<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>336504</docID> <postdate>2025-01-15 08:47:52</postdate> <headline>Surprising group take on new life out on the open road</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-336505" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/20071219000072465235-original-resized-e1736891017913.jpg" alt="" width="1017" height="678" /></p> <caption>The study's main theme was the sense of freedom women had while travelling, Margaret Yates said. (Raymond Hawkins/AAP PHOTOS)</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Maeve Bannister</strong> in Sydney</span></p> <p><strong>With just a caravan, campervan or a 4WD and a tent, older Australian women are heading out on the open road to fulfil a sense of adventure and find freedom in the vast countryside.</strong></p> <p>Tackling challenges such as changing flat tyres, navigating roads with a caravan and vehicle breakdowns, these women take it all in their stride as part of the journey.</p> <p>University of Technology Sydney PhD candidate Margaret Yates embarked on her research with a trip of her own, talking to female travellers to explore their motivations and experiences.</p> <p>The majority were women who Ms Yates described as invisible in the media and literature: those over 60 and who considered themselves retired.</p> <p>"I wanted the focus to be on women because those stories often don't get told and there's pretty much no literature on women of this age," she told AAP.</p> <p>Ms Yates interviewed 29 women travelling solo across the country from the dusty Oodnadatta Track to the spectacular Tasmanian wilderness.</p> <p>"The main theme of the study was a sense of freedom - they could go where they wanted, when they wanted and without having to consider anyone else," she said.</p> <p>"After having children and caring for grandchildren, these women were now without obligation and their sense of adventure and drive to explore the country was ignited."</p> <p>The study was part of a wider research project examining the experiences, health and social needs of female travellers from the "grey nomad" population.</p> <p>It found many of the women interviewed, despite living with chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, reported better wellbeing, less stress and improved health due to the travelling lifestyle.</p> <p>As for mental wellbeing, many women also reported the benefits of the social lifestyle that come with this sort of travel.</p> <p>"Loneliness was not a huge factor because travelling is actually quite social," Ms Yates said.</p> <p>"For the women who live permanently on the road, a lot of them preferred to be by themselves but they would suss out the people at the campsites they visited.</p> <p>"Everybody talks to everybody – it's very friendly and it's very social."</p> <p>One of the case studies – a woman in her mid-60s – said roadblocks along the way such as intermittent communications, car breakdowns and isolation in remote areas helped her develop self-knowledge and self-confidence.</p> <p>"If you are in a situation where you're in the middle of nowhere and you get a flat tyre and there's nobody about, you go, well, I've got to deal with it," she said.</p> <p>"If I don't deal with it, I'm stuck here... I've learnt a lot about myself, my weak points and my strong points as well."</p> </body>