Kimberely Quest 2024

Alexa & Mark arrived in Broome on the 15th February, picked up their hire car and checked into the Oaks Hotel. Their room circled in the image below had an enclosed balcony, but they were able to park their car in front of the room and pass their luggage over the railings without having to lug it in and out of the room (but don't tell anyone that they did this).

Being the tail end of the wet season, the combination of hot temperatures and high relative humidity made the days fairly uncomfortable. One of the main advantages of the Oaks Hotel was that it had two swimming pools, with the pool below being largest.  The advantage of the smaller swimming pool on the other side of the block at the far end of the large pool is that it was next to the bar/dining area.

Since the tourist season was still a month or so away, the hotel was nearly empty and the pool was usually empty except for Alexa and Mark. Because it was still so hot and humid, many of the tourist oriented businesses were still closed with signs on their door that say something like "Closed for the Wet. See you in April". As a result, Alice used the comfort of the hotel room to plot out their itinerary around Broome and its surrounds. This was complicated because of the possibility of heavy rain caused by ex-tropical cyclone (ex-TC) 'Lincoln' and the possibility of flooded roads outside of Broome. Unbeknownst to Alexa & Mark ex-TC Lincoln would affect their cruise in just a few days time.

The first place that Alexa & Mark visited was the Broome Port which was one of the possible embarkations points for the cruise.

The following day Alexa & Mark set out to explore the areas around the Broome. The first site being the town jetty which was within walking distance of the Oaks Hotel. Although this time they went by car as they were going out for the day. What they didn't realise at the time that photo of the town wharf in the distance show a ship that they would see moored off Cable Beach and the Kimberley Quest II that they would be boarding in a few days.

After visiting the town jetty, it was time to sample some of the liquid delights of Broome. The three main locations of interest was the Matso Brewery which was within walking distance from the Oak Hotel, the Sphinifix Brewery and the Moontide Distillery. Both the Matso Brewery and the Sphinifix Brewery produces good drinks, but Alexa & Mark made the mistake of getting drink flights at both Matsos and Sphinifix. Due to the air temperatures by the time that the last couple of drinks is consumed, the drinks were warm and certainly less palatable. On the other hand, all of the drinks on the Moontide Distillery drink flight contain ice, so they are still cold when they get consumed. All three establishments are worth a visit.

Another interesting place within walking distance from the Oaks Hotel is the Broome Historical Museum. The museum covers a wide range of topics including war history, pearling, aviation, maritime and social history. Mark always feels old when he sees the electronic equipment such s old transmitters and manual telephone exchanges because it is often equipment that he installed and maintained earlier in his working days.