Yes well, what ARE the chances?

In this vast island continent of ours, how is it possible that we could meet up again three months later?

We first met Dutch cyclists Ellis and Willem between Derby and Fitzroy Crossing on 28th September. You can read about our chance meeting in the blog entitled:

"Broome to Alice & Goodbye Frida".

We had given them water and nuts and enjoyed some banter about our respective travels. We had told them we would be coming back across the Nullarbor and would be back in Perth by New Year. As they were travelling anti-clockwise, and we clockwise, we joked we might see them somewhere on the road or back in Perth? Slim chance we thought at the time.

When you know you are heading home after a long trip, no matter how enjoyable the trip has been, there is a sense of "lets get there and let's get there SOON!!" Leaving Adelaide the Saturday afternoon after Christmas we camped near Iron k*** the first night, then a bush camp in the middle of nowhere before the SA & WA border. We had cooked up all our left over vegetables that night in the camp oven before the border quarantine station. We were, however, still left with a bag of oranges. A bit too many oranges even after we had some for dinner and some in the morning.

We set of after breakfast with a view to finding someone going the other way who would appreciate the gift of our fruit. There wasn't much traffic, but quite close to the border we saw a Wicked Van pulled into a layby and next to it two cyclists. Slowing down Avan said "Wouldn't be funny if it was our Dutch cyclists?"

Pulling up, we both got out, me with the bag of oranges in hand and, before we could say anything, we saw it WAS Ellis and Willem next to their bikes!

Think about it for a moment. There are so many variables and what ifs. What if we had both stayed longer in our respective camp sites the night before? What if we hadn't wanted to find someone to give our fruit to? Or didn't have anything to give away? What if they had been further back in the layby or stopped at a service station? What if they were not parked next to the Wicked Van, would they have caught our eye?

It was a happy reunion and we chatted about the three months of travel in between. The driver of the Wicked Van was a relative and travelling with them for a short while. He would drive ahead an agreed distance, find a suitable shady spot (hard to find on the Nullarbor!) and wait for them to cycle there for their next break. They were really enjoying the company after so long on the road with only each other. We ate oranges together then another photo before we went our separate ways again, us to travel at a speed of 110 kilometres an hour and to get passed Norseman that night, and Ellis & Willem? - well they'd be just a bit further down the long, long stretch of the Nullarbor. Probably, just about where we had camped the previous night!

So the circle is completed. We arrived back in Perth four months after we had left . We left in early Spring on a wet and windy day and arrived back to the full force of Perth Summer heat. What an exciting and eventful four months of travel we have had. An amazing and different circling of Oz with Frida's company for half of the journey, catch ups with many family and friends along the way and two wonderful overseas trips.

AND we've ticked of our 100th country together. Life's good!