We left the van at Broome as the Cape Leveque road is a 4WD track. We had booked 'Eco-tent' accommodation at Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm. The 200km long red pindan road passes a number of isolated Aboriginal communities. We had a quick stop at Beagle Bay to check out the mother-of-pearl altar at the church, built by Pallotine monks in 1918. We arrived at Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm - the driveway was scattered with old pearling equipment, workshops and machinery. We were booked to the pearl farm tour at 11 which was a good introduction. Dean Brown and his son Lyndon Brown started the business at it's present location when they were granted the first Australian pearl licence in 1960. We learnt about the history and how the pearl is harvested today. The modern day pearler spends their day on the boats cleaning the seaweed and growth off all of the pearling lines so the oyster shell can filter feed properly. After the tour we had a mocktail at the cafe and were then taken to our tent which was in a great location amongst the shade of the trees and a short stroll from the beach. After messing up our lovely tent we drove to One Arm Point, and the Ardyaloon community which seemed pretty quite. We went for a walk along the nearby beaches. Back at Cygnet Bay we found lots of hermit crabs along the beach which the kids loved. We cooked a BBQ for dinner.
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