Bonnie Ritchie shrieks with laughter as she drives along a rust-red road in Australia's largest desert, dogs tearing behind and porridge wobbling in the back seat.
Ms Ritchie and her good friend Carol Kairn's laughter is a common sound in the West Australian community of Tjuntjuntara.
It can be heard as they fire up a community barbecue, chat with residents popping by for breakfast, and take a rare break to have a cup of tea.
The two New Zealanders have spent their lives working in aged care and this year, they have come to one of the most remote communities in Australia, about 700 kilometres east of Kalgoorlie, in the Great Victoria Desert.
They have both taken jobs with the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP), which allows many aged and disabled residents to be looked after while remaining in their community.
"Yee ha," Ms Ritchie says, setting off on her twice-daily ride delivering meals around town.
She hadn't driven a buggy prior to arriving in Tjuntjuntjara, so Ms Kairn gave her lessons before she got behind the wheel.
"That was a bit of a laugh," Ms Kairn says.
"She didn't want me to teach her around the community where people could see so I had to take her out to where the tip was, so she could practise out there."
Now Ms Ritchie is a big fan of the vehicle.
"I have fun," she says.
A new adventure
There are about 10 local workers, who help out when they are available.
Anita Bond is one of them, and today she is behind the wheel, ferrying herself and Ms Ritchie to their first stop.
"When I come from [the WA town of] Leonora I come and help," Ms Bond says.
As they pull up, Ms Ritchie collects a container of porridge from a big plastic box and then raps on the front door.
"Breakfast," she yells.
If the resident is not home, she leaves the meal in a blue plastic tub, nailed high on the house so the dogs cannot reach it.
Other times, she is greeted by a whole group, sitting by a campfire outside the house.
It takes her about half an hour to deliver meals to the 20 aged and disabled residents on her list.
"I don't miss the city life, the hustle and bustle," Ms Ritchie says.
"I love how it's so laid back and stress free."
Before coming to Tjuntjuntjara, Ms Ritchie had worked all over the continent — as an aged care worker in Christchurch and in Melbourne, and at a dementia ward in Brisbane.
Most recently, she was a cleaner in a Perth hotel.
"I was at that time in my life when I needed a new adventure," Ms Ritchie says.
"I was talking to Carol through Messenger and it just came out that they needed a support worker here.
"I thought 'nothing ventured, nothing gained'.
"So I applied and I got it."
'We're lucky'
It is just past lunchtime and Ms Kairn is busy.
Lennard Walker, an elder and a celebrated painter, has stopped by for a haircut.
He holds a tiny makeup mirror to his face, using a finger to direct Ms Kairn's scissors to particular strands he wants snipped.
It is among the varied tasks that fill her days as a CHSP manager, from preparing breakfast then lunch, to washing blankets, finding clothes, packing takeaway meals for the weekend and giving people rides to get groceries.
"We'll do whatever they want," she says.
There are just two things about the job that rattle her – the weather and the dogs.
"When you first come out, you're scared of the dogs because there are lots and lots of dogs," Ms Kairn says.
"Some people [have] got 20 dogs.
"[And] I don't like hot weather – I'd much rather work in the snow!"
Yet the joys of the work make up for it.
"It's something that the everyday person would never get to — to have the privilege of seeing and meeting people and talking to them," Ms Kairn says.
"And we're lucky to get to do that."
Ms Kairn grew up on the north island of New Zealand, before moving to Sydney in 1994 and later Melbourne.
That is where she met Ms Ritchie, more than 22 years ago.
Despite their long friendship, she was surprised Ms Ritchie took up her suggestion to come and work at Tjuntjuntjara, where she and her husband Gary have lived since March.
"I was pretty shocked – I knew she'd be good at the job but I was pretty shocked she would actually consider coming out," she says.
"It's good, having someone else that you know makes it more fun."
Ms Ritchie agrees.
"It does get tough at times," she says.
"You need to have fun to keep you going"
