Live Your List - From Grandma to Grey Nomad

For more than six years, this Belmont woman has intermittently hit pause on her grandparent role to travel and explore the diverse landscapes of Australia.

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She has seen many wonders in the eastern states. Still, nothing prepared Rhonda Bennett for the raw and ruggedness of Standley Chasm in the Northern Territory.

“It was magnificent. I can still see the vividness of the colours and landscape from flat, dull brown to steep, vibrant orange.”

It was only by chance she found this “pretty place” that is burned into her memory. In June last year, Rhonda and her husband Rex were in Alice Springs as part of an outback caravan tour with another couple.

“We were looking for places around Alice to see. But, then, it popped up; we decided to go and check it out the next day.”

Standley Chasm, in the West MacDonnell Ranges, is traditionally known as Angkerle Atwatye, which means “Gap of Water”. Over millions of years, the sandstone slopes have been transformed by water to be sculpted into a dramatic landscape, which includes a gorge three metres wide and 80 metres high. The Arrernte people consider it a sacred site of women’s dreaming.

“The big V at the end of the walk was the biggest surprise. You looked down the vertical columns to a little gap – it was incredible. It was blowing a gale; the temperature dropped by 20 degrees. So, hauntingly beautiful.”

So impressed by the natural sculpture, Rhonda urged fellow travellers to follow the trail to the end while walking back to the car.

“Although there were a lot of people visiting the area, it felt spiritual – calm and relaxed.”

Rhonda is still stunned that she had never heard of the place, and it was sheer luck she visited on her birthday. The Chasm gave her the gift of awe, wonder and joy, which she still feels when she shares her experience there.

“I’m so glad we did it. Everyone needs to go there – it is truly amazing.”

Although she advocates for people to go and see places, she does not have a bucket list.

“I don’t need one as I am not going to die - so it is alright!”

Rhonda says they semi-plan their trips with significant places to stay, then looks up the sightseeing spots on arrival.

With this carefree attitude, she has seen most of NSW, Queensland and Victoria in three major trips that spanned five to seven weeks.

With a strong family connection, longer trips only commenced when the five grandchildren were school-age. However, Rhonda admits it was hard to leave the family on the first trip to southwest NSW and the Murray River.

Since then, extended trips have taken her west to Mount Gambier and Coober Pedy, north to Currumbin across to Cooktown, and down the Eastern Seaboard along the Great Ocean Road to Port Ferry and many places in between.

She admits that it becomes a little easier to leave the family with each trip, and facetime has made it less stressful.

This year, there are plans to go to Cape York via outback Queensland, back along the coast from Cooktown to Yeppoon, and travel home via the Queensland and NSW’s tablelands. Then in 2023, head to Darwin, Western Australia and South Australia.

When asked if she is a Grey Nomad, the resounding answer is, “Oh God, yes!” As a part of this community, Rhonda has met amicable and interesting people that tell the best yarns.

"I love touring in the caravan. It is a great way to see our country."

“When I was younger, I never thought of being one. In fact, I used to say look at those old farts taking up the road and, when stuck behind a caravan, would wish they get lost. But now I am proud to be a Grey Nomad."

KIM-CHERIE DAVIDSON