Spoiler: It’s not as much fun as it sounds.

This article is written in the month of March 2020. And unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will know that during this time the world is in the grip of a pandemic outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. So far, hundreds of thousands of people all over the world have been infected, ten’s of thousands have died and the numbers are climbing rapidly every day. COVID-19 is highly infectious, and as a result everyone is urged (mandated, forced) to self-isolate, to go home and stay there. Which is great, it’s the best way to ensure everyone’s safety. 

But it makes travelling impossible. Travellers are warned not to continue moving, to try and bunker down somewhere until everything is under control. 

Since we started our never-ending travels a few months ago, we’ve seen some great places in Australia. But we haven’t even touched the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. 

Let me apologise then if the title of this article is misleading, because there is no more travel in Australia until this viral outbreak is under control. This article will be about the effects of the virus, and what we’ve experienced so far. 

People have been (in some cases) highly disappointing.

Amid people’s fear of getting infected, we have had some unpleasant experiences in some parts of the country. We’ve had some nasty comments and expressions thrown our way, we’ve had complaints lodged at the local council about us and where we’ve parked the bus, and in one case we’ve had one very mean and angry “lady” flat out hurl abuse at us. 

And we’re not the only ones experiencing this. 

We are in several Facebook groups for people travelling around Australia, and within the groups there are reports of tires being slashed, anger and threats of physical violence against travellers staying in rural or small towns. 

I personally can’t see the logic in this, but in times of fear and stress, people are rarely logical. Because when this is all over, the same towns bullying travellers to leave may need the tourism dollars. Just my 2 cents. 

That said, we have also met some amazing and generous people on our travels too. We’ve received compliments and had great conversations with these people. But at the end of the day, we will always remember the region we were in when we were on the receiving end of someone’s vitriol.  

We are not the only ones stuck

Right now, we have landed in Bundaberg to try and wait out the outbreak. We have self-isolated in the bus, and only leave the bus when we absolutely must (to buy food, get water etc.). We are actively avoiding caravan parks and campsites (those that are open, more on that soon), because we a) don’t want to catch anything and b) don’t want to transmit anything (even if we don’t have the virus, we act as if we do). 

And we are not the only people without a fixed address to call home. 

According to several internet sources (*Note: Accuracy of this is unknown) there are tens of thousands of travellers forced to into caravan parks to stay there for an unknown amount of time (until the virus is contained). And there will be even more travellers that will be stuck with nowhere to go, as these places are filling up to capacity fast. And why? 

Because…

So many locations and sites are closed

As a reaction to stop the spread of the virus, Australia closed it’s national parks, campsites and council-run caravan parks. This has severely reduced the number of places to stay in a caravan, bus or motorhome. The options left are to try and find a privately owned/run caravan park (remember, these are filling fast), or try to find a free campsite still open. These are sometimes small and cramped, and in time of infectious pandemic are not suitable at all (plus, our bus is long and doesn’t fit). 

Wait, there is a third option: find sanctuary on a farm or large property. 

We were lucky enough to meet an incredibly nice person in the town of Elliott Heads, which is in the Bundaberg region, whom offered us the use of his property. We didn’t take him up on his offer, because we didn’t want to be a burden (and limit the risk of spreading the virus), but his kindness was much needed at that time. 

So if you’re living in the Bundaberg region, and need a painter and want to meet one of the nicest guys around, just look up Graeme Hughes Professional Painters. (We don’t receive commission, monies or any benefits from this referral, we are just repaying kindness with kindness). 

There has been no support for travellers from any forms of government

With all that’s previously been stated (parks/campsites closed, lack of available sites, abuse and vandalism etc.), one would think that maybe the local laws and restrictions regarding campsite limits would be relaxed to be more accommodating to stuck travellers. 

One would be dead wrong. 

In some sites and areas, there are sometimes limitations to where camping is permitted and how long travellers can stay. Some sites are 24hr stays, some are 48hrs, and in some regions you can get fined for camping on the side of the road. Fair enough. 

But with the virus spreading, with so many sites closed, and limits placed on travelling, wouldn’t it make sense to lift some of those restrictions? Especially with thousands of travellers without a permanent place to stay being grounded in those areas. 

So far, there has been NO support from Councils and local governments. 

We have been moved on from a town, and when we asked the council representative (no hard feelings, she was just doing her job) where were we supposed to go, she was told to suggest 2 sites. We dutifully checked these sites, and found them to be too busy, too crowded or just unsuitable for a longer vehicle. 

When we asked if we could just park in some massive open, empty areas on a beachfront, we were told that residents and locals would complain and that it wasn’t an option. (Actually true, we were abused by a mean resident just for parking there for two days consecutively – even though we didn’t camp the night there!)

We’ve even called the national hotline for support for the virus and were told we must comply with the local council instructions. 

In my opinion, the local council instructions so far are not suitable, because directing all travellers to congregate in one location will only raise the risk of spread of the viral infection. 

We will see what happens in the future. 

In the perfect world

Look, we know that this virus and the situation the whole world is in right now, well, it sucks. But maybe the powers-that-be might use this time to reflect on how they could improve in the future when all this is over. Maybe by having more free camping areas around different towns, in nice areas like beachfronts and foreshores. Right now, there are a very limited number of places like that anywhere, all of the places we’ve been so far free camping and even parking overnight is not permitted. It seems if you want to stay any near the ocean, beaches, lakes or a river you must pay for it. (Note: We’ve been told there are numerous free camp areas inland – just not along the coast).  

Whatever happened to Australia being a free country? Because apparently it’s not anymore. In the past our ancestors have died to keep us free and to preserve our way of life. And now we can’t even sleep in the wild or on a beach – it’s even illegal to sleep overnight in your vehicle – what’s so free about that?!?

And the kicker is, the towns we’ve visited so far have claimed to be “RV friendly”. If you really are RV friendly, one would think that encouraging RV’s, camper’s and travellers to stay (perhaps by having a free camp area near a beach) would be beneficial.

What would happen if we visited an unfriendly town?

So far…

In summary, this virus is horrible. It’s highly infectious, it attacks the respiratory system and it has the capacity to kill people. It’s causing untold amounts of people problems and grief and will take time to recover from this. 

As a result of the virus, Australia will soon be in lockdown if nothing changes soon. This means travellers won’t be travelling any time soon. Its ‘s unfortunate, but necessary. 

We can only hope that people will move beyond their fear, and start being more kind to others, especially those who, like us, have no other place to go. 

Start being nice. Please. 

Stay Wild and Free. 

-Aaron and Chiara.