A sunset camel ride on Cable Beach in Broome

Photo: Tourism WA

The charming multicultural resort town of Broome lies on the northwest coast of Western Australia, on a peninsula between the azure waters of Roebuck Bay and the Indian Ocean.

In the 1880s, mother-of-pearl shell was discovered here, attracting an influx of workers from China, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines and Timor. By the 1960s buttons were being made from plastic and Broome was a dying town. However, a burgeoning cultured pearl industry has since materialized and this frontier town with a mix of Australian colonial and Asian architecture has undergone a resurgence.

From late May to October (the dry season) tourists descend on Broome to enjoy sunset camel rides on Cable Beach, balmy evenings watching movies in one of the world's oldest picture gardens, the Saturday morning markets in the grounds of the Court House, the 120 million-year-old dinosaur footprints at nearby Gantheaume Point and to tour the Willie Creek Pearl Farm.

Should you find yourself in Broome around the time of the full moon, you might witness 'Staircase to the Moon', a phenomenon caused by the moon's reflections in the mud flats of Roebuck Bay at low tide.

Many people also use Broome as a jumping off point for exploring the remote and vast Kimberley region.