Just because you can’t travel overseas doesn’t mean you can’t travel and explore.
Take this opportunity to explore your own backyard. I guarantee you there are places to see and things to do in your own city and state!
Maybe it’s somewhere you’ve always been interested in felt “you can do that any time” and instead opted for an overseas trip.
Broome in WA is one of those places for me. People from other parts of Australia and the world dream of travelling to Broome to explore the sun-kissed lands in the North West of Australia.
Yet being a WA local, I have yet to go myself.
Note: This post was original published on Instax Australia‘s blog as part of a collaboration. I had so much fun journalling about my trip to Broome but also photographing and creating the content for the post.
The dry season is generally the best time to visit Broome.
This is typically between April until October. During this time you get to experience warm days, balmy nights and perfect blue skies. I was fortunate enough to escape the cold and wet Perth winter and traded it for the perfect weather in Broome for 5 days.
With a roller-coaster of a year so far, I was looking forward to a short holiday away.
Highlights and must-dos when you visit Broome, Western Australia
Gantheaume Point.
It’s a 10 minute easy drive from Broome’s town centre.
It’s known for dinosaur foot prints, stunning cliffs and crystal clear turquoise waters. The ancient dinosaur tracks can only be seen during very low tides.
Of all the places I got to witness the famous Broome sunset during my trip, this was definitely one of my favourite spots.
Cable Beach.
Cable beach is one of Australia’s most iconic beaches, famous for it’s amazing sunsets.
People often drive their 4WDs down onto the beach to enjoy the sunset while having some drinks and nibbles.
Another popular activity on the beach is the sunset camel ride tours. Either way, you’re bound to be impressed by the sunset and pristine beaches that seem to stretch forever.
Matso’s Brewery.
Most people don’t realise that Matso’s Brewery started off as a micro brewery.
It’s also probably the most remote brewery in Australia.
It’s most famous for it’s Ginger Beer and Mango Beer, however they have since expanded their range to include unusual flavours such as the chilli beer.
We had a great time learning about the brewing process and trying pretty much every flavour of Matso’s beer there is with the head brewer.
The brewery food was one of our favourite places to eat while we were there.
Cape Leveque.
If you have a 4WD (I recommend hiring a 4WD if you’re visiting Broome), Cape Leveque is worth the drive.
If you can, stay a night or two in the area. We only had enough time for a day trip, but there’s definitely enough to do and see to stay for a couple of nights if you wish to.
Located in the Dampier peninsula, Cape Leveque is one of the most unique places I’ve been to. It’s known for it’s beautiful beaches, clear water, red rocks & cliffs, wildlife and a generally peaceful place to visit. It’s probably one of the most remote places I’ve travelled to as well with few tourist relatively speaking.
It’s over 200km north of Broome and significant parts of the road are unsealed, sandy and corrugated.
So a 4WD is a must.
Give yourself several hours to make the drive as well, especially if you’re not a particularly experienced 4WD driver.
Using the Fujifilm Instax Li Play as a camera and a printer!
Since the Instax LiPlay was announced and released in 2019, I was intrigued.
I thought that it’s the perfect hybrid Instax camera I’ve been waiting for. It’s a digital camera with an inbuilt Instax Mini printer.
It doesn’t stop there though. It also allows you to record a short audio clip and embed the link to the clip via a QR code that is printed directly onto the Instax Mini print.
You can also connect your smartphone to the LiPlay. This allows you to print photos from you phone as the LiPlay acts as an Instax Mini printer. You can also use the LiPlay App to control the camera to do remote shooting.
It also has the classic features found on many Instax cameras such as the selfie mirror at the front of the camera.
You can use the Instax LiPlay as a Instax Mini printer to print off your travel memories after your trip. Or as an Instax camera during your travels like you would any other instant camera.
Instax Prints and Travel Journalling
The Instax prints are also fantastic to use as part of travel journalling. Travel journalling is the fun process of starting with a blank page and then filling it with the written word, photos, memorabilia and sketches that represent your travels.
There is no right or wrong way to travel journal, do what works for you.
Related: 3 Reasons I Use the Traveler’s Notebook for Travel Journalling
I use the Instax Mini prints to help me tell the stories of my travels which compliments my writings. I printed a couple of Instax Mini’s that represented the highlights from each day of my trip.
When I flick back through my travel journal I can easily see what the highlights were and it will trigger memories that take me back to my trip to Broome.
You can do this during the trip or after your come back from your trip.
The bonus of journalling after your trip is that it allows you to reflect on your trip highlights and stories you want to document and remember.
This will give you a bit of a happiness boost if you’re experiencing some post-holiday blues!
Making Travel Planning Easier (Free Template in Notion)
One of our goals of moving to the US from Australia is to take the opportunity to travel and explore more of the US. That means being organised and intentional about locking in travel dates ahead of time so the trips actually happens.
There is a lot to juggling when travel planning—itinerary, accommodation, flight options, things to do, recommended food and drink places etc.
It’s just not possible to track all of that in my head!
I’m a big Notion fan and I use that to plan and track all our trips. I also use it for other things like meal planning, tracking my tasks and projects, and keeping track of my camera gear etc.
Notion is free to use, hyper customisable and saves you time by giving you the ability to templatise things you do often.
So you’re not reinventing the wheel each time you want to plan a new trip in Notion.
If you want to get started planning your travels in Notion, you can download my free Travel Hub Template System in Notion that’s been downloaded more than 824+ times below:
Wrap up on exploring Broome with the Instax Li Play camera
The Fujifilm Instax family of cameras has a huge range of options. I really like the Instax Li Play because it acts as both a digital camera and a Instax Mini film printer.
It’s compact enough to take on trips if you want to snap some instant photos along the way.
Instax mini prints are also a great way to spice up your travel journal, especially if you struggle with “being creative”.
Until next time, happy travelling!
Janice.
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