Weve got some time to kill so we visit Broomes Japanese and Chinese cemeteries. These were originally deliberately located outside the town boundary, probably for some obscure reason related to our racist past. Thankfully the town boundary was subsequently moved, so theyre now well inside. The Chinese section is a bit underwhelming and not particularly well maintained. I wonder if Premier Xi knows about this. If not Im sure he soon will, which will undoubtedly result in yet another mark against us Aussies in his now probably not so little black book. The Japanese area is certainly more attractive, and theres also a bit more information on its history. The first burial here was way back in the 1890s, and a lot of the graves are of the early Pearl divers, many of whom died from drowning, the bends, and other diving related causes. More than 900 Japanese are buried here, which is apparently thought to make it the largest Japanese cemetery outside Japan. Many of the older headstones are made of distinctive local sandstone. Theyve all been immaculately carved with what we
The attendant on our flight to Kununurra is the same poor young Filipino gent who was on our last flight. We remember him mainly because he got stage fright and forgot the words to the introduction. He then got so embarrassed that he had to cover his face with the safety card whilst explaining the finer points of life jackets, and as soon as hed finished he made a dive for the toilet. No problem this time however. Hes handed the reins to his Aussie mate, who it seems is taking no chances; hes reading his lines from a sheet of paper.
Were collected from the airport for our hour long drive to El Questro by Glenn, an expat South African. He tells us that hes been in Australia for nearly thirty years. He says he worked in the industry in Adelaide before doing career flip four years ago up here with his wife. He expected to be making beds but they told him they wanted him to be a tour guide. We assume he must have done a lot of
training, but he says all they did before letting him loose on the tourists was give him a few brochures to read. We can both read; maybe we could tour guides up here.
Were told that the original million acre pastoral lease on which El Questro now stands was first established back in 1903, and its changed hands many times since. Ive always been curious as to what El Questro means. Im fairly sure from six long years of trying to learn Spanish that el means the, but Questros a new one on me. It seems that its a new one on everyone. The name was apparently bestowed by a previous owner back in 1958, but Questro doesnt mean anything in Spanish and the gent who named it has taken the mystery of the source of the name to his grave. Will and Celia Burrell took over the lease in 1991. They converted it to both pastoral and tourism use, and handed three hundred thousand of the original million acres back to the local indigenous people. The remaining seven hundred thousand remain an active cattle station, but only 6,000 head of cattle are run on it, which is
a much lower stocking rate than on other stations in the region, in recognition of the tourism aspect.
is available at three locations across the station - The Homestead provides facilities overlooking the Chamberlain River; you can camp or stay in a cabin at The Station; or you can lay your head down in a glamping tent at Emma Gorge. Weve chosen the latter. Our tent is in the shadows of the characteristic red and orange peaks and cliffs of the Cockburn Range, which look spectacular in the late afternoon sun.
Issy goes to clean her teeth in the bathroom at the back of the tent, on the pretty statue of a giant bright green frog sitting next to the sink. She goes to pick it up. Uh oh. It seems its not a statue, and it starts hopping all over the bathroom. A few long and frantic minutes later she manages to trap it under one of her hats and throw it outside.
Travelmates near
