Have caravan,
will travel is the motto of an increasing number of baby boomers. Liza
Power follows the travels of Australia's grey nomads.
AS AN IT consultant for KPMG, Rob Tudor spent most of
his working life living out of suitcases while travelling across Asia
and America. When he retired 15 months ago, he was keen to continue
travelling, but "roughing it" in hotel rooms didn't appeal. So, after
extensive research, Rob ordered a custom-built Future System Jet
610 caravan, a LandCruiser to tow it, completed a caravan towing course,
set up a webpage, and hit the road with wife Judy. Now, after several
trips, including "the big one" around Australia earlier this year, the
pair proudly consider themselves "grey nomads".
"We had done some caravanning in the past, as kids, either down to
Rosebud or Sorrento and Queenscliff, but we'd never owned a van," says
Mr Tudor. "We started off slowly with a trip up to Echuca to get
used to towing the van. Then we headed up to the Gold Coast for three
weeks."
Mr Tudor says the choice to buy a van was based as much on the
promise of making new friends as it was to travel. "The social side of
caravanning really appealed to us. A lot of people were around the same
age, 50 to 60, and had the same interests. You make a lot of friends
very quickly, and there's always happy hour at somebody's van each
night. When we're not on the road, we keep in touch with a lot of
people."
Researching and planning the trip was fun, too. "We got on to some of
the caravan forums on the internet, and several websites, and we planned
our route according to the advice we found."
When Mr Tudor had questions about equipment, distances or
places to stay, he simply posted them on the net and waited for the
replies to flood in.
One of the best parts of caravanning, says Mr Tudor, is that
you're never treated like an inconvenient tourist. Better still, life on
the road provided him with a sense of freedom he hadn't experienced
before. "There was no packing and unpacking, no decisions about booking
hotels or motels. The biggest decision was whether to move on or stay
another day."
While Mr Tudor didn't sell his house to hit the road, he's met
many grey nomads who have. "I think a lot of people get a bit of a
shock. They sell the family home, buy a van. When they get tired of life
on the road they head home, only to find that property prices have shot
up and they can't afford what they had before."
Trevor Conner is another proud nomad. Ask him what he likes most
about life on the road and he'll tell you it's the fact that there's
never a hurry. "There's no rush. When you go on overseas tours, you get
to a destination in the late afternoon. You have time for a shower and
dinner that night and at seven the next morning you're up and on the
road again. With a caravan, you take things as they come. You have
everything you need and it's all your own things. If you pull up to a
place and you want to stay a few extra nights, you just do it."
Mr Conner and wife Beth were nomads well before they turned grey.
Given their first caravan, homemade by Beth's father, shortly after they
were married, the pair have since owned four other caravans. They now
travel for between three and four months each year. "Broome is the place
we like the best. We've been three times, and we're booked to go again
next year. It's about a 4500-kilometre journey. It takes us 12 to 13
days. I'm into golfing, fishing, beaching and lawn bowls and we catch up
with the same people each year. When we're not in Broome, we keep up in
contact with cards and telephone calls."
Don Giddens and wife Sylvia sold their house and bought a van three
years ago. They've been grey nomads ever since. Calling from Queensland,
Mr Giddens says: "We've had three years on the road so far and we reckon
we have another three years on the road left in us. We have an agreement
that if either of us gets sick of life on the road they'll tell the
other one and that'll be it. We'll stop."
Highlights of three years on the road include Exmouth and Ningaloo in
Western Australia, although most of his travels, he says, have been
memorable. The best part about caravanning for Mr Giddens is simple:
"You meet people from all walks of life and everybody is at the same
level. This life is a great equaliser. It doesn't matter if you have a
big, fancy Winnebago or a tiny Jayco, you're all the same on the road."
Pat Hayes, publisher of monthly caravan, camping and touring magazine
On the Road, says that for the baby-boomer generation, the dream of
travelling Australia in a motorhome is about searching for roots. "Born
out of the war generation, the boomers want to learn about what their
country is about. They want to get in touch with the dreamtime, explore
the romantic image they have of the outback - stars at night, the
isolation, friendly country people. The journey, rather than the sights,
is the most important thing for them. They don't see themselves as
tourists. They're travellers and explorers."
Now a grey nomad himself, Mr Hayes' most memorable journey was
travelling overland from London to Australia with his wife and three
children in 1976. "We drove through Europe, across Greece, Turkey, Iran,
Afghanistan, Pakistan, up to Nepal and down to Penang, where we shipped
everything across to Australia. It's a journey you couldn't repeat now."
Mr Hayes says retirees spend between $30,000 and $400,000 on a
fully-equipped motorhome. Most travel for two to three years, see some
of Australia, return home and put the motorhome on the market. "It's a
shame, really. Many do one trip around Australia, clock up 30,000
kilometres and, just as their vehicle is run-in, they put it on the
market."
Bobbi Mahlab, publisher of Get up and Go, a quarterly magazine for
60-plus travellers, says that assumptions about baby boomers and the way
they travel can be misleading. "There's a perception that travellers in
the 60-plus age group are a homogeneous group, but they're not.
Travelling around in Australia in a motorhome might be one person's
dream, but lots of people can't imagine any-thing worse than being in a
car with their lifelong partner for hours on end. Age isn't the defining
factor of how people choose to travel."
Ms Mahlab says that she has seen subtle shifts in the way grey nomads
travel over the past five years. "People are looking for more meaningful
things to do while they're on long expeditions, so we're covering
stories which focus on people contributing to the communities they
travel through." One project, run by Outward Bound, involves people
spending time on an outback property and, in exchange for room and
board, they perform farm duties.
Finding the confidence to travel is, says Ms Mahlab, something many
retirees struggle with. "Stories of inspiration get great responses. We
ran a story about a woman who was in her 60s who bought a Kombi van and
headed around Australia with her dog. It was a really courageous thing
to do. She was a pensioner, she had very little money, and she really
made a go of it. Inspiring and motivating people is really our role."
Don Richter, director of marketing at Tourism Victoria, says that
tourism bodies are paying particular attention to the baby-boomer group
as they age. Grey nomads, he says, contribute 25 per cent of Victoria's
annual tourism revenue. "We're looking to promote the things about
Victoria that the baby boomers can do as their children leave home and
they come into the position where they have more time, money, effort and
energy to get out and travel. To appeal to that market, we've launched a
series of touring campaigns - including Bendigo, Ballarat and the
goldfields, the Grampians, and the Great Alpine and Great Ocean roads.''
Mr Richter says that research into the so-called baby boomers and
their tastes has been surprising. "We've found that when people are in
their 20s or 30s, they go to movies, theatre and restaurants and, when
they don't have kids, they spend their money quite freely. This goes
into a period of remission for 12 or so years, when children are around,
but they emerge at the end of it with the same tastes."
Mr Richter says that there are subtle differences between grey nomads
and the rest of the caravanning public. "Older people have more time to
do things. They'll take a longer period touring. But they won't splash
their money around like high-earning
30-year-olds because most are on restricted retirement funds. They're
much more considered in their spending."
According to Caravan Industry Australia, the caravan, camping and
motorhome industry is Australia's fastest-growing tourism sector - the
production of caravans and other recreational vehicles has almost
trebled since the early 1990s. There are 350,000 registered recreational
vehicles in Australia. In 2003, registrations of new caravans increased
14 per cent on the previous year. More than 70 per cent of new caravans
and motorhomes are bought by consumers in the 55-plus age group. Figures
indicate there are between 70,000 and 80,000 people doing a
round-Australia trek at any one time - 70 per cent of them early
retirees.
Grey nomads go high-tech
They may be grey, but most retirees are anything but old-fashioned
when it comes to technology. Grey nomad webpages detailing routes,
experiences, life stories and photo galleries are increasing in
popularity. Ideal for family members wanting to track their parents'
adventures, and fellow nomads looking to catch up enroute, many sites
also have links to caravan park review sites and chat rooms.
Rob Tudor, who set up his webpage greynomad.com before
leaving home, posted an online diary, with images of destinations, as he
travelled. "Everyone has a laptop and a mobile phone on the road," Mr
Tudor says. "Telstra has a free hour each day for users, and
internet cafes, especially in Western Australia and the Northern
Territory, will let you hook up to their broadband connection and update
your internet site."
For wannabe grey nomads looking to research the ins and outs of life
on the road, advice on pre-trip preparation, house-sitting, repairs and
travel tips is plentiful on the internet. Those already travelling can
post questions about preferred routes, or buy parts via the online
buy/sell/wanted link. The largest of these is at groups.msn.com/Caravanersforum/
For travellers with money to burn, the new must-have piece of caravan
gadgetry is a mobile satellite dish. Perfect for grandparents looking to
video-conference with their grandchildren, the satellites can also
provide broadband internet connections and better television reception.
Lifesaver
Another handy unit that could be a lifesaver in remote conditions is
a personal emergency position indicating radio beacon. Models that have
the ability to send out a distress signal for up to four days can be
bought from camping stores for about $250. Could be the cheapest life
insurance you buy.
Keep it clean
Even if you're not part of the fortunate few with motorhomes with
built-in ensuites, outback ablutions have become more civilised with the
advent of pop-up shower tents. Many use the self-supporting geodesic
fibreglass rods with floors that can be left in place or zipped out for
drainage (about $100). Solar shower bags ensure a warm shower (under
$10) while 12-volt power showers ensure good pressure (about $40).
Map it!
GPS satellite navigation systems are coming down in price, with
models from recognised brands such as Magellan from about $250. Fully
featured models are now under $1000.
Buy or rent?
You need not go the drastic step of selling your home to buy a
motorhome, only to discover it's not for you. The Australian distributor
of Winnebago - the US brand synonymous with mobile homes - has a list of
authorised local rental companies that will hire you a motorhome, and if
you decide to keep it, some dealers will deduct the rental cost from the
purchase price. |