One of the things we cherish is our continued friendships with our "dirt dwelling" friends back home - whilst we may not physically be with them, we still stay close thanks to the easy technological world we now all live in. Of course, we are always up for a good celebration with them and this year we've been counting down to August and a visit home to help our great mate Bazz mark a milestone "0" birthday.

We flew out of Tahiti at 0900 on Wednesday 2/8; our journey basically being a "Coconut Milk Run" via Auckland and Sydney. With short delays at each stop, we arrived in Perth very late and by the time we had retrieved our luggage, it was the early hours of Friday morning ..... crossing the International Date Line certainly lengthened the trip! Our first few days were spent with family at sister Frances and BIL Terry's home. It was delightful to spend our first Saturday afternoon with them both, our niece Katie and her partner Zane feasting on fresh oysters and grilled local crayfish caught by Terry over summer. Perth was in the grip of a very wet and cold winter and we struggled with the low temperatures, the persistent rain and occasional hail, and the need to wear warm clothing and SHOES! I actually discovered I no longer have any "heel fitness" when I endeavoured to get around in an old, reliable pair of boots - sailing has changed me forever it seems. Of course, there were the obligatory shopping expeditions for boat parts - nice to catch up with both Roger and Trevor at Yacht Grot.

Bazz and his gorgeous wife Betts had migrated north with their van for the season at the beginning of winter and we were extremely grateful to leave for beautiful, warm and sunny Broome. What a week we had! The "Festival of Bazz" was a full-on celebration with functions and dinners galore, a day at the races, some local sightseeing and plenty of laughs and camaraderie. Bazz and Betts are our Besties and we just love being with them both; being around for this special birthday also gave us the opportunity to spend some quality time with special mutual friends Pete and Mandy, Terry and Vicki and Bob and Ronda - all long-time mates from our stinkboat days at Stark Bay, Rottnest, the East Fremantle Yacht Club and the Swan Yacht Club. We ate well, we drank good Aussie wine and we talked, laughed and enjoyed each other's company immensely and often. We took long walks on Broome's beautiful beaches; we spent an afternoon whale watching onboard the magnificent 60' MV Jude; the guys went fishing and returned with a big catch of local species; the ladies languished around the pool sipping bubbles at Cable Beach Club Resort. We caught up with our dear old friends Pat & Graham who have wintered in Broome for over 30 years and we made new friends amongst the lovely community who call Broome Vacation Village their home away from home.

Broome is a special town - the stunning blue sky, vivid turquoise sea and rich red Pindan soil all combine to create a colourful palate of rich and exotic shades. It's an old, old pearling town - in fact the local Yawuru people harvested and traded shell with Makassen merchants from SE Asia for hundreds of years before the arrival of Europeans in Western Australia. Industry initially started in the 1880's when both the unique Pinctada Maxima Pearl and the shell were harvested - the pearls for much coveted jewellery pieces and the shell for cutlery handles, buttons and decorative accessories. The early days of commercial pearling were tough - the divers in full, heavy and cumbersome suits with hard brass helmets were weighed down by clunky lead boots and were required to walk the seabed for long periods whilst being fed air through a long hose from the wooden luggers above. Many divers suffered from the bends; many were lost in industrial accidents and a few were taken by sharks or massive groupers. Most paid divers migrated from Japan and the headstones in the old Japanese Cemetery on the outskirts of town are a permanent reminder of their sacrifice in pursuit of the gems of the ocean. There is also a very dark side to the early days with Yawuru people, particularly young females, being enslaved through the shocking practice of "blackbirding" and forced to "naked dive" i.e. free dive for oyster shell. Whilst the old pearling masters for the most part presented themselves as gentile and refined in their standard wardrobe of white linen suits and straw hats, their desire for wealth obviously compromised their humanity. Times became hard just prior to WW1 when the price of mother of pearl plummeted. By 1939, the industry employed fewer than 600. With Japanese bombers targeting Broome during WW2, the industry came to a standstill as Japanese divers either discreetly returned home or were interned. The industry was revitalised in the 1980s following the introduction of cultured pearl technology and today, Broome pearls are highly desirable and account for a significant portion of the local economy.

We first visited Broome with Bazz and Betts in the early 2000's then again onboard Elevation in 2010 at the beginning of our world voyage. The roadstead anchorage at Gantheuame Point sticks in our minds as one of the most rolly we have ever encountered however the brilliant sunsets compensated for one or two uncomfortable nights. A must do for both tourists and locals alike is to head down to either Gantheuame or Cable Beach to watch the setting sun, ostensibly with a picnic, drinks and a couple of comfy beach chairs. With the tide out (Broome is subject to tidal variations of up to 10 metres), the variegated Pindan rocks are exposed and the kaleidoscope of colours as the sun slips away below the horizon is simply breath-taking. At Cable Beach, the added attraction of a passing caravan of camels carrying fare paying tourists on a dusk beach walk makes for amazing photos. The "Staircase to the Moon" phenomenon is also a tourist must do; the full moon rising creates a visual golden stairway across the sea, it's total "Wow" factor thrilling all who witness it.

Paul's grandparents lived in Broome prior to the commencement of WW2; his Pop Dick being the headmaster at the primary school. On one of our previous visits, we had spent an afternoon at the museum seeking out family information and discovering that Dick was involved with Z Force and instrumental in covert operations in the region. Prior to the bombing of Broome in 1942, Nanna Eileen and her three children Frank, Mary (Paul's mother) and Michael were evacuated along with most local families by ship to Perth. Dick's war service escapades from there on were classified so very little is known of his active service.

All too soon our week in the sun was over and we bid a tearful farewell to Bazz & Betts before flying back to chilly Perth for another few days with family and friends. I lunched with my darling friend Francie at Jamie Oliver's Italian in the city - an afternoon filled with much chatter and laughter; how I love her company. We took a trip to Bunbury with Frances and Terry to catch up with nephew Robert, his wife Juanita and our great niece Olivia, giving Livvy a small, soft Blue Footed Boobie from our Galapagos adventure. She's a lively little cherub, very engaging at 6 months as she discovers more and more of the world. We spent a morning with good friends Denise and Brad planning a week or so onboard Elevation in French Polynesia - will be lovely to share some of the Society Islands with them both. We did chilli mussels in Fremantle with Francie and her gorgeous hubby Gus and we packed and prepared to return to Papeete. After one last evening with Frances and Terry, we packed up our hire car and headed off to Perth Airport to do the trip in reverse. Leaving from WA at 2355, we arrived back at Papeete at 2325 on the same day - crossing the International Date Line from west to east actually makes you a time traveller! With a reasonably quick exit via CIQ and confirmation that our visas will expire on 30/9, we were met by the very lovely and accommodating Beni who whisked us away to Fare Suisse, a delightful little guest house and home for the next few days. Great to be back in the warmth of Polynesia!