What to do in Broome after sunset

After the cruise

The catamaran cruise runs through the afternoon, and Visit Broome lists two sessions: 2:30 to 6:30 pm and 3:00 to 7:00 pm. That leaves the whole evening free. Broome's sunset falls between about 5:20 and 6:35 pm over the year, so most evenings are dark by the time you are back at your accommodation. These are the other things the town does at night, and several depend on the tide or the moon, so check dates before you plan around them.

Staircase to the Moon

On two or three days a month between March and October, a full moon rises over the exposed tidal flats of Roebuck Bay, and the reflection looks like a staircase to the moon. Town Beach, on the south-east edge of town, is the place to watch it, and a food and craft market operates there on Staircase nights. The view depends on the tide being out when the moon rises, so the dates change from month to month. Check the full moon dates and the low tide time before you go, and expect a crowd at Town Beach on those nights.

An open-air film at Sun Pictures

Sun Pictures, in Chinatown, shows two films every night. The building dates from 1903 and is described as the world's oldest operating open-air picture gardens, and it remains a working cinema rather than a museum piece. You watch from outdoor seating under the sky, and the cinema sits under a flight path, so a plane landing can drown out a line of dialogue. Check the evening's films and times on the day, because the programme changes.

Flying foxes at dusk

A colony of around 50,000 black and little red flying foxes lives all year in the mangroves beside Streeter's Jetty, close to the town centre. They chatter and socialise loudly before flying out at dusk each evening. The bats are important pollinators and seed dispersers for native trees and plants. It is a free sight, and the best time to catch it is just after sunset, when the sky is still bright enough to see them against it.

Birds of Roebuck Bay

Roebuck Bay's intertidal flats are one of the most important migration stopovers for shorebirds in Australia, and more than 300,000 waders use the bay each year. The larger species arrive between August and October after flying non-stop from China. The Broome Bird Observatory, on the bay's northern shore, was established in 1988 to study the birds. Waders roost on the red beaches at high tide and feed on the flats at low tide, so the tide table decides what you see.

Where Chinatown fits

Chinatown has been Broome's multicultural centre since pearling crews set up camps there in the 1880s. It is known for pearl and jewellery showrooms, galleries and Sun Pictures, and a major revitalisation project has refreshed the town centre. Pearl Luggers, in Chinatown, runs guided tours and displays two surviving restored pearling luggers. Working pearl farms lie north of Broome. Treat these as daytime stops: check opening hours before you plan an evening around them.

Fitting it together

A sensible evening runs cruise, then a film at Sun Pictures or the moon over Town Beach, depending on the date. If you are on the afternoon town tour instead, the coach drops you at your accommodation at about 6:30 pm, which still leaves time for a film. Staircase to the Moon needs a clear horizon as well as the right tide, so keep one alternative in your plans.

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