Am I ready to become a grey nomad and drive around Australia?

Figures from Tourism Research Australia reveal about 2.6 million trips were taken by people aged between 55 and 70 in 2021, as cashed-up Boomers headed off around the country with their vans in tow.

Surely there must be something in it, I thought? I haven't seen near enough of Australia, I'd have the freedom to set my own itinerary, travel at my own pace. I love the whole concept of #vanlife, just me and a refurbished old Kombi or something, waking up to sunrises overlooking faraway beaches, posting on Instagram to prove what a wonderful time I was having.

But it didn't take long for me to realise the grey nomad life would not be for me.

For a start, at this age I'm not even going to think about learning to reverse anything mechanical. I've been known to drive around the block a few times in search of a parking spot I can drive straight into. I know backing a van up into a particular site would be well outside my capabilities. Let's forget about that.

And then there's the concept of living in such an enclosed space. While I love nifty storage ideas as much as the next OCD person, I know I would go slightly insane in such tight living quarters.

And that's even living by myself. Sure, the whole idea is to take the van and check out the new neighbourhood, but this brings me to the whole point here.

Solo travel is completely over-rated. I couldn't imagine having to pull into the next caravan park and making polite chit chat with people at the communal barbecue area. No siree.

MORE BY: KAREN HARDY

But it doesn't matter what you're doing, really. Staying in caravan parks, staying in five-star accommodation, trekking through the jungle, or trekking through the world's most exciting cities, unless you've got someone to share those memories with, did they even happen?

In many ways I've been glad that the pandemic has meant our travel options have been severely curtailed. Not being able to go anywhere has hidden the fact that I have no one to go anywhere with.

If I head down the coast for a week here or there I might run into friends, or the kids might find time in their own busy schedules to visit for a few days.

A while back I treated myself to a gourmet roadtrip - which was really for work purposes - and while I had a nice time and ate perhaps the best dessert I had all year, at the end of the day you're still going to bed by yourself without anyone to reminisce with.

And there's no one to plan anything, either. Or someone to take a turn behind the wheel. Or to make me a cuppa while we talk about our favourite part of the day.

More research from Tourism Research Australia shows that in 2019, 40.5 million trips were taken by people on their own, with an average spend of $574 per trip. Business travel accounted for 41 per cent of trips, which is a bit depressing, with only 14 per cent of those trips falling into the holiday category. The ACT had the highest share of solo travel at 39 per cent of trips, but I'd suggest that almost all of these fell into that business travel category.

More research from comparetravelinsurance reveals that women between 55 and 64 were most inclined to travel alone (at 55 per cent). Finally free, perhaps, to ditch that family fishing adventure their partner insisted on for 30 years, and branching out into wellness retreats or trips away with the girls.

With all due respect to those women who choose to go on such holidays, I couldn't think of anything worse. I'm sure you're all lovely. I don't need to meet up with like-minded middle-aged women on walking holidays in Tasmania or ones who go off to chase the Southern Lights. But you go, sister.

Perhaps I'm robbing myself of some great times, I don't know. What are your solo travel experiences? I'd love to hear.

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