Sleep, watch some T20 cricket on the telly, snooze some more, take a trip to the beach to watch the sunset….and repeat! We had envisioned our trip to Broome a bit differently, but our COVID infection forced our hands. We were lucky to have such great hosts to help us through the days. We considered what the alternative would’ve been not that long ago, and decided we had absolutely nothing to complain about. After our initial horror night we started to feel better quite quickly and before we knew it our 5 days of self-imposed isolation was done.
It was just in time to meet up with an old Kimberley colleague with the most Australian name of all; Bruce, to get an update of what had happened since my departure in 2017. After a week of sleeps and stunning sunsets it was time to depart. We said our goodbyes to Kim and Helen and flew back to Perth, where we were welcomed by our good friend Tracy. We picked up our stuff and drove to her mum’s house where we were welcomed with open arms. After the inactivity of our Broome trip it was time for action, we needed to find a car and a camper trailer for our upcoming trip.
The Uber driver that had taken us to the airport the week before had given us a tip where to find reasonably priced second hand vehicles. During COVID the prices of second hand cars had soared in Australia, selling for more than the new car value, so we were happy with any tips to shave something off the price. That’s how we found ourselves that Friday afternoon, standing in a huge hanger full of very shiny cars, looking for one that would suit our needs and fitted our budget.
I had envisioned an SUV of sorts, with a tow ball and enough power to tow a caravan. Walking past the rows of vehicles it became obvious that there weren’t many that were going to tick our boxes, until we walked past a big Ford Territory. These cars were produced in Australia for the Australian market,… very roomy, very powerful, and this one had a tow ball and it was within our budget. With half an hour till closing we decided to take it for a test drive, so we all piled in and took it for a spin. With a smooth ride and a nice turning circle I was pleasantly surprised.
That night we did some more research on the car and potential others and concluded that this really wasn’t a bad buy, so we reserved it online and sealed the deal the next morning. It was the first time we ever bought a car together! But that was only half of the work done, we still needed our house on wheels. That afternoon we lined up two appointments for the next day to check out some camper trailers that tickled our fancy. This is how we met Allen…
It was overcast and raining when we pulled up at Allen’s driveway that Sunday afternoon. A compact elderly man with a genuine smile and twinkling eyes walked out to greet us, followed closely by his trusted old dog, a small white cutie called Prinny. He told us his wife had named her Princes, but Allen didn’t want to call her that, so it was Prinny. Allen proceeded to pull the small camper trailer out of the garage into the rain and began methodically setting it up, patiently explaining us every step, with Prinny faithfully following his every move, getting dripping wet in the process.
Although it was an older model camper trailer, it had seen little use over the years. Allen said he had only used it once, and when Ireen asked why only once he paused and concluded that his wife liked it better at home. As we drove off we unanimously decided that we’d almost just buy the camper trailer because of Allen and Prinny. After the second viewing that afternoon we rung him with the good news and we were pleased to hear Prinny was warming up nicely inside under a blanket. We had successfully acquired our setup for the trip in two days time! What a whirlwind action! All thanks to Tracy driving us around Perth, helping us arrange it all and her mum Gina for welcoming 3 strangers in her house.
Enjoy this episode with some very fitting Powderfinger – Sunsets
