Broome Trip October 2025

One of the best things about living in Karratha is how close we are to some of WA’s most incredible holiday spots - Karijini, Coral Bay, and Broome are all within road-trip range.

Broome’s on the far end of that list, clocking in at about nine hours towing the van, so this time we broke it up with a stop at Pardoo Homestead. We usually pull in at Cape Keraudren or a free camp north of Hedland, but I wanted to mix it up this trip, explore something different.

What a great call that was. Pardoo Homestead was everything I hoped for They have basically rebuilt the place after getting wiped out a few years ago during cyclone season, and it’s definitely an option for Karrathians chasing a long-weekend getaway. A powered site was $50, and worth every cent after a long day on the road. The showers were great, and the playground kept the kids happy (always a win). There were a few dogs around too, so it looks like they’re pet-friendly. Caravans make the trip so much cheaper than a hotel stay in a tourist town, 13km down a very well maintained dirst road was easy.

They’ve got a pool, general store, and even games for the kids. I didn’t get a chance to drop a line at the river mouth after pulling in late (solo-parent towing life), but it’s close enough that I’d love to go back and give it a proper try.

On to Broome the next day, where it was surprisingly quiet for the first week of the school holidays. I’m not sure if it was because Cable Beach is closed to 4WDs this year, or if the heat kept people away, but it was a totally different vibe to what I’ve seen before (July-August).

Normally I wouldn’t call myself particularly heat-tolerant, but apparently when you’re travelling with Perth friends, I am. Me and the kids were perfectly happy cruising around in 34-38 degrees, there’s plenty of shade around town, and we basically live in fishing shirts, so no sunburns here.

We filled our days easily, a round of mini golf, Matsos, coffee coffee and more coffee, and easy walking access to Cable Beach near the Surf Club, neap tides meant the giant hill someone had made out of beach sand was still there and my kids rocketed to it.

Night markets on a Thursday was a good one too. Live music and food trucks.

It actually made for a really nice, slow-paced trip, no crowds, no rush, just relaxed days exploring and eating our way around town.

With driving onto Cable Beach off the cards this year, we decided to explore Coconut Wells, and I can’t believe I’d never been before. We hit it on neap tides, with about a 6 m high around 12:30 pm, and spent the morning there from 10 am through to high tide. 

It was absolutely worth it. The low tide reveals the rockpools and the 5-6m mark was perfect! The pools were full of tiny fish darting around, safe for the kids to be around as it was pretecting us from the waves. The water was perfect, the beach was gorgeous, and the whole spot had that hidden-gem feel that makes you want to keep it secret (but also tell everyone).

We had no dramas in the 4WD to get there, even our friends’ Jimny handled it like a champ. It’s just a short walk from the lower carpark, which I was very thankful for. I wouldn’t attempt that walk from the upper carpark in 38 degrees with four kids, four adults, and one pregnant woman (not me), but if you’re in a sedan or not confident on the sad that’s where you’ll need to park.

Of course, no Broome trip is complete without the Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park. It’s now about $140 for a family of four, as with everything prices going up, but honestly, it’s an experience like no other. I’ve been a few times and still love it, taking the toddler for the first time she’s ever seen a croc, so that was pretty special.

We also checked out the Broome Museum, and it completely exceeded expectations. So much local history packed into one small space! Pearling, cyclones, old Broome stories, you get to send some Morse code with the machine. It was a good activity for the 8 & 10 year olds, they actually asked to go back the next day, which says a lot. Cost was $12 for an adult and free for kids under 16, (it was also airconned!), making it one of the best-value activities in town.

All up, it was one of those trips that reminds you why we live up here. Pardoo Homestead made the perfect halfway stop, clean, friendly, and easy with kids. And with Cable Beach off-limits, finding Coconut Wells ended up being the best kind of detour.