Travel Blogging – Learning to write a novel

Before heading to my next destination to find work again, I plan to experience Broome to the fullest, for the next 5 months. I consider myself very lucky to have the opportunity to do this. I find myself as a strange combination of a traveller, with some local knowledge and that most definitely inspires me to make the absolute most out of this time. I’ve been doing a lot of research into different things to do and see – there are plenty of day-to-day experiences that I will be doing regularly – walking on Cable Beach, coffee at the General Store, visiting the Mango Place for a mango smoothie, watching the tides change at Streeters Jetty. That and enjoying the weather, the pool and the laid back lifestyle that makes me feel like I am on holiday..(well sort of)..

I’m all about balance. I am a Libran. I do it badly, but I strive for it always in my life, so the next 5 months will be trying to achieve some balance between work, future work and experiences. That’s the hard bit. The easier bit for me though, is coming up with my list of the 12 things on my Broome List.

I have prepared my list. 10 are brand new experiences and 2 are repeats from previous visits, that I would love to do again. There is one spot that is ‘flexible’ because I may not be able to financially achieve the option I have chosen for this spot. So here is a question for my readers. Do you have an item for me to add to the list as Number 12 – something the arm-chair readers would like to see – a view, a challenge or an experience? Add them to the comments if you do.

Pleasingly, I have ticked off 2 items already in May, so you will hear about them very soon in upcoming May blog posts. The rest I will have to start planning on when to do them and I will then reveal them in the blog over the next few months. Can’t wait!

Its been just on 4 weeks since arriving in Broome, Western Australlia. Tipping the end of the wet season, the first week was humid with a few remaining storms that had lingered for our arrival. I spent the first month on-foot and changed accommodation in the middle. I now have my own ‘studio unit’ which is comfortable, cool (when the fans are on) and with a shared pool and garden to enjoy in the mornings and evenings when the sun dissapears but it’s still warm.

There are a couple of disappointments to be honest. The Town Beach café, which I fondly remembered enjoying breakfast and dolphin spotting at, has closed. This is where I was going to write my book. It seems not. The town centre has been undergoing renovations for a while and the streets are messy and closed with the end of construction. Locals say it needs to be finished by the end of May and I hope it is. I’d had enough of construction in Sydney, both in the city centre and in the Northern Beaches and it feels to me like the local businesses are suffering, they are quiet even with the impending start of season just around the corner.

But these are just adjustments, letting go of the ‘dream’ and creating a ‘reality’ was always going to be part of the plan.

On the positive side, some of the old favourites, Cable Beach, Matso’s, The Mango Place and Town Beach still remain as remembered. I have also discovered the Broome Library which will be a great spot for writing, reading and working on my blog posts!

A month on foot has given me blisters, a light tan and also re-aquainted me with some of these locations as I pounded the streets, finding my way around. I feel like I can visualise the town a little better and have set myself up for finding my local hangouts. Good coffee is still on the list. I have had a few mediocre ones, generally sticking instead to chocolate milkshakes and Iced Coffee if I’m honest!

Broome presents me with an interesting challenge. A mental toughness is needed to dig in and find structure and comfort (and work!) in a different environment, where there are probably only 2 shops to buy clothes from (but you live in shorts and tshirts), limited café’s and expensive toasted sandwiches (but cheaper to buy from the supermarket anyway) and a delicate balance between travel and work to be re-found.

And….there are galleries and bookshops to visit, pindan earth and tranquil waters. There is much to explore, learn and find out, about Broome and about myself. And last Friday, I purchased a car, to take me on the Broome journey and beyond. I’m loving him already!