100 Things To Do Before You Die #041 – Take a Cable Beach camel ride

The 22km of pristine white sand known as Cable Beach on WA’s north coast has vast, red desert to the east and an azure blue sea to the west. And camels.

It’s surely the classic image of the northwest of Australia: camels loping along the beach with the sun setting behind them. This is just one of the many attractions of Broome, gateway to the Kimberley by land or sea.

“The camel ride itself is a must . . . but to add the sunset over the ocean and that stretch of Cable Beach is something else.”
- George Negus

While only a small town, Broome has lodgings to suit five-star travellers and backpackers alike, and is a famous pearling centre – an industry that accounts for Broome’s multicultural melting pot of a population. With terrific weather year round, a vibrant art and crafts scene (particularly Aboriginal arts), and a very big backyard to explore, spending a while in Broome – and experiencing that camel ride – is a must do.

Did you know?
The Australian South Sea Pearl is considered the finest and most rare cultured pearl in the world (and therefore, the most expensive). No other pearl can equal its natural size or beauty.

How to get there
Qantas has regular flights to Broome from Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, while Virgin has regular flights from Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Launceston, Hobart, Canberra, Sydney, the Gold Coast and Brisbane.

Best time to go
July-November

Further information
Useful websites:

www.broomevisitorcentre.com.au/broome.asp
Website of the Broome Visitor Centre

** This is our original 100 Things to Do Before You Die. First published in 1996. There is an updated 100 Things To Do In Australia Before you die, published in 2011.