Cable Beach
Broome · Australia · the Indian Ocean
Tidal · long strand · white quartz sand · tidal · low-density resort
Ten metres of tidal range, camels at sunset, and stingers in the wet season.
Cable Beach runs north from Broome on the Kimberley coast of Western Australia, twenty-two kilometres of white sand facing the Indian Ocean across a tidal range that reaches ten metres. The name comes from the undersea telegraph cable laid from here to Java in 1889.
Its character is set by that tide. At low water the beach is enormously wide and vehicles drive on the hard sand north of the rocks; at high water it narrows to a strip below the dune. The difference is not a detail — it changes what the beach is twice a day, and the tide table is consulted here the way a weather forecast is elsewhere. At certain low tides in the dry season, moonlight over the exposed flats produces the Staircase to the Moon, which Broome has built an events calendar around.
The sand is fine white quartz, the water is warm, and the swimming is straightforward for most of the year with two caveats that matter. Irukandji and box jellyfish are present in the wet season, roughly November to May, and the beach is frequently closed to swimming during it. Saltwater crocodiles inhabit the creeks and mangroves nearby and occasionally appear on the beach; sightings close it immediately.
Development is low and set back. Resorts sit behind the dune at the southern end near the surf club, with a car park and a café; the northern section beyond the rocks is undeveloped, vehicle-accessible and clothing-optional by long custom. Camel trains cross the sand at sunset, which is the image Broome is known by.
Twenty-two kilometres of red pindan cliff over white sand, with the tide moving nine metres and camels crossing it at six. Swim in the stinger season only in a suit, keep off the northern end if you would rather not see anyone undressed, and stay out of the creeks — this is crocodile country and the signs are load-bearing.
Watch Cable Beach
The record
- Setting
- the Kimberley Coast · the Indian Ocean
- Shore
- long strand · white quartz sand · 22.0 km
- Water
- tidal
- Development
- low-density resort
- Access
- drive-up
- Facilities
- Lifeguard · Parking · Toilets · Showers · Dining · Sunbeds
- Best for
- Sunset · Long Walks · Swimming
- Season
- Year-round · Tide-dependent · Monsoon-sensitiveDry season May to October is the usable period. Wet season brings stingers, heat, humidity and cyclone risk.
- Position
- 17°57.684′ S · 122°12.786′ E
Questions
Can you swim at Cable Beach?
Usually in the dry season, roughly May to October. During the wet season marine stingers make swimming inadvisable and the beach is often closed; crocodile sightings close it at any time of year.
What is the Staircase to the Moon?
An optical effect when a rising full moon reflects off exposed tidal flats, producing what looks like a stair of light. It occurs on particular nights between roughly March and October and is published in advance.
Can you drive on the sand at Cable Beach?
Yes, on the northern section beyond the rocks, with a permit and attention to the tide. Vehicles get caught by incoming water here regularly.
Are the camel rides year-round?
They operate through the dry season and are usually paused in the wet. Sunset rides are the traditional time and book out in peak months.
Is the northern end clothing-optional?
By long-standing custom, yes, north of the rocks. The southern section near the surf club is not.
