Broome and the North West, Cable Beach to Ningaloo
Lost a ring or other jewellery at Cable Beach, Town Beach or on the north west coast
Cable Beach and Town Beach in Broome, then south along the coast through Port Hedland and Karratha to Exmouth and Coral Bay on Ningaloo.
A ring lost on Cable Beach can be found if you can place the spot and the tide has not had days to work on it. What decides it here is the tide. DBCA puts the difference between high and low water on the Kimberley coast at up to 9 to 10 metres, so the sand you sat on in the afternoon can be under metres of sea by morning and open again at the next low tide.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch or phone in Broome and the North West with a metal detectorist who can search there. We track down someone who can search there, give them your marked map, and tell you honestly when it looks unlikely.
If you are looking at metal detector hire in Broome, or your first search was metal detector hire near me, a hired machine is a fair option for a fresh loss on dry sand. Once the ring went into wet sand or water, or the item is small like an earring or an Oura ring, a detectorist who has worked big tides gets more from the same low water window.
How a search works at Cable Beach and across the North West
In the first hour, fix the spot and note the time, because the time tells us where the water line was. Line yourself up with two things that do not move, such as the Surf Club access and the rocks at Cable Beach or the jetty and the water park at Town Beach, take a photo in each direction and drop a pin.
Then WhatsApp us the pin, the photos, the time and a photo of the ring, and say what the tide was doing. We find a detectorist who can reach the beach and plan the search around low water, when the wet sand is open.
Places we cover in Broome and the North West
- Cable Beach (Walmanyjun), Broome
- Cable Beach north of the rocks, the vehicle area
- Town Beach (Guwarri) and the Town Beach Jetty, Roebuck Bay
- Gantheaume Point (Minyirr)
- Reddell Beach (Jabarragun)
- Entrance Point, Broome
- Simpsons Beach (Nagulanjulan)
- Willie Creek and Coconut Wells
- Cemetery Beach, Port Hedland
- Pretty Pool, Port Hedland
- Spoilbank Marina, Port Hedland
- Hearson Cove, Burrup Peninsula, Karratha
- Dampier foreshore
- Point Samson and Honeymoon Cove
- Cleaverville Creek beach
- Town Beach, Exmouth
- Turquoise Bay, Cape Range National Park
- Coral Bay, Bill's Bay and Paradise Beach
Cable Beach, Roebuck Bay, the Pilbara beaches and Ningaloo, where rings go missing
Each stretch of this long coast loses jewellery in its own way.
Cable Beach, Broome
Walmanyjun, Cable Beach, is white sand facing the Indian Ocean, with a Shire lifeguard service daily from April to October, 9.00 am to 4.30 pm. South of the rocks is the beach by the Surf Club. North of the rocks the beach runs on as the vehicle beach, reached from the ramp beside the Cable Beach Amphitheatre and driven below the high tide mark. A ring in a tyre track sits deeper than one on open sand, so say how far north of the rocks you parked.
Town Beach and Roebuck Bay
Guwarri, Town Beach, sits on the south east edge of Broome on Roebuck Bay, with a public water park and the 112 metre Town Beach Jetty, built high above the seabed for tides the Shire describes as 10 metres plus. Two to three nights a month from March to October the full moon rises over the exposed flats for the Staircase to the Moon. A phone or ring dropped from the jetty lands on a seabed that is open at low water and deep at high.
Gantheaume Point, Reddell Beach and Entrance Point
Minyirr, Gantheaume Point, is rocky country with designated paths above the turquoise ocean, and Jabarragun, Reddell Beach, has high red pindan cliffs with access tracks down to the sand. Tell us which path or access track you came down. The Shire provides dog exercise areas at Cable Beach, Reddell Beach and Entrance Point.
Port Hedland and Karratha
In Port Hedland the beaches people use are Cemetery Beach, Pretty Pool with its tidal pool and dunes, and the new Spoilbank Marina precinct. The Town says the flatback turtle season starts in October and finishes in March. Around Karratha the sand is Hearson Cove on the Burrup Peninsula, a shallow beach that shows its own Staircase to the Moon from April to October, the Dampier foreshore, Point Samson with Honeymoon Cove, and the beach at the mouth of Cleaverville Creek.
Exmouth and Coral Bay on Ningaloo
Exmouth has its own Town Beach by the township. The famous water is 60 kilometres north west at Turquoise Bay in Cape Range National Park, where the drift snorkel starts at the southern end of the beach and the current is strong enough that swimmers are told to get out before the north point of the sandbar. Coral Bay is named for coral gardens that lie metres from the white sand at Bill's Bay and Paradise Beach. Rings come off cold fingers mid snorkel here, the hardest loss on this coast.
What you get from Ring Seekers in Broome and the North West
One person on WhatsApp
You explain it once. The person you message is the person who arranges the search and reports back.
Your map, photos and tide time go to the detectorist
The detectorist gets your marked spot, your photos and the time of the loss, and on this coast the time is what places the water line.
Plain about poor odds
A ring lost mid drift at Turquoise Bay, or on the Roebuck Bay flats three tides ago, is a poor bet. We would rather say so now than after a wasted trip.
We know how this tide behaves
Up to 9 to 10 metres between high and low water, a wet season with stingers, and beaches that close to vehicles for turtles. We brief the detectorist for your beach, not a generic beach.
Costs agreed before anything happens
We explain the costs before any search is booked.
Tides, seasons and sand from Broome to Ningaloo
Conditions a detectorist has to read here.
Kimberley tides of up to 9 to 10 metres
DBCA says the difference between high and low tide on the Kimberley coast can be up to 9 to 10 metres. A search at Broome is planned around low water, when the wet sand is open.
Wet season, stingers, cyclones and crocodiles
The wet season runs from November to April, with cyclones most common in January and February. The Shire of Broome puts stinger season at November to May, and DBCA says Irukandji and box jellyfish are reported in every month, so nobody goes into the water for us in that window. DBCA also says known crocodile habitat extends south to Exmouth.
Vehicles on the sand and turtle closures
Beach driving in the Yawuru parks is only on Cable Beach, from the access ramp through north of the rocks, below the high tide mark, at 15 km/h. The Shire closes the ramp from 8 pm to 6 am from 1 October to 30 November and fully from 1 December to the end of February for turtle nesting. Port Hedland has its flatback season from October to March with no driving on the beaches.
Questions about Broome and the North West
I lost my wedding ring on Cable Beach at sunset and the tide has come in over the spot. Is it gone?
Not necessarily, but the clock matters more here than on most beaches. With up to 9 to 10 metres between high and low water, the sand you sat on will be far under water at the next high tide and open again at the next low. Send us the time, a pin and photos, and we work out which low tide gives the best chance.
I dropped a ring or my phone at Town Beach, on the jetty or on the flats during Staircase to the Moon. Any chance?
On the sand at Town Beach, yes. On the flats, it depends. The Town Beach Jetty is 112 metres long and the Shire says it becomes landlocked at times, so something dropped from it lands on a seabed that is walkable at low water and under metres of water at high. Phones and metal watches show on a detector. If it went in on a Staircase to the Moon night, tell us which one.
I lost an Oura ring or a watch at Cemetery Beach or Pretty Pool in Port Hedland. Can it be searched?
Both show on a detector, and an Oura ring is a small target a hired machine tends to miss in wet sand. Tell us which beach, the nearest fixed point and the time. If it went into the tidal pool at Pretty Pool rather than the sand, the odds drop and we say so.
I lost an earring or a bracelet at Hearson Cove near Karratha. Is that searchable?
Yes, if you can place it. Hearson Cove is a shallow beach on the Burrup Peninsula, and the City of Karratha lists it as a Staircase to the Moon spot from April to October, when the mudflats are exposed on very low tides. A bracelet dropped near the barbecues or on dry sand is a small search. One lost out on the flats is under the sea for most of the day, and a single earring is a tiny target.
My ring came off while snorkelling at Turquoise Bay or Coral Bay. Can anyone look for it?
In the water on Ningaloo this is a diver's job. Turquoise Bay is 60 kilometres north west of Exmouth inside Cape Range National Park, and a ring that came off in the drift current has no fixed point. At Coral Bay the coral lies metres from the beach at Bill's Bay. A ring lost on the dry sand or at the water line by your towel is a much better case.
What if the ring cannot be found?
Some are not found. If the spot is vague or the loss was days and several tides ago, we tell you before anyone travels. We explain the costs before any search is booked.
Broome and the North West, Cable Beach to Ningaloo
Lost something on Cable Beach or the north west coast? Note the time before anything else
Which beach, the nearest fixed point, what time the tide was where, and a photo of the ring.
The next high tide will cover the spot within hours and the flats at Roebuck Bay open for only a short window at low water. Get the pin and two photos in line with something solid, then send the place and the time to us on WhatsApp.