Destination Guide — Western Australia

Broome: Pearls, Cable Beach & the Kimberley

Red pindan cliffs meet turquoise water at the edge of the Kimberley — Broome is unlike anywhere else in Australia.

By Frank Adam Burns

Broome sits where the Great Sandy Desert meets the Indian Ocean, on the edge of the Kimberley in Western Australia's far north-west — a genuinely remote town with a history as unusual as its landscape. Built on the pearling industry from the 1880s, it drew workers from Japan, China, the Malay states and the Philippines, giving Broome a multicultural character still visible in its Chinatown precinct and heritage architecture today.

Most visitors come for Cable Beach — 22km of white sand where camel trains still walk the shoreline at sunset — but Broome is also the practical starting point for exploring the wider Kimberley, one of the last genuinely wild regions left in Australia.

Highlights

Cable Beach

Broome's signature beach — swim, watch the sunset, or take a classic camel ride along the sand.

Gantheaume Point

Red cliffs and dinosaur footprints exposed at very low tide, with sweeping coastal views.

Chinatown & Pearl Luggers

Broome's historic pearling precinct — heritage buildings, pearl showrooms, and the story of the industry that built the town.

Staircase to the Moon

A natural phenomenon where the rising full moon reflects off exposed mudflats at extreme low tide — visible several nights a month between March and October.

Gateway to the Kimberley

Broome is the usual starting or finishing point for Kimberley touring — the Gibb River Road, the Horizontal Falls, and multi-day cruises up the coast to places like the Buccaneer Archipelago and Mitchell Falls all typically begin here. If you're planning a Kimberley trip, Broome is where you'll want at least a couple of extra days either side.

Cooee Tours acknowledges the Yawuru people as the Traditional Owners and Native Title holders of the land and waters on which Broome stands, and pays respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Planning a Broome or Kimberley trip?

Get in touch and we'll help plan your Western Australia itinerary.

Enquire Now
← Back to the Cooee Journal
Top