Bart Pigram, Narlijia Tours
Man-gala
(December–February)
The most obvious thing about Man-gala is the rain. Thunderstorms are borne into Broome on the north west winds, turning the landscape green, and making grasses grow tall. Kakadu (or billy goat) plum is fruiting, and it’s packed with vitamin C.
“There’s lots of fresh water around and most of the birds are nesting or hatching,” Bart says. “Then we’ve got the jarlangardi sand monitor, which is out and about feeding, so they're one of our main food sources.”
Man-gala has less-welcome characters, too. “The mosquitoes lay their eggs in the early rains, so they all come out now and start biting everybody.”
Marrul
(March-April)
Marrul is a short transition season between the wet and the upcoming dry season. The weather is typically hot, and the winds die down.
During Marrul white mangroves around Roebuck Bay (Yawuru Nagulagun) are laden with fruit.
“That fruit is actually a toxic fruit, but has been detoxified in an old traditional way by burying them in the mud.”
This is a good time to hunt goannas, before the weather cools down and they go into hibernation.
Roebuck Bay, Broome
Wirralburu
(May)
Wirralburu is the cooling season, and the south east breeze ushers in the cooler nights. The air becomes drier, and the rains have finished.
“The blue-nosed threadfin salmon are just everywhere,” Bart says. “So that's the main food source that we all go to. You’d see a lot of us fishing either off the beach or at the mouths of creeks.”
Barrgana
(June – August)
The weather in Barrgana features blue skies and low humidity.
“This is the reason why it's tourist season here,” Bart says. “Cable Beach shelters from the south easterly winds, and you’ve got pristine, clear waters and constant, beautiful temperatures. It's just captivating.”
Traditionally, Yawuru people would be fishing for mullet and salmon. It was also a good time for hunting fat wallabies and even dugongs.
Barrgana sees plenty of activity in the plant world, too with a proliferation of wildflowers.
Hakeas are flowering, and were a source of honey, but for sheer spectacle, it’s hard to go past the wattles.
“You can see bright yellow flowers in different shapes and spread all across the country,” Bart says.
Cable Beach, Broome
Wirlburu
(September)
Wirlburu is another short transition season, marking the end of the cooler weather. As the warming westerly winds develop, reptiles start to become active. Blue tongue lizards, black headed pythons, and water pythons would traditionally be on the menu.
In the ocean, stingrays are becoming fat and good for eating.
“We’d also be shelling; collecting a whole range of things off the reef like oysters, cockles and pearl shells,” Bart says.
In Wirlburu, the seed pods of the soap wattle are drying. These tiny seeds would be collected by the thousands and ground into a flour and used to make Broome’s original damper.
Laja
(October – November)
Laja sees an increase in humidity and clouds starting to build. The heat returns in earnest as winds becoming stronger from the north west.
“Aboriginal people would have spent early mornings and late afternoons collecting mud crabs and stingrays and a whole range of things, and resting in the shade in the middle of the days.”
Sea turtles would lay their eggs on the beaches. While the eggs were an easy meal, Yawuru people were careful not to overexploit their nature’s resources.
“We didn't have refrigerators, so we’d just eat enough to fill our belly or feed the family,” Bart says. “It was small, sustainable consumption.”
Published March 2025.
