The big day had finally arrived. Nana was coming! I can’t tell you how often I heard that. Both children were beside themselves, and Dunc was so excited he actually woke up early! Yet again we kicked ourselves at not having gotten a 7-seater, though when we bought Baby Bertha a few years ago, we never dreamed she would be collecting the relatives on the other side of the country in Broome. 7 people and 5 seats meant that we would have to do some ferrying, but fortunately the town is so little that it only takes 7 minutes to get anywhere, so that really wasn’t an issue.
Monica (Nana/Mum) arrived with her sister Auntie Marj and Uncle Kevin in tow. They had stopped over in Perth for some catching up with friends and it was just wonderful to have all 3 of them here to spend some time with us. As the children told me quite excitedly “Its just like having TWO Nanas!” (Apparently Uncle Kevin didn’t rate a mention…)
They started with a tour of Bertha, before exploring their own accommodation. We were staying in the Vacation Village caravan park – the ONLY one who had both a bus-sized site and a cabin for ‘the in-laws’ 10 weeks ago when I booked. Both Nanas got to hand out presents (always a highlight for the kids) including gifts from my mum and dad who had recently returned from an overseas trip. And we got our mail!! I LOVE mail drops, bit silly really.
We had a wonderful few days, pottering around town and seeing the sights. We went to the night market for the Staircase to the Moon and got to watch the incredible natural phenomenon which is the full moon in Broome. It rises over the mudflats of Roebuck Bay, and the light reflects off the water and looks like a stairway. It was an absolute highlight for Lexie, who had received a postcard with a photo quite some time ago. She had had the postcard up in her bedroom in Blackburn and it has been a ‘focus’ for her for a while. It was lovely to see her excitement build, and she just adored watching the moon rise. Monica and I were both amazed at how special it felt – it was lovely to be sharing such an overwhelmingly beautiful scene with such a crowd, and everyone was enjoying the same thing.
The crowd was larger than I expected, and I was glad that Dunc had dropped me off early with the kids and chairs to go back and get the others. Can you believe, this is what I actually said to the kids?
“Ok so pretty much everyone we have met lately should be in Broome now. Keep an eye out for: Fred and Lilly, Emily, Lucy, Jordyn, the other Jordyn and Riley, Charlotte and Meg, Ty and Ruby, Isaac, India, Erin, the other Charlotte and Jake, Zoe, Lily and Zane and pretty much any child you have ever met in WA!”
As well as the markets, we had some wonderful meals together including lunch out at the wonderful Shady Lane Café and Lexie cooked her favourite pumpkin and sweet potato soup once more.
We saw a demonstration on pearl harvesting at the information centre and even went to the beach! Uncle Kevin and Auntie Marj were keen to do their own thing a bit, so Dunc dropped the children and I at Cable Beach so he could spend the afternoon with his mum.
Whilst there, I noticed they hired out entire ‘family packages’ for a great day at the beach! Umbrella, 2 sun lounges, 2 boogie boards and a huge bag of sand toys for $35 for half a day. I negotiated to swap a boogie board for another chair and we were all set for the entire family to go to the beach. The children had a ball at the beach and Monica and Marj got to have a bit of a dip too. Marj even broke out the boogie board!
We also had a famous Cable Beach Camel Ride, but there are sooo many photos, that will have to be its own post…
The time seemed to fly by and then it was their last day. We had loved Broome so much, we decided to stay on a little longer. This meant that everyone got to have a ride on Bertha as Dunc relocated us to an overflow caravan park just down the street! There was just enough time for a quick cuppa before we had to drop them at the airport for their plane home. The airport in Broome is smack bang in the middle of town so we all waved as they flew off right overhead.
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