Wise girls travel on their own

by Michelle Seldenthuis (Netherlands)

A leap into the unknown Australia

I’m adventurous, but I’m not stupid. That’s what I tell everyone who asks me if it’s a safe way of travelling, as a woman on my own. Australia is known for having backpackers making their way around it, but each time someone finds out that I do so alone, I see a slightly worried frown on their face. I get it – it’s quite the journey that I’m on. But every time I get that look, something in me wants to yell: Yes, just me, and I’m absolutely fine! I can do anything I want! (I never actually do yell this, because I’m friendly and I’d rather not scare people away.) I met a woman on a campsite who came up to me to say that she and her husband had been observing me a little from the moment I arrived. She told me her husband was convinced that there must be ‘another one’ (travelling with me) and that he was wondering how two people would possibly fit in the tiny pop up tent I had put up. By the time the realised that it was really just me, she said, they had agreed that at least I was doing the sensible thing by staying on an official, well-visited camping. That remark could have ticked me off (‘I can do whatever the hell I want‘) but it didn’t that day, because it made sense. A few hours prior to this, I had been stood on a free campsite by the ocean, no amenities, no network coverage, and I was trying to decide whether or not to stay the night. The location was beautiful – red gravel roads, white sand, like a picture from a travel guide – but there was nobody else on the site. And I thought that if something happened, anything, I would really like to have at least someone nearby who could help me out. So I got back in the car and drove off, a little disappointed but also well aware I made the right decision. I knew before leaving on this trip that I’d have to be daring and brave to even get started, but I also had to be sensible at all time. After all, I am just with me, and if trouble occurs I’m the one who has to deal with it. And so I can’t just stay in the most remote places I find – I need to ask myself if I’ll be safe. I can’t plan 7 hour drives for one day – as the only one driving I have to stay awake and alert. I treat my car with great care, because he’s my only travel mate and I want him to be in top condition. Long story short, there’s a lot that I need to take into account. But as much as I feared those things would hold me back and limit me on my travels, so far I actually don’t mind. I have to plan ahead a little and sometimes skip a place, but I don’t feel like I’m missing out – the simple reason for this being that Australia is a huge country where everything is beautiful. If one pretty stop feels too risky, I’ll move on to the next one and it’ll be just about as pretty. Because yes, I am definitely adventurous. But I also have a decent amount of common sense.