“You’re so brave.”
I get this a lot from people when they find out I’m travelling solo, particularly travelling and living in my car and roof top tent.
I don’t feel brave. I mean I’m not out here risking my own life to save others. I’m just living my life the way I choose. If anything, it’s selfish rather than brave. I do what I want to, when I want to.
But it starts a conversation. And they always have lots of questions about my experiences travelling generally, travelling solo, and travelling as a woman on my own specifically.
So here’s the most frequently asked questions, and my answers. There are a few, so this is part 1:
Don’t you get scared?
Sometimes, yes. But not generally of the things people think I should be scared of – or that they fear themselves.
I’m out here on my own. Sometimes completely on my own, in very remote places. My fears are more about not being good enough to drive the tracks and getting stuck somewhere very remote.
Personally, being attacked or robbed is low on my list of concerns. That’s not to say it couldn’t happen, but you’re statistically more likely to get attacked in a city, or in your own home, than out travelling. And if I get robbed I have a lot of insurance.
Do you ever get bored?
Yes, sometimes. I think we all do, regardless of where, how, or who we live with.
I read a book, or go for a walk, or find somebody to talk with. Or do some of the never ending maintenance or cleaning that needs to be done. This doesn’t change no matter where you live 😆
What will you do if something happens?
This usually means if something happens to the car, because I’m not a mechanic. Funny thing though – blokes never get asked this question, even if they’re not mechanically minded.
But, oh, yeah, this one has actually happened.
I was driving back from camping at Lake Eyre, I got to the top of the track where it meets the Oodnadatta Track, put my foot on the brake and … nothing. I had no brakes.
Long story short – I’d done my wheel bearings. Not something I could fix myself. Through some lucky breaks I managed to call the nearest mechanic, who was 238k away, and still in a remote area. They came and picked me up, organised accommodation at their local caravan park, ordered in parts, and fixed my car. In the meantime I spent a lovely few days exploring and meeting the locals.
And because of that I found out about and had a couple of amazing experiences I otherwise would have missed. Sometimes our disasters turn into our best experiences.
So the answer to the question is I’ll fix it, or I’ll get somebody else to fix it for me. In the meantime, I’ll relax and go with it. Who knows what it will lead to.
Is it hard to set up your roof top tent?
Everything in my set up has to be easy for one person to do on their own. Including my roof top tent. It literally takes me about three minutes to set it up ready to sleep in. Of course, it takes longer to pack up again, but it’s still not difficult.
A real time video of me setting it up is below. Judge for yourself.
I’ll post a video of the pack up in the next blog.
What if you need to get up in the middle of the night?
This one is because I sleep in a roof top tent and to get in and out you need to climb a ladder. Apparently a lot of people are a bit worried that when they get up to pee during the night they might fall down the ladder.
And, like a lot of grey nomads, they’re worried about falling down the ladder after having a few drinks.
First, I rarely get up during the night. But if I do, I don’t think it’s any worse than getting in and out of a swag, or walking to the toilets in a strange place in the dark.
My knees are good, my hips are good. I have no problems climbing up and down, so that’s just what I have to do.
If it starts to worry me I’ll probably upgrade to a van. I have no intention of letting it stop me from travelling any time soon.
How do you cook/what do you eat?
I have a single butane stove, or I cook over a campfire. If I’m in a caravan park I often use the camp kitchen, though some of them aren’t really very useful.
As to what I eat – whatever I want. I cook curries, grill vegies over the campfire, make pasta (though not using Brooklyn Beckham’s recipe), tacos/tortillas, roast vegies, sate, noodles, burgers. I eat a lot of salad.
I carry dried and tinned beans, tinned tomatoes, rice (3 different types), cous cous, barley, lentils, felafel mix, and lots of herbs and spices.
I always have cheese and antipasto and sometimes I just have wine and a cheese platter for dinner.
What are your essential travel items?
Ooh, I like a bit of luxury. After all, this is my life. I live like this full time so I like some of the comforts of home.
My cocktail maker. I do enjoy sitting in my campsite of an afternoon/evening and having a cocktail. The cocktail maker is actually sold as a rechargeable personal blender, but who uses it for smoothies???? My fridge makes ice. I travel with rum, tequila and triple sec for margaritas and daiquiris, and gin and vermouth for martinis. I have olives to make a dirty martini, but no Kahlua for espresso martinis. I’m thinking about changing that.
I also like to drink out of real glass. I have wine, champagne, martini, and gin glasses.
Real coffee. I make coffee in a stovetop percolator from beans I grind myself in my coffee grinder.
In a practical sense, my most useful item is probably my drop down fridge slide. It means I can actually see into the fridge to get what I want. And my Bushman’s fridge with the three basket set up means I can keep things frozen at the bottom, while my lettuce and other vegetables stay crisp at the top. And I can stand my champagne bottle up at the side.
Questions
I do have another Q&A coming, but if you have any questions let me know and I’ll include them in part 2.
