I woke Grandee at 7.30am & after bed making, ablutions & dressing we started to prepare brunch. Lindy & Neil were coming over to share this meal with us prior to our Pearl Farm Tour.
I cooked tomatoes & onion in a small non-stick fry pan over our portable gas stove & then did sausages, bacon & eggs in our 40+ year old Sunbeam Electric fry pan. (would you ever get an appliance to last that long these days???)
After an enjoyable brunch we set off in the Patrol, heading for the Willie Creek Pearl Farm.
We travelled on tarred road for about 20 kms & then along a bone shaking corrugated road for the rest of the 30 odd kms.
The Pearl Farm was on the coast off the Cape Leveque Rd. On arrival at the showroom/office we browsed the many pearls in different arrangements, which were on display.
After a talk on the pearling industry (in the gazebo) & showing us the anatomy of the pearl oyster & the different types, it was down to the local jetty where we boarded a small sightseeing boat. We travelled only a few metres to where racks were suspended in the water. The boat skipper pulled up one wire rack which contained about half a dozen oysters. He then demonstrated how the oysters were cleaned. This job was usually performed by technicians (Backpackers).After the oyster cleaning we were taken on a cruise of Willie Creek which was not really a creek but a tidal inlet.
We ventured into a mangrove recess where we found a large salt water crocodile taking in the heat of the sun. We manoeuvred within a metre or so from the huge reptile & he didn't stir.
After the cruise we were returned to the showroom where the girls again studied the pearl offerings. Grandee succumbed to the splendour of it all & purchased a beautiful pendant.
After eating a belated lunch we returned over the bone shaking track to our respective accommodation in Broome.
GOOD ON YA GRANDEE
ReplyDelete