CAMPSITE # 128 - Broome PCYC

Driving across the Great Sandy Desert without a drop of water in your tank really isn’t a smart idea. But, we were lucky (some may call it stupid). Zero H2O led us straight to Broome. We hadn’t planned to stay there overnight but we were in much need of running errands and stocking up on supplies. One of those duties was for us to procure a new light source. Our rechargeable Coleman’s lamp truly was on its last legs letting off less than 30minutes of light even when fully charged. Which proved to be super handy when you’ve just finished cooking dinner, sit down to eat and the light decides it’s done for the day. Eating dinner in the dark really is not one of my favourite experiences.

We made route to the one and only camping store in Broome. As we were pulling into the carpark, we were busy evaluating the Troopie infront of us who, not surprisingly, was also visiting the camping store. We find fellow owners of Troopies are, as are we, very happy to stop and have a chat about their much loved vehicle. Dan and Sam had just begun their big adventure, in the opposite direction to us, in their Troopie, having only decided a couple of days beforehand to quit their jobs and set off without any idea of where they may end up. Our friendly small chat gradually extended into a 45minute conversation about anything and everything. We made good use of their displays and pulled ourselves up a camping chair or stool and made ourselves right at home. They told us that we were the first ‘young people’ that they had spoken to since being on the road, we explained to them that they’ll get used to that pretty quickly. After we wished each other well in our travels, we said our farewells and they were off, out the front door of the shop and probably never to be seen again by either of us. 

We ended up paying $44 for an LED 20 bulb portable lamp that we can plug straight into the accessories battery. Much better solution - we don't need to worry about recharging it or topping it up... 

The 90 year old picture theatre right in the main street of Broome...

Next, we were faced with the frightening idea of having to pay $44 a night for an unpowered site. It was official, camping in Broome is SUPER expensive. It didn’t help that we were there during peak season. Being June, Broome experiences absolutely perfect weather temperatures. When the locals refer to 30 degrees Celsius as ‘cool’ on a winters day ... you quickly realise that it must get bloody hot during summer.  

Thanks to our whirlwind new friends, we were directed to the PCYC for the cheapest camping in town. They advertise at the Information Centre that the PCYC is strictly only for campers with pets, as the Caravan Parks won’t allow pets. But once you get there, they don’t even care.

Site : Broome PCYC

Rating : 5 / 20
Facilities : We paid $30 for an unpowered site on a sporting oval. Facilities included hot showers, flushing toilets and running water. 5minutes drive into town. Just near the beach.

Broome boasts to have ‘the best sunsets in the whole of Australia’. At Cable Beach, there is a lovely lawned area where you can sit and have a glass of bubbly and some cheese while appreciating the beauty of the sun setting over a massive open sea bed. You can also drive you 4WD onto the beach and watch it from there, which we learnt after we setup our picnic rug on the grass. Either way, very romantic ;)