Broome in Australia’s North West is a fascinating town where the outback meets the ocean. With its rich pearling history and industry, fantastic community, 22km world famous Cable Beach and superb weather, it’s a great place to hang out and explore.

Not only that, it’s the gateway to the Kimberley, one of the world’s last great wilderness areas and second in Lonely Planet’s must visit destinations for 2014. I was lucky enough to stay for a week, but if you’re just there for a couple of days, here are my top tips.

WHAT TO DO

Get Educated!: Broome is steeped in pearling history and I learnt so much about the whole process, from its dangerous and treacherous beginnings to the delicate science it is today. Pop into Cygnet Bay Pearls or the Pearl Luggers and listen to captivating stories of how it all began.

When in Broome…: The place has a great community spirit so join in with the locals. When I was there I was lucky enough to be part of the annual Dragon Boat Regatta with what seemed like the entire town’s population. There always seems to be SOMETHING going on, even if it’s just the local sausage sizzle you know it’ll be a good laugh.

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One of the highlights from my three week tour of the Kimberley was hanging out at Lake Argyle, but before we could relax in the mountain-top infinity pool, we had the arduous task of a 7am champagne speed boat ride to the start of the Dam 2 Dam Dinghy Dash (oh woah is me!).

The Dam 2 Dam is an annual race from the Lake Argyle dam wall, along 55km of the upper Ord River, to the finish line at the Kununurra Division Dam. I was expecting rubber dinghies with oars, but the Australian version is a small tin boat with an outboard motor. Two men (or women) per boat, prizes for “best dressed crew” (I saw clowns, pink tutus and what looked like Chewbacca with a bowler hat) and delicately named vessels (such as Titan Uranus) it’s a cracking event run by the community.

I reckon our early morning speed boat jaunt would’ve gotten quite raucous later on because we were travelling with pretty much all the wives and girlfriends of the competitors and the champagne corks were flying. Unfortunately (probably fortunately), ours was a one-way ticket. We disembarked at the start line and whilst the rest of the party travelled back down the river, we were picked up by Gary from Lake Argyle Resort where we were staying that night.

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Here we go folks, a nice little story.

I’ve been staying at the Eco Beach Resort for the past two nights, a lovely little place about 12 minutes flight from Broome, and it’s completely self-sufficient. The eco tents and villas are powered by their own solar panels, with any excess power being directed back into their own Eco Resort grid to be distributed where needed. But what’s really great is that they’ve got their own garden, producing nearly all of their fruit and veggies that they use in the gourmet kitchen.

Brad the head chef, who’s been here a number of years, loves the fact he’s got everything he needs right on the doorstep, with all kitchen scraps being fed to the chooks who produce an abundance of free range eggs. Tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and herbs all from the garden make an appearance on tonight’s plate, along with fresh fish caught straight from the Indian Ocean.

“Eco Beach, far away in time” I don’t think so Martha and the Muffins, more like “Eco Beach, cutting edge of sustainability and a perfect example of how we should all be living our lives right now” but not such a catchy lyric.