traveling alone

irikanji · Newbie

traveling alone

Mike Harding · Guru

I have been a nomad (67, male, solo) for three years and have no concerns, I suggest, neither should you.

Just do your own thing.

Possum3 · Guru

Welcome to GN's Ian - We have met many single men and women on our travels, although the predominant camps are couples.

SoloMC · Senior Member

welcome
To answer your question, yes most travellers are couples but I've been travelling solo for over 20 years.
I've met hundreds, if not thousands of solo travellers
Most caravan parks will charge you the same as a couple but there are a small number that will charge you ½ price. That is the only downside of solo travel
So get out there and enjoy your travels as a solo, you will love it

dogbox · Guru

travelling solo is no problem if you like your own company and you can manage on your own .
each to their own circumstances ,you have not stated what your concerns are as to being a solo traveler .some live solo in a caravan with the advantage that if you don't like the neighbors /scenery you can move on , you might want to tick a few things of your bucket list, maybe a relationship breakdown and a caravan is an easy financial/emotional solution ,if safety is your concern ,find a caravan park you feel comfortable in stay till you feel the need to try somewhere new.

you could be just wanting to do something different depending on how you spent your earlier life, if you have any doubts go on a holiday, hire a caravan / motor home an go for a trip, pick a place to go to , the journey may be more exciting than the destination ,you might surprise yourself one-way or the other. remembering that any change to one's lifestyle usually takes time to settle down

irikanji · Newbie

Thank you so much for all of your great replies.My traveling alone has nothing to do with security.I am a recent widower & am finding life very lonley.I am hoping I will get opportunities to meet fun people of both genders.Perhaps new friends that offer a tag along experience.I am a social man that is ok with my own company however for limited times.Your advice is most appreciated.

Possum3 · Guru

Ian, Just pull in to any large gravel pit in Qld before 3.00pm and you soon will be joined by others seeking security of not camping alone - Go in light a small campfire, use large tongs and pick up rubbish (mainly backpacker confetti) burn it, settle down with a cup of tea - Mate they will all come in, rather than risking an unknown camp further down the road - have a welcoming smile and G'day - Bob's your Uncle, Mary's your Aunt and Spot's your Dog - Never misses - sometimes we have such nice neighbours we stay a couple of days.

Mike Harding · Guru

Hi Ian

Living as a nomad one can choose to meet as few or as many people as one wishes. I'm very comfortable with my own company and am happy to spend months alone in the bush barring occasional visits into town for supplies - however I do have an Amateur Radio licence which enables me to keep in touch with a wide circle of friends and make new ones.

Despite the above I realise that I (we all?) need "real" people to connect with sometimes in order to retain the little sanity left to me :) and, as now, spend some time in one of the many community caravan parks around the place - it's nice to have power and water connected to the van too. One meets all sorts of people; 90% are pleasant and interesting, 5% are best left alone and the remaining 5% are homeless people invariably with a story to tell - sometimes a story which touches my heart and other times a story which makes me want to put my boot in contact with their bottom.

Give yourself time to adjust, going nomad is a *major* life change - it'll take a year or two for you to settle properly and I strongly suggest that after the massive loss of your wife you do not seek another relationship for its own sake.

Go well :)

Tony Bev · Guru

Welcome to the forum, irikanji

Sorry to hear, that you are a recent widower

I sometimes travel alone, as my boss does not like travelling

I have not come across any solo, or couple community of travelers, but I mostly use free or donation camps, not sure what happens in caravan parks

Pre covid, most free camps I stayed at, had both friendly solo, and couple travelers

Post covid, we seem to distance ourselves a bit, for health reasons

I have no idea if this will be the new normal, and hopefully we can go back to the pre covid ways, somewhere up the track

I find that a friendly hello, or a friendly wave, helps break the ice, but have found that some people do like to be alone

Are We Lost · Guru

I think a little differently on being alone for the first time. I think the double whammy of a radical change in lifestyle soon after losing a loved, long term companion is not the best decision.

I would recommend taking the time to accept being alone while you remain in a familiar environment. Then when you start feeling comfortable with life alone, and are not brought down by loneliness, by all means start out on the adventure. For some, the time to appreciate being by yourself long term will never come. For others, (you say you are a social man), the changing locations and meeting new people will be stimulating.

Sometimes, just the planning of such a change, and preparing for it is enough to break out of the doldrums. Just don't go until you are settled within yourself.

Mike Harding · Guru

AWL:

I know exactly where you are coming from and, indeed, I was dancing around that perspective a little too. However, in my experience, it commonly takes five to ten years to "get over" (if one ever does) such a loss and the problem is that the average age of death for men in Australia is 81 so at the age of most posters to this forum that doesn't leave a heap of time.

I dunno... it's up to each individual to weigh their emotional state and decide what is best for them but I *strongly* think seeking a new relationship is not the way to to... although I have known two who have done that and it's worked! Bloody wouldn't for me... I'm done with "full on night-time women" :)

Sidcam · Member

Howdy, Your post got me thinking.....I am a solo female traveller & have found there are groups for same, but a quick search did not reveal the same for blokes.....I did find a solos group within Caravanning Australia but it seems to have been set up in 2013 & I don't know if it is still going.....maybe do a web search & you may find something. I remember seeing a post from a single bloke who said he enjoyed sundowner drinks with others in parks, but got sick of the old " wink, wink, nudge, nudge....she's single, maybe you should get together" attitude. I have also found some women are quite green eyed if their blokes have a chat to me. I see one can buy a flag to raise on your van which says " happy hour here", maybe that would help

Cuppa · Guru

Another thought.

I don't know how I would go travelling alone. My wife & I have been travelling full time for several years now & whilst we can be & are sociable now & then, we are certainly not 'Happy Hour folk'. We have friends who travel widely as much for that social side of travel as anything else. So there is indeed room for all sorts. Finding what sort you are may take some time. If I became alone things would be different but what they would look like I really can't say.

What I hope they wouldn't look like is the 'lonely old men' contingent of the on the road population. Often they have sunk everything into the vehicle & travel budget, sometimes sadly with no 'plan B'. Almost every caravan park which houses 'permanents' has folk like this, mainly men, who's vehicle/health/ or other circumstances let them down. Who have found themselves in a life which no longer affords them any choices.

After 18 months travelling over a decade ago, we decided we wanted to travel more & full time. We had just returned to our Black Saturday affected property, a place we had loved, nurtured & lived in with a passion for 20 semi self sufficient years, but the passion had gone & we just wanted to be back out on the road. Being at home was demanding & depressing. We could have just sold up & just headed off, but it was the experience of meeting 'lost souls' in caravan parks & free camps around the country which stopped us being too impetuous. It would have been so easy to just take off, but we decided that to do that we needed a Plan B. For us it was to be able to do so with a place to return to if the wheels metaphorically fell off.

After a period in the doldrums what pulled us (me) up was a making a concrete plan to travel without time limit & without having to sell up everything to do it. It was a 5 year plan. We sold our small farm, downsized & built a 'homebase' to give us a 'storage facility' & a bolt hole to return to if needed, with a house we could rent out to provide a small income to supplement our savings & super. Our 5 year plan took 7 years, but there was never doubt that it would come to fruition. I am not suggesting that you (or anyone) should wait that long, but I am suggesting that formulating a plan & not just rushing off ASAP might be worthwhile, in particular to accommodate what AWL suggests.

It is now almost 5 years since we recommenced our travelling lifestyle & 4 years since we were at last at home. I really do think that had we just sold up & rushed off back to the road when I was 'down' & seeing travel as the only solution, that the chances are high that we would no longer be doing what we do. We needed the time to ensure our security & to adapt to a different mindset. That security remains in the background as a solid structure upon which we build our adventures.

We have no end in sight for our travels, but expect that when the time comes the reason for stopping will be health related. We are not wealthy, & travel on a small budget, self imposed. We are not yet of pension age and feel it prudent to travel on as close to the current age pension as we can so if when we reach pension age our super has become worthless we know we can continue travelling. If we get lucky & the stock market hasn't rendered our Super worthless, we will be 'comfortable'.

Everyone is different in regards to what they need to feel comfortable, and for us we have what we need. The important thing is that you know that you have what you need before you head off into the unknown alone. Sadly you no longer have your wife & I imagine that loss is a significant drive behind wanting to get away. But in agreeance with AWL I guess I am trying to say take your time & don't rush into anything. Mike Harding is probably right about 'time running out', but my view is that time on the road is best viewed through 'quality' rather than 'quantity' lenses. A shorter good time is better than protracted misery!

And there really are a lot of sad, miserable & angry old men 'out there. Somehow women seem to manage such things better on the whole. I have written this from the heart, knowing that possibly little or nothing I have said applies to you, because I really have no idea of your circumstances. If I have it all wrong, please don't be offended, just view my writing as a text based hug.

-- Edited by Cuppa on Sunday 9th of January 2022 03:37:17 PM

traveler · Member

Cuppa, it was very soothing reading your msg from "the heart". Protracted misery can really bring one down, but the tranquility of the open spaces soothes me on occasions & my books keep me company...albeit not much of a conversation. As with everything, it is best shared...IF..IF a likeminded genuine human being reaches out. Otherwise what a marvellous country we live in. Smile!

Brodie Allen · Guru

Cuppa, thats a great bit of narrative that will help many.
Although right now it is not relevant to me, I take it on
board as extremly helpful and insightful.

Thanks.

B

gold dandelion · Senior Member

Had A couple I would say. the forum suits..

Ge · Senior Member

A nice piece of work.

I sir aplaud you.

SoloSean · Newbie

Too many good points you make there, especially the Plan B.

As things stand now for me, my plan is continuing to be a part time carer for my mum & stepfather until the inevitable and we (brother, sister, and I) to sell the house,etc. With prices as they are in Sydney, my third of the proceeds should afford me a 2br unit near where i am. I'll be able to get that and a decent vehicle for up to $50-90K (plus contingency funds). Don't worry, there's many more expenses I'll be gifted, that's a guarantee.

When the need comes, I can then live in the unit, or sell that and buy my own place.

But those details are pretty vague if I was real generous.

But it seems that just from the few posts I've read so far, there's many people like me here, and just as many that aren't, but I reckon every person's story will teach me something new.

And a big thanks to whomever it was that mentioned to be aware of your state of mind before doing a big lifestyle change. That's another thing for me to be aware of, so I just want to have information Firehosed at me, and I'll sort it out at my end. Then as I get my act together, at least I have the bare bones of a plan, and I'll get a clue as to what questions need to be asked to who, and some idea of the rigmarole involved.

Trying to do anything like that when you're grieving is just opening yourself up to more dramas. Been there, done that, got not much to show for it as proof. Not everyone will get that luxury of preparing, I might not either, let's see.