The first thing you see of Broome when you fly in is Roebuck Bay. If you’re coming from the south you’ll circle low right over it; from the north it’ll still make its presence known by virtue of the fact that it defines the peninsula on which Broome is built. The colours of the bay are a postcard cliché, until you see them in person and you realise that they’re real: low rust-red cliffs fall to a vivid turquoise sea. The only time I’ve seen water that colour before was in Queenstown, Tasmania, and it was caused by copper sulphate, the waste product of mining. But the colour of the sea around Broome is natural. The red soil—called pindan—is so fine and soft that to walk on it barefoot is like walking on carpet.

If you come to Broome by air you’ll be in good company. Though you may not be aware of it, if you arrive or leave on the cusp of the wet and dry seasons you’ll be joining a host of other travellers: Roebuck Bay is the single most important site on the whole Australian continent for migratory shorebirds.