super food because they supposedly have the highest Vitamin C and antioxidant content of any fruit on the planet. I want some! I have seen lots of trees but no fruit - wrong season.
Talking of plants. The stunning Green Birdflower I posted the other day is also called the minmin and a favourite bush tucker because of its sweet nectar.

Green Birdflower (one of the rattlepod pea family). Pays to stop and take a closer look.

If you look closely you will see a small hole drilled into the flower. Some time later we saw honey eaters burrowing into these flowers - a simple back door entry! I've seen birds hanging off the stalks of water lilies drilling into the flowers after the nectar. Clever things.  

Broome was founded on the pearling industry so off we went to a pearl farm to see what it's all about. A fascinating and rich industry! It's also labour intensive. It takes 2 years from seeding for the oyster to grow a pearl. During that time the shells are cleaned frequently and checked for infestations from worms plants and the like. Each shell can be reseeded up to 3 times and then they use the mantle to plant shapes cut from mussel shells plus some nacre secreting tissue. At the end of its life the shell is ground down and the powder used in paints and cosmetics. They really wring everything out of these humble creatures.

We were fortunate to have a marine biologist as our guide. Can you imagine I hardly asked any questions! He was terrific. We were given a thorough anatomy and physiology lecture about oysters and how they make pearls. There was a pearl in this particular shell which we eventually got to handle! Worth over $1000!

I'm sure you've all seen these special cages the shells are kept in and carefully tended as often as every 2-3 weeks in the wet season. They have to be cleaned to rid them of plant and animal growth and also have to be examined to ensure they are not infested with things like shell-eating worms etc. we saw a few different nasties in formaldehyde- ugh!

Once shells have been seeded 3-4 times they insert small moulds cut from a particular type of mussel shell, under the sensory mantle with a little nacre producing tissue. And voila! Pearl shapes to order.

The industry was actually established on pearl buttons etc but when plastic came into use, the industry was hit hard. Enter the magic little gem - the pearl! And no I didn't buy any. Tempted but ....... I did resolve to get out my 50 odd yo old pearls and look at them with different eyes.

The peninsula is spotted with cathedral termite mounds. They are massive but what you see is only a small part of the colony. Like icebergs, the largest mass is underground. Some are over 100 years old. In days gone by Aboriginal people buried their dead in some if them.

A replica of a small set tracks placed on top of the cliff at Gantheaume Point for those people to see who didn't make it down the cliff. Me for one! The size? About 25cm but there are some almost 2m long!

Stretching along 20-30km of the blood-red coastline of the Dampier peninsula, preserved in the sands and clays compacted the millennia are the footprints of dinosaurs imprinted 130 million years ago! 21 different types of dinosaur tracks. The most diverse assemblage in the world. Australia's own Jurassic Park!

The tracks were down there on the edge of the rock shelf and only seen at low tide. It was too scary for me but pretty awesome to see and contemplate.

Ah the rocks! Just look at those colours. The cliffs below the chili-red oxidised patina resembled an oil painters palette. Glorious!

For me the stripes are so beautiful in themselves but they are evidence of an ancient land story which one can only wonder about. Good food for dreams!

According to the Goolarabooloo people, the area's traditional custodians, it forms part of a song cycle that extends along the coast and then inland 450km tracing the journey of a Dreamtime creator called Marsala, the Emu man. It is intriguing! Beats a 'staircase to the moon' hands down in my book.

This is Willie Creek estuary. The Willie Creek Pearl Farm farms pearls within the creek but also 10s of km out to sea. This company has rights to farm 20000 shells - it's a carefully controlled industry.