Broome 3rd August 2011

Aahh.... Pearl, pearls, pearls and more pearls. Big ones, small ones, freshwater ones, saltwater ones,  roundand coloured ones, what is a girl to do.
Firstly visited a free Pearl  information centre & exhibit and found out what is real or fake; farming practices and quality issues before wandering Chinatown and enjoying the contradiction of Broome, where historical buildings stand side by side with modern world architecture.
At  "Pearl Luggers", we took an interactive journey through the colourful history of Broome including the multicultural population that were lured by the promise of finding their fortune. We heard enthralling tales of Pearl Master's extravagance and their extravagant lifestyle. We learned more about the life of the diver and how 1 in 3 lost their lives on the first dive and when you see the gear that they wore, you can understand why. We tasted pearl meat which usually retails at $120/kg  in Australia and $400-600/kg on overseas markets. The highlight & finale was where Claire wore a strand of pearls worth $9000 and Angus got to hold one of the world's most perfect pearls worth $100 000. The kids were happy and the parents were very very nervous.