Peter and Helen rigged up their trailer, loaded my bike and gear and very generously gave me a lift the 230 km to Broome. Their excuse was that they were going anyway to Bunnings to get bolts and fittings to put solar panels on the 4WD, 4 ton campervan (impressive kit, hermetic door and window seals so that it doesn’t fill with fine red dust ‘outback’) but in reality it was to get me to the airport for my flight back to Perth and to be close to the bigger hospital in Broome.

Thanks guys.

The girls meantime had only got a few kilometres from the Willare Roadhouse where they had stayed overnight before we overtook them. They didn’t recognise us but I left a bottle of beer on the side of the road for Linda (she gave it to Peter on his return trip as a 35C bottle of shaken beer was too much for her to think of drinking).

I shouted Peter and Helen outrageously expensive coffees and packaged cakes at the Roebuck Plains roadhouse and they dropped me at the Broome Town Beach Caravan Park by 11 am. The girls were blown the 132 km from Willare to Roebuck Plains by a ripping tailwind.

In Broome at the caravan park, I met Bruce who had been there for nearly a week since Jerry took him to Derby and he caught the bus to Broome to get checked out at the Broome Hospital. Bruce had negotiated a special rate for us bikers at the caravan park as he always does. Good on you Bruce.