Broome is the gateway to the vast Kimberley, a ‘one-day’ dream for many who come to experience this definitive Australian landscape. But look closer at Broome and the Dampier Peninsula and you’ll find unique experiences that take just a matter of days. Ancient landscapes, natural phenomena and a town that celebrates its blended cultural heritage are all waiting to be discovered.

AMONGST THE MANGROVES

“When you’re living on the coast for so long, watching the tide come in and out, different seasons, almost everything becomes a food source, something useful,” says Yawuru man Bart Pigram of Narlijia Tours as he navigates us through the mangroves. Pigram points to food sources like samphire, saltbush and grey mangrove, which is abundant with plum-like fruits after the wet season that runs from December to March. “They’re toxic straight off the tree,” he says. “An ancient way of detoxifying it was to bury it out in the mud, leave it for three or four days and it wouldn’t make you sick anymore.” As we walk, Pigram plucks mud whelks and native shellfish from mudflats and pools, explaining how he would cook them over a small fire. There’s an element of show and tell, as Pigram doesn’t cook for guests, preferring to maintain the environment. But there’s plenty to see and do. Stood in a pool, water just below my knees, Pigram points, smiling, as a turtle about 70cm across glides over my feet, brushing me slightly.

THE ALLURE OF PEARLS

Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm is just a 2.5-hour drive from Broome, at the tip of the Dampier Peninsula. Four generations of the Brown family have called Cygnet Bay home since 1946 – the first in this secretive industry to culture pearls without Japanese technicians. Lyndon Brown, son of founder Dean, perfected the technique, teaching it to local Bardi and Jawi men, Aubrey Tigan, Tom Wiggan and Gordon Dixon. Broome and Perth have their share of pearl showrooms, but ending our land-based tour culturing, processing and appreciating South Sea pearls at the ‘shellar door’ is shopping at the source, steps from the ocean and pearling sheds.

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On the Island Explorer, one of three coastal tours, we head into the Buccaneer Archipelago. Taking a route through the pearl farm, our skipper is explaining the farming process when we’re interrupted by common bottlenose dolphins circling the boat. Dilleye, a Bardi man along for the ride, talks to the cultural significance of the islands and shares stories of living on the peninsula. He laughs as he regales us with briefly riding a gummy shark out to sea but highlights darker days as he stands on the bow and points to caves once used as cells.

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TIDAL POWER

Landing at Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures pontoon base on the waters of Talbot Bay, we’re offered a simple breakfast before being invited to take a dip in the shark cage. You can watch from a safer and drier distance as bull and tawny nurse sharks move in, tempted by barramundi scraps. The circling sharks seem to know their role – it’s the humans who get constant reminders to keep their fingers on the inside of the cage. By boat, we move through a sandstone landscape forged 1.8 billion years ago as tectonic plates collided. We pass through the ‘wide gap’ and around bays at speed, eliciting fairground screams from passengers. At the ‘narrow gap’ we see a tidal phenomenon – one of many on this coastline. It’s too dangerous to pass through as a million litres of water rush through each second; the changing tide and movement of water creating the iconic ‘horizontal waterfall’.

WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK

Mabu Mayi Cafe in the grounds of the Liyan-ngan Nyirrwa centre offers a unique taste of Broome. Chef, Lenny Tang Wei and sous chef Shania Ah Chee channel a cultural mix entwined with the region’s pearling heritage.

“My grandfather was Chinese, and my grandmother was a Bardi woman,” says Tang Wei. Back in the ’50s and ’60s his grandfather owned Tang’s Café, famed for its ‘long soup,’ of which Tang Wei has his own version.

“I’m doing my own thing with influences from my grandparents,” he says, using bushfoods through the Asian-leaning menu developed with Ah Chee. “The fried rice is popular, we make it with a native rosella pork,” Tang Wei offers, while Ah Chee confidently tips the congee.

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Alongside quintessential destinations such as Matso’s Brewery, Broome has its share of newcomers to the dining scene. Little Local, a coffee shop which seems to sum up Broome’s almost-horizontal vibe, houses artisanal baker Artigiana. And Wild Flower at Town Beach grew from owner Jaimie Laing’s popular trade in gourmet picnics. Vibrant cocktails and a loose tapas-style menu have caught the locals’ imagination. So too Papa Fuego at The Continental Hotel; a South American theme safe in the hands of legendary WA chef Russell Blaikie, now director of food for a wide portfolio of venues.

Our expectation is culinary aboard Broome Cruises’ five-hour sunset sail, but there’s also a focus on pearling, with cages of Pinctada maxima oysters hauled up on pearl leases 5km out. The crew work to schedule, serving up a seven course menu rich with crab, tiger prawns, Cone Bay barramundi, red emperor and Cygnet Bay pearl meat. But ultimately, it’s nature that steals the show: a humpback whale with days-old calves, likely born out beyond Cape Leveque, briefly breach and slap their flukes before sunset.

WHERE TO STAY

The Mangrove Hotel and The Continental Hotel from noted West Australian operator Prendiville Group hit the mark on basics like room comfort and onsite pools, while the food offering at the likes of Papa Fuego has been drawing deserved attention. Out of town and under canvas, glamping at Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm breaks up the driving. With an onsite restaurant and an ocean-facing pool, a couple of nights may be in order.

WHEN TO GO

Broome’s peak months are during the dry season, April to November. Typically held in August and September, Shinju Matsuri, or ‘festival of the pearl’ has been a fixture since 1970, when three cultural festivals from the Japanese, Chinese and Malaysian communities were joined to celebrate the end of the pearling season. It’s now a rich symbol of Broome’s multicultural mix, from Asian-leaning street food markets to events such as Bugarrigarra Nyurdany – “Because of the Dreaming” – where Yawuru Elders welcome guests to country with a smoking ceremony, chef Lenny Tang Wei cooks and stories are told of life in the Kimberley.

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