My lovely friend Annie with her partner Al.

Annie and I met whilst I was travelling in Australia in 2000. I'd answered an ad from a youth hostel notice board. Something along the lines of 2 Newcastle guys looking for 3 people to share a ride from Perth to Darwin. I gave them a call and met with them the same day, bags packed ready to embark on the next leg of my journey. Annie also answered the ad along with another guy called Justin. And so we set forth these unlikely characters, squashed in a car, ruck sacks strapped to the roof on what would become the most enjoyable journey of my life. Such treasured memories of this time, the mischief, the dramas, the romances. We didn't make Darwin. We got as far as Broome and got distracted by this paradise we'd found after 3 weeks on the road. We managed another few months together in Broome before our little band of travellers slowly unravelled and followed new paths. Annie and I stayed together the longest though, and when Annie finally moved on I was heartbroken. Thankfully Annie and I have managed to keep in touch and we never tire of reminiscing about our time on the road (sorry partners).
It was good to see you Annie. Thanks for staying. Please come and visit us again soon. True friendship never dies, it only gets stronger.