Sydney - Early morning in South West Rocks on the east coast of Australia: James and Mary carefully sweep out and clean their Roadstar Dreamtime camper and enjoy a coffee on their camping chairs. The view of the white beach and the deep blue Pacific Ocean is overwhelming, but the two retirees want to push on to Queensland to the north where they plan to enjoy the next few months in the sun while winter takes hold in their home city of Sydney.
"They call us grey nomads," said James. "Now that we have retired we have the time and leisure to tour our country. We always follow the sun."
The grey nomads are a true phenomenon Down Under. Increasing numbers of retirees have had enough of life rooted in one place, even in houses they own, and have taken to driving the endless expanse of Australia in campers and recreational vehicles. There are tens of thousands of them and their numbers are growing.
Mary explains that since she and James immigrated from England to Sydney 35 years ago they have barely had any opportunity to see Australia. They want to make up for that now. When the rainy season starts in November in Queensland they plan to head to Perth in the west.
Some retirees are constantly on the road always looking for new destinations and new adventures. Others spend weeks at their favourite camping grounds in the tropics or in the Outback where they set up homey campsites with furniture and kitchenware. Well-equipped caravan parks, some even with swimming pools and internet access, can be found in just about every small Australian town.
Nomads who don't have enough savings to support a vagabond lifestyle take jobs along the way. There are plenty of offers for grey nomads, including work harvesting fruit, said Sabine Baer, a German-Australian who works as a tour guide in Daintree Rainforest, a national park in north Queensland. "Many pick cherries, figs and apricots and the farmers like to hire retirees because they are so dependable."
There are websites - www.thegreynomads.com.au and www.grey-nomads.org for example - that cater to the roving retirees. The sites offer information about attractions and possible employment, and sales information about campers and other homes on wheels. The selection is enormous and expert help is available for newcomers to the nomad lifestyle. Some people opt for a discarded bus to support their outsider lifestyle.
Linda and Brian of Melbourne do not regret their decision to become members of the grey nomads club. The pair has been travelling around for a year and the idea of returning to normality in the city is out of the question. Swishing white curls from her face, Linda says it's wonderful not to have to deal with electricity bills and things like bureaucratic problems with insurance.
"You can leave everything behind," she said. "That's exactly the right life for me."
