Women go solo on the highway

On any given day, there are thousands of people road-tripping around Australia. The numbers increased over the 2020 – 2022 period, with caravan and motorhome sales going through the roof. Many of these thousands of people travelling around this vast country are women travelling solo. This is their story.

Queenslander Lynda Greening, 66, recently drove her Windsor Daintree motor home from Brisbane to Perth to visit her grand children. She travels alone because she loves road-tripping and camping, while her partner of 30 years prefers not to.

Melbourne local Ashleigh Hobson – 28,  road-tripped solo for 18 months through 2021 and 2022. Ashleigh is a freelance writer who quit her “perfect job” and hit the road in her decked-out Rav4 for a trip of a lifetime! 

Elaine Dowd, 57, is a public servant from WA. She enjoys camping in her HiAce Van or Subaru with a pop-top tent. She regularly camps on her own throughout WA and has plans to drive solo from Perth, WA to Tasmania, with a few stops along the way.

Visiting the grandkids

Lynda is a marketing consultant who is able to take her work on the road. She works 20 hours a week – pulling into caravan parks and connecting to the internet to service her clients. When in Perth, she stays in caravan parks close to her family and takes short trips away.

Lynda is part of the Facebook group Women Caravanning, Camping And Travelling Solo Australia. She found the page helpful in garnering travel tips and support while preparing for her trip. The page has 22K members and caters to women who “must be travelling solo”. According to the group admin Carlea Visco, the page is “a safe place for women to have a laugh, inspire and encourage each other when travelling solo.”

Lynda also joined the Windsor Daintree Facebook group (not a women’s only group), which helped her with advice and information specific to her motor home.

The trip of a lifetime

Ashleigh drove her Rav4 from Melbourne to South Australia, through the centre to Darwin, across to Western Australia, where she took the Gibb River Road, visited the Kimberley, and then travelled down to  Margaret River.  She stopped for six months in Margaret River and worked in a winery. From Margaret River, she headed back up to Exmouth and then Bali for a change of scenery. She has recently arrived back in Melbourne after crossing the Nullarbor.

This adventurous young woman is no stranger to solo travel. She has previously travelled overseas on her own, but she said that didn’t really prepare her for life on the road in Australia, especially during the Covid lockdowns.

 When Ashleigh stopped on her first night on the road, she arrived in a dark, deserted park and questioned her decision. The Facebook Group Women Caravanning, Camping And Travelling Solo Australia were there for her when she posted her thoughts, and the feedback she got from the group helped her pass her first lonely night. 

Ashleigh consulted the group while she prepared for her trip. She loved that she could post any questions without fearing ridicule for asking “stupid questions”. Ashleigh also used the Facebook group Planning a Lap of Australia to help with her planning. 

Ashleigh was two weeks into her trip before she started to see that she had made the right decision. Darwin and the Northern Territory gave her hope as she met and made like-minded friends and spent time with her fellow travellers.

Setting out from WA

Elaine started as a member of the Rolling Solo Australia group, “an online, offline and real-time community that provides support, friendships, information and connections for independent female road-trippers interested in camping, outdoor adventure and travel in Australia.”  The group operates on a subscription-based membership.

Elaine no longer subscribes to Rolling Solo as she found the mass gatherings (of 500 upwards) not her thing. However, she has used the same Facebook site as Lynda and Ashleigh and found the advice and support invaluable as a solo woman traveller. The fact that there are never any “stupid questions” when it comes to solo travel or camping in a group is one of the reasons Elaine uses the page.

Elaine has found that members of Facebook groups expressly set up for solo women campers have been willing to meet up for coffee and chat about their travel experiences.  Members will post on the page that they are planning to arrive in a town or city at a certain time and if there are members in the area, they arrange to meet for coffee or a meal. Sometimes a friendly face or company on a solo trip is most welcomed.

Camping Stories

The groups provide a place for women to check in with others before travelling. Elaine and Lynda agree that there is never a shortage of topics to chat about in the groups and at caravan parks.  Travellers have many things in common, even if they have had different experiences and come from all walks of life. And who doesn’t love to talk about their setup?

All three agree that there is a higher percentage of solo women travellers on the road in Australia, than men.   There are women on the road for many reasons and who have differing circumstances, from the recently widowed to those on a working holiday. Or, as in Lynda’s case, they have a partner who prefers not to camp or travel.

Age is no barrier

While there is no age limit for those who join the Facebook page – Women Caravanning, Camping And Travelling Solo Australia, the group tends towards retired or semi-retired women in their 50s and 60s.  Elaine says she has come across women in their late 70s and even 80s who are camping and road-tripping on their own, sometimes for the first time.

Some of the other groups, such as Solo Camping Ladies Australia and Ladies Camping Group Perth WA, attract younger women with and without children, and their meetups tend to be on weekends. There are even groups for women who travel with dogs – such as Ladies camping with puppies in WA.

Staying safe

Many women travel with dogs for company and security. Security is always forefront of everyone’s mind. It is high on the list of topics discussed in the Facebook groups and the caravan park chats or meetups.  While women do occasionally report negative experiences on the road, the women I spoke to were not overly fearful of travelling alone.

The Facebook groups are all closed groups, meaning that women must answer a series of questions before being allowed into a group. While this gives some peace of mind to solo women travellers it is important to practice cybersafe habits when posting to any social media platform.

Lynda says that she had security concerns when she first set off on her trip and initially felt nervous. However, in 2.5 months of travel, she hasn’t had any negative experiences and finds that she can talk to anyone while travelling. The Facebook group helped her to realise that their other women out there travelling solo. Her only fears now are breaking down or getting a flat tyre on her big van in a remote location.

Ashleigh said had no security concerns and has always felt safe on the road. She thanks her Mum for doing the worrying for her!

Elaine says she very rarely feels unsafe, apart from the occasional incident where she errs on the side of caution.  There is truth in the adage “safety in numbers.”  The Facebook groups’ sheer size is a testament to the many women taking to the road to see this amazing country.

With so many other women hitting the road there’s no need to feel alone.  If you are considering a solo trip, get in touch with a group today and start planning your getaway!