Retired couple’s caravan adventure around Australia turns into 13 years on the road
Leoni and Steve Pari quit their corporate jobs to travel Australia in a caravan. They're part of a growing trend sweeping the country.
While the interest in caravan and camping trips has boomed across the country in recent years, with travellers eager to do a 'lap' of Australia, life on the road for Steve and Leoni Pary began some 13 years ago.
The retired couple from Melbourne had planned a two-year trip around Australia in 2011, saving $200,000 for a suitable 4WD and caravan. Thirteen years later, and three caravans down, the grey nomads say they have no plans on giving it up.
Now aged 68 and 65 respectively, they still enjoy visiting new places around the country with Karijini National Park and the Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia high up on their list of favourite places. They say they've even had to "reinvent" themselves while on the road, picking up a number of roles in remote locations — but not for money, they say.
"We work now because we want to, not because we have to, just for routine," the couple told Yahoo from their east coast location. And it's a great way to learn new skills and meet people along the way.
"After about 14 months of travelling we both looked at each other and said ‘well, we can’t do nothing’,” so the couple decided to pick up odd jobs in various small towns. They've worked in roles from cleaning to management and even bar work at resorts, pubs and caravan parks.
"I poured my first beer at 57. It's been great," Leoni said.
Caravan and camping trend on the rise across Australia
The couple have noticed more people jumping on the caravaning trend over the years. People of all ages with families, couples and even singles hitting the road.
The number of caravan and camping trips (including glamping) continues to grow, according to Tourism Research Australia. In 2023, Australians took 15.3 million caravan and camping trips, spending $14.3 billion. This exceeded pre-Covid levels and was at an all-time high.
Additionally, caravan and campervan registrations across the nation have steadily grown over the last decade too. In 2023 there were almost 859,000 caravans and campervans registered — this was a 21 per cent increase since 2019.
Many admit they're still able to work from remote locations thanks to new technology including Elon Musk's Starlink. But Steve and Leoni enjoy the chance to disconnect.
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Life on the road offers 'freedom' and 'peace'
The avid travellers traded in their corporate roles — Leoni was a financial accountant, while Steve worked as an operations manager at Shell for 25 years — to live out their dreams of travelling Australia — which they do on an almost full-time basis. They travel most of the year, living out of a caravan, and return home occasionally to visit their kids and grandchildren.
"We had good wages and were able to save easily but people thought we were mad giving all that up. They all thought we'd lost their mind," Steve said.
So why do they do it? "For me, it's freedom. It's the ability to move around the country and visit different places," Steve explained. "In the outback, there's often nobody else around, and you can set up camp and watch the stars. It's great."
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Leoni admits she sleeps better while on the road. "I'm just completely at peace," she said.
They often go off-grid, with some of their favourite spots in central Australia, but they dabble in caravan and holiday parks too. Ultimately, anywhere that allows them to be active.
"We don't sit around doing nothing for the sake of it. We go swimming and go walking every day — even fishing. We’ve gotta be doing something," Leoni explained. "We've got our push bike and we go on long rides. We love it. And we're always meeting different people too".
Road travel is a great way to meet people
In 2012, the couple visited Mildura where they worked on a farm picking grapes. It was there they met their four so-called "adopted sons" from France.
"We used to have them over on Sunday for dinner and teach them about AFL. Then when we went to France they took us everywhere. They were only in their 20s," Leoni said. "It’s not just older people you met. You make friends with like-minded people."
To date they say they’ve "met hundreds"— many who they still remain close friends with today.
When asked if they ever get sick of life on the road, Steve and Leoni said no. "We reckon we have another 5 to 8 years of caravanning left in us before we need to make some changes, like an upgrade to a motorhome."
"We're going to do the West again. Probably some of the same places, but take it even slower," Steve added. They've even factored in several overseas trips including Italy, Scotland and the Northern Lights in Norway.
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