Rescued

It's the first time I've ever been glad that a car wouldn't start!

We set off for a drive to look at more of the stunning Esperance coastline, stopping along the way at Look Outs, etc.  At Observatory Beach, after a quick look, we all piled back into the car only to find that the engine wouldn't turn over. A little shocked, the car has been traveling so well and had an extensive service before we left home, we all got back out and stood looking in the engine.

Really we had no clue what was wrong - starter engine maybe Keith suggested?  

A lady who had been walking her dog on the beach and was about to leave came over to see if she could help.  There was no mobile reception and she was the only other person around.  Very quickly she offered to take me and the children back to her house to use her phone and hang out till the Roadside Assistance man came and hopefully got the car started.

So, I took her up on her generous offer.  We headed back to Deb's house, quickly covering many topics and by the time we reached her gorgeous property we felt like old friends.  The kids were very excited to meet her four alpacas, including two babies.

Deb is one of those people who is always rescuing people. She's widely traveled and after settling in Esperance with her husband four years ago has created a very beautiful lifestyle based loosely on permaculture principals.  There was so much to talk about, including the care of those alpacas. I'm sure we'll end up with some one day. . .  Deb has even started learning to spin their fleece.

Keith arrived all too quickly.  The Esperance man had been very prompt and quickly worked out that our cars battery had simply come to the end of its life. Luckily for us it chose Esperance that morning, at that beach, and not any of the few days before when we were driving across the desert!

Meeting people along the way always adds to the experience of traveling, but there was something more to meeting Deb and seeing how she lives at this particular time in my life. There were so many similarities to someone very close to me who is going through a difficult and frightening time at the moment that I was a little thrown by the whole experience.  But very glad of it none the less.