Welcome to Galah Gone Roaming!
I am Elissa, the adventurer behind the blog.
This is a space where you can find helpful travel guides, tips about solo female travel, what to do, what not to do, and how to be more confident exploring the outdoors.
I share my stories in the hope that you will be inspired to chase your own dreams under the sun and rain. The outdoors is for you, in fact it’s for everyone. The trees don’t care if you brushed your hair today or what t-shirt you decided to wear. All you gotta do is show up and slow down – breathe in and enjoy!
More About Me
I am not remarkable, in fact I’m just like every other human out there – looking for meaning and trying to make the most of my time here on the planet. I’m far from a hardcore adventurer, I just love being outside. I love the freedom and simple joy that nature offers. To me the definition of being ‘outdoors’ is as simple as the word implies – any time you can see the sky, you’re outdoors!
This travel blog is a hub for all things solo female travel, hiking, road tripping, camping, and adventure – because I want to share everything I’ve learned along the way so that you can get outside with confidence.
Camping for Fun to Camping for Work
I grew up on the West Coast of Australia, experiencing endless summers, family camping trips, boating, fishing, and playing in the neighbourhood until dark as a kid. My love of the outdoors saw me take many camping and road trips throughout school and university while I studied one of the most ‘outdoorsy’ majors – Geology!
Once I was finished studying I jumped straight into full time work, taking my first job as a FIFO (fly-in-fly-out) worker in the dusty red Mid-West of WA. Here I fell in love with the outback – flies and all!
Nothing quite compares to life outdoors in the Aus outback, and it wasn’t until I experienced a summer storm that I really fell in love. Flooding rains accompanied the most spectacular lightning shows you could imagine. The frogs would emerge as if from thin air in masses, and the night comes alive with the sound of a million insects! Crickets the size of your hand are drawn to the bright lights of the camp, and puddles quickly turn the roads to mud. We drove for hours to the dead centre of nowhere, camped remotely and sat around campfires under the stars. I revelled in the beauty of the wilderness out there, and overcame so many of the hurdles that come with life and work in a remote place.
Pandemic Life in Fremantle
I closed that chapter of my life and opened another back in Perth hoping for the stability that comes with being in one place. No sooner had I taken a job, the pandemic hit and I was suddenly working from a tiny desk next to my couch in my one-bedroom apartment! I wasn’t the most upset by this, as it gave me the chance to enjoy the slow life in Fremantle. I made the most of deserted beaches and sunsets over the ocean, waking up to quiet streets and the distant sound of the waves hitting the shore.
Moving to the Most Beautiful Place on Earth – Esperance
It was another year or so before I hit the road, moving to Esperance to start another exciting chapter. It was the most unexpected and spontaneous opportunity, but my thirst for a new adventure meant I just couldn’t let it pass me by. I packed up my things, threw them (neatly) into storage and filled up my car with the items I thought I might need. Over the next year I enjoyed the absolute best that our South Coast has to offer. I can honestly say that Esperance must be seen to be believed.
I hiked atop huge granite boulders overlooking the bluest water you could imagine, I spent most mornings walking along the local beach or swimming laps in the ocean pool, I made friends and saw at least one by coincidence every time I left the house. I went 4WDing with Beryl (my travel companion in the form of a car), and had some fun building out a bed and camping setup in preparation for spontaneous road trips, I wanted to be ready for weekend adventures at a moment’s notice. I could not have been any happier living in my version of absolute paradise…but something was lurking in the back of my mind, pulling me in a new direction. I didn’t stick around Esperance long enough to experience the joy of small town life morph into the perils of small town life!
A Leap of Faith – Solo Travel Around Australia
So began the biggest leap of faith I’ve ever taken – I decided that I would drive around Australia, just me and Beryl, with no end-date or set plans. I had no idea where I would go, how long I would spend in any place, or how long my savings would last. I was full of fear and apprehension but was grateful to myself for the courage I mustered to actually execute the leap. Facing an open road, unemployed by choice, and going solo in the wilderness was the most daunting thing I could have chosen for myself…but that’s just the thing about taking risks.
This was a period of exponential personal growth for me – no longer being able to use a stable home-base or job to distract me from sitting with the ultimate questions – who am I really and what do I actually want? Buggered if I have those answers now, but I know for sure that I am closer today than I ever have been. And the truth is, it’s a lot more simple than I’ve always told myself it is.
Along the way I ventured out into countless National Parks, spent hours online searching for cheap and reliable campsites to stay at every night, hiked some of the most spectacular landscapes Australia has to offer, took Beryl offroad more times than I can count, learnt to SCUBA dive on the Ningaloo Reef, walked through the world’s oldest living tropical rainforest, made friends and acquaintances from all over the world, heard the calls of birds I’d never seen before, watched the sun rise, watched the sun set, and listened to the sounds of nature all around me. Summarising the vastness and variety of Australia’s landscapes in a single paragraph feels like a sin… you’ll just have to jump to the blog to learn more about these magical places!
Adventure Along the Way
Perhaps the moral of this chapter of my life was that adventure and joy should be had alongside existential crises. There will never be a shortage of crises, but there will be a shortage of time. We grow old, our circumstances change… what’s in front of us right now is something to cherish.
It’s a lesson I’m constantly learning, and I’m here to remind you to get out of your head and into nature. I am so easily wrapped up in the details of life, so worried about all the tiny things that sometimes I let life pass me by. I opt out of adventures for fear that I won’t reach my other goals in life. Ridiculous, I know. Awareness is the first step to recovery!
Solo Travel for All
Almost all of the articles on this website have been tested by me, solo, and are based on my personal experience. If I talk about doing anything solo, it’s because I’ve done it, and I know it is possible. I would never recommend going on any adventure solo, or at all, without first doing your research, planning your trip, and preparing yourself for emergencies. That being said, for the average person like you and me, simply getting out and enjoying nature is a pretty low-stakes venture, you just have to know the best places!
That’s where I come in – my guides are all written to help you find a place to explore, and to get the most out of what’s around you. I hope to inspire your next adventure, and show you that the outdoors is for everyone.
Inspiration Unknown
Who knows which vinyls life is going to dust off for you next, all you can do is enjoy what you’ve got right now. If I can help you say ‘f**k it, I’m going on the trip’, then that’s my mission accomplished. Get out there and smile at the sun…just don’t look directly at it.