Travelling boomer's five year ultimatum after joining Aussie camping trend full time
When Gaye lost her parents before they could do a trip of a lifetime, she knew it was time to make a change.
She's past the age where she could access her superannuation. But Aussie woman Gaye doesn't have plans of slowing down any time soon.
In 2019, before the Covid pandemic hit, she decided to make a major life change before it was too late. Putting her things in storage, she gave herself five years to see if full time travel was right for her, before deciding whether to sell everything she owned.
"I just thought five years seemed like the right amount of time," Gaye told Yahoo News Australia.
Her mum had died the year before, and her dad had passed away two years prior to that. They didn't really drive but they frequently travelled by train, she explained. "They always wanted to go across the Nullarbor on a train but they never got there".
"I don’t want to wait and never get there."
Now, 63, she might not be the kind of person who you would expect to see travelling solo, free camping around the country with her swag. But she hopes to inspire others by sharing her journey.
“I can't wait for the rest of my life and maybe find a partner...
"It was definitely scary, that’s for sure," she said about first setting off.
After hitting the road in her modified campervan truck, for the first time in her life she began working in hospitality, taking a job in a pub after getting her responsible service of alcohol (RSA) certification at the age of 57.
But when Covid hit she took an office job for nine months. "Until I thought, 'I can't deal with this'," she said. The road was calling.
Starlink has been a game-changer for taking life on the road
Today, she has found a part-time job that let's her work remotely from the road three days a week. Like countless others, she now relies on Starlink to not only work, but always remain connected to the outside world no matter how remote she finds herself.
Starlink satellite internet dishes have been proliferating camping grounds throughout the country in the past two to three years as more campers and caravaners rely on the low-earth orbit technology to provide blanket high-speed internet coverage. The private company says it has about 200,000 users in Australia – a number that is clearly growing.
"I spoke to other travellers who were using it, that's how I found out about it," Gaye told Yahoo. "I looked into it and I absolutely love it.
"I mostly free camp and I’m happy to camp on my own in the middle of nowhere as it gives me that extra safety factor."
Related: Detail in campsite photo shows growing Starlink trend
Gaye blogs and shares videos of her travels on her Facebook page where she goes by Nana on the Road. "I decided from the very beginning I would blog it because that gives me incentive to keep going," she explained. She has since amassed more than 9,000 followers and relishes the travelling community.
"It's a great community ... One lady taught me how to use a chain saw … I’d never used a chain saw and now I own one."
On the side of her motorhome, Gaye has a map where she's slowly ticking off all the places she has been. After nearly six years, she's seen almost all of NSW and Tasmania as well as Victoria and outback South Australia.
As for her five year ultimatum, she decided not to sell all her possessions and instead set up a home base she can come back to when she's too old to travel full time. So that's what she's doing at the moment in rural NSW – establishing a home she hopes to rent out when she's on the road for year-long periods.
Then later this year the plan it to head north into uncharted territory to visit Cape York – a favourite of Australia's swelling grey nomad population.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
