Viva planet Roller!
Rolling Solo brings together like-minded women for an annual camping extravaganza in Australia. Carolyn Beasley joins them on the Ningaloo Reef near Exmouth for a whale of a time.
the joys of
going solo in Exmouth, WA
Two tropical wild breeze, emus saunter and the across caravan the park grass is while peaceful. palm That trees is, sway until in it’s the
shattered by a thumping drum crescendo and Tina Turner’s voice giving it everything: “You’re simply the best!” Two other female
voices are singing too, and a white sports car cruises towards me with the roof down. Barely inside it, two ladies wave their arms in the air,
rocking and yahooing like there’s no tomorrow.
This is not the only outburst of joy I witness in the ensuing days, but it is the only convertible car. Standing in the RAC Exmouth Cape Holiday
Park, I’m surrounded by campervans, tents, four-wheel drives and caravans. The campers are all here for a women’s only camping event called Stuck in
the Middle, an annual treat for members of the online, offline and real time group called Rolling Solo.
“Since I was a kid I’ve always wanted the Barbie campervan,” says Michelle
Lang, 46, the founder of Rolling Solo. “I never had one, so when I was 37, I bought a real one.” Michelle started taking weekends away in the camper,
and progressed to longer trips of several weeks, and would meet her family at their holiday destination. Sitting in a caravan park alone, she wondered how to connect with other women that might be also on the road, and in 2015 she started a free Facebook group called Rolling Solo, which quickly grew to thousands of members.
Running Rolling Solo is now a full-time job for Michelle, and membership is available on a modest subscription basis (currently $46 a year). Her 2000 members, known as ‘Rollers’, enjoy access to a private women’s only network of like-minded travellers. Rollers connect online, often with others in their area. Anyone can organise trips, known as ‘tag-alongs,’ ranging from one night to several weeks, and some just connect for a meal or coffee.
The yearly get-together shindig, Stuck in the Middle, is open to Rollers from all over Australia. Now going into its fourth year (see ‘Raring to roll again’ overleaf), the event has previously been held east of Alice Springs and north of Townsville. In 2019, Michelle chose Exmouth, Western Australia, which is remote in anyone’s language.
“I want to choose bucket-list places that people want to go to but don’t want to go alone,” Michelle explains. She says that for many, the chance to drive across the desert and see Ningaloo Reef is one of those experiences. “The road trip tag-alongs are a really big part of this, that’s where the friendships are made and cemented – helping each other out every day.”
One group of ladies I meet had started in NSW with eight Rollers, and collected others along the way in Victoria and South Australia. They crossed the Nullabor in a loose convoy, checking in on one another, and by the time they arrived in Exmouth, there were 22 in the tag-along. There was plenty of fun along the way, with one Roller chipping in: “We ended up
doing some synchronised swimming in a dry river bed at Wooramel Station.”
The popularity of Stuck in the Middle is obvious: 290 women are taking over the caravan park, occupying all the sites, cabins and on-site vans for a week. Michelle says she always books the park exclusively for the event. This way, with an absence of judgement, everyone is able to be themselves, or even someone else for a while. If there were strangers wandering around here, that would change the dynamic.
The sentiment is backed by Annie Henry, 68, who in the past few years has traded her Harley Davidson motorcycle for a motorhome. “Roadtrip is my favourite word,” Annie laughs. “We’re all on the same wavelength here, inhibitions are dropped and we’re all away from our usual lives. We’re on planet Roller!”
Planet Roller obviously does not contain men, but the Rollers are not anti-men. These women are travelling solo for a variety of reasons. Some Rollers never married, while others are widows, divorcees, and some have husbands that simply do not like camping. Denise Vernon from Collie, Western Australia, tells me her husband suffered a debilitating stroke at the age of 53, six years ago. But now that a caring network for him is in place, Denise is relishing a well-earned break. She’s travelling with her friend, Sandra Devonham. “Sandra and I also share three grandchildren and have another on the way!” Denise says, beaming.
Stuck in the Middle includes the chance to try diverse, fun and perhaps new activities related to fitness, hands-on crafts and technical camping education, and everyone participates as much or as little as they choose. I arrive at the camp kitchen during a seafood cooking lesson, and each Roller has brought along their butane stove from their camp set-up. Working with a local chef, they each prepare a delicious dinner of blackened snapper and prawns with a tropical salsa.
Another day I witness the biggest assortment of mullet wigs and flannelette shirts imaginable at the Bogan Barefoot Bowls event at the local lawn bowls club. Laughing
yoga, hosted by Margaret Borrett, a Roller from Perth, has me in stitches, along with everyone else, as inhibitions and stress are replaced by sheer hilarity.
Exmouth’s tourist attractions feature on the itinerary too: there is organised snorkelling and glass bottom boat tours at Ningaloo Reef, and a day tour of Cape Range National Park. Many Rollers have booked independent activities, and some have done sunset cruises with humpback whales, explored Yardie Creek by boat, and even seen manta rays from a microlight aircraft.
Activities and meals are often taken in small groups, and it’s this camaraderie that attracts many Rollers. Kathleen Chaternunuch (known as ‘Chats’), lives in her silding-door camper, travelling around Australia almost constantly. Her daughters encouraged her to join Rolling Solo and she’s delighted she did. “I hate the word ‘liberated,’ because I was already free,” Chats says. “But this is like family, we’re important to each other. I also like my own company and I can dip in and out of this group without any judgement.”
The benefits of the Stuck in the Middle event extend beyond the Rollers, and Exmouth is eager to host them – the town has various “Welcome Rollers!” signs. Later I learn that the total incidental spending in Exmouth by Rollers was more than $200,000, a welcome boost to local incomes outside the main tourist season.
On our farewell party night, I’m taking a break from the 70s-themedZumba class to chat with Michelle. Reflecting on Stuck in the Middle 2019, she says she’s delighted to see the Rollers having so much fun.
“A lot of these women have stories, and they’re not all happy endings,” she says. “So watching them try burlesque dancing with their fishnet stockings, feather boas and clomping around on the grass, I had a happy-cry moment.” Wiping another happy tear, she adds: “Six months ago, none of them thought they’d be dancing like this, or even driving that van across Australia. The group gives each other that courage and motivation.” AWW
For more on Exmouth and Ningaloo Reef, visit westernaustralia.com