At any one time, 4000 people are travelling across the country in motorhomes and caravans – and a majority of them are women flying solo.
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One of these ladies is Pam Damon of Jervis Bay, whose only company in the past 12 months has been her King Charles Spaniel, Henri.
She and like-minded travellers have converged on Tallangatta for the second meet-and-greet co-ordinated by the Motorhomes Australia group.
“There are thousands of people in the group and probably 800 of them are women travelling all the time ranging in ages from their late 30s to old age,” she said.
“This is my third big trip in the last 12 months – I’ve only just got my campervan.”
Ms Damon said she was still deciding how life on the road suited her – although meeting people had been a highlight.
“I’ve asked people those sorts of questions (why they do it),” she said.
“I really think that I’ve reached a stage where my children are grown up and don’t need me anymore.
“It beats sitting home and watching TV.”
Many of the 50 people who gathered at Tallangatta will head to a large rally in Canberra next weekend.
The meet-up was the second co-ordinated by Brisbane traveller Robert James, who runs his own group.
“I started the group less than two years ago on Facebook and it’s grown to just under 4000 members from all over Australia,” he said.
“There’s people from Tasmania and Queensland – a lot of them are living in their motorhomes all the time.”
Mr James said he was impressed to meet one lady in particular on Thursday.
“She uses a walker, but that hasn’t stopped her from travelling,” he said.
“They are people who just enjoy living the dream on the road.
“We’ve had some live entertainment and campfires, with people singing, it has been really nice.”
Tallangatta IGA owner Vince Ciccone was pleased to see the travellers in the region – they had brought business to stores right across Towong Street.
“We have had many people come in – it’s great for the town and if it wasn’t for the rain, we might have had a lot more,” he said.
“They’ve been in here, the hardware store, the bakery and all the gift stories.”
Mr Ciccone said Tallangatta had plenty to offer including of late, waterfront views for campervans at the showgrounds.
“It’s a beautiful town we live in,” he said.
