Phase six: cessation of work

The cessation of work through retirement, redundancy or disablement changes the pattern of visitation as trips are no longer constrained by annual or long-service leave. Visits to the region can be longer, but decision-making about finances can become an increasing challenge since retirees may be on a lower fixed income, such as a government pension or superannuation payout. This means that, while travel can be of a longer duration, it needs to be economically feasible thus affecting repeat visitors’ accommodation choices and daily life in the region. Ageing and related health issues also impact on how repeat visitors engage with their physical and cultural surroundings. Tony explains how his time in the region has extended over the years from a period of weeks to three months:

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In the earlier years I was obviously working, so you could only come for two weeks or three weeks at the most, until you enjoy it more so you plan a longer time and then you would come for a month and then you would come for five weeks and now we’re here for basically two months in this stint and then we go away and come back again for another month, so we have three months in total, but we’re retired: we can do that (33).

Other surveys indicate that retirees spend much longer in the region (Jones et al. 2009) and the present study corroborates this. Almost all the interviewees in phase six were staying in the region for a month or longer. Winnie, who has a shack at the Blowholes, is now able to spend five months of every year there. Wendy and her husband were at Gnaraloo for their first visit since retiring. “It’s lovely,” said Wendy (13). Several of the older retirees interviewed in this project had undertaken

substantial trips during phase five or upon retirement, such as “doing Europe” (6, 19, 31) or “going round Australia” (2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 18, 22, 31, 33, 35, 51, 56, 58), before settling on an annual pattern of returning to Ningaloo in the winter.

While retirement is planned and anticipated by many repeat visitors, the cessation of work can also be abrupt, and some interviewees’ travel patterns were shaped by redundancy or disablement. Harry was made redundant in 1994, and two years later took a “round Australia trip” which introduced him to the Blowholes. Boz was forced to stop working at the age of 48 when he sustained a back injury that required major surgery. While this has left Boz in a vulnerable financial situation with no superannuation and just a disability pension, he and his wife have created a mobile yet economical lifestyle. These events have had a substantial impact on how Harry and Boz engage with the region’s physical and cultural environments; they travel slowly and, in accordance with the cycle of pension payments, they choose low-cost accommodation on pastoral stations and supplement their diet with the fish that they can catch. The ways in which people finance their travels are explored further in the following chapter. The interviewees in this life phase reflected on the

125 impacts that ageing has had on their travel plans. Janice, 64, explained that ageing slows her down:

I’m sure I used to take about an hour and a half to pack the caravan. But I think now [that I am older] it takes a day and a half. I mean, we’re a bit worn out by the time we get here (22).

Death also occasionally featured in the interviews. In some cases, this was through ’uplifting‘ anecdotes of people dying while on holiday in the region. John, who stays at Warroora each year explains his reaction to the news that an elderly man had “carked” (died) of a heart attack on the beach:

And at that age, 90, on the beach at Warroora...you’d think

“unbelievable”! People were saying [to him] “oh, you shouldn’t be coming here at this age”. But listen, if you’re going to cark it anywhere, right, I’d rather cark it on the beach at Warroora (6).

The manager of a caravan park in Coral Bay described the death of a repeat visitor in similarly positive terms:

We had one gentleman pass away here last year, and they (his family) were quite pleased that he died here because he’d been coming here for thirty years or whatever. It was more-or-less like dying at home (21).

The fact that dying whilst on a trip in the region was regarded positively proves how strongly these interviewees feel about the area. However, a group of older female interviewees pointed out that husbands or partners dying in the region posed a problem for their widows who have to “somehow get their caravans back”. In one case, a repeat visitor was getting away from the trauma associated with the deaths of relatives and friends at home:

Woman: I actually had four funerals in the last month before I came.

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Philippa: Oh, before you came up?

Woman: Before I came up, so I was really stressed and I was actually dying to get away. You know? And the last one was my sister-in-law, you know, and that really hurt, it was terrible. And I think it took me two weeks but after, you know, sort of being here, well, you know, it was instantly settling (56).

These anecdotes indicate that ageing and poor health do not deter many visitors from returning. This finding supports Onyx and Leonard’s research on grey nomads’ attitudes to health. They suggest that “many are healthy but approximately half of all couples had experienced a major health scare by one partner” (2007, 388) but that they continue to travel regardless. Mick, 73, says, “we keep saying we’re too old for the drive but we keep turning up.” For repeat visitors in this phase of their lives, their commitment to visit the region is tempered by the practical implications of ageing. Norm admits that he and Mary now require “a bit of comfort” (2). Even though Jo and Leonard had said they were booked up “to infinity”, Jo acknowledges that they will “have to stop somewhere” considering her husband is 72. The limits of ageing are apparent in John’s phrase “I’ll be coming here for as long as I can stand up on a surfboard” (10). Rex, a single man in his 80s, says that he intends to return but that this will “depend on his health”.

Many interviewees mentioned their health in interviews, and felt that their health improves while they’re in the Ningaloo region (1, 3, 8, 12, 15, 24, 33, 35, 37, 38, 45, 48, 51, 56, 58). One example is Harry, a pensioner who lives on his own in Perth. In summer, he lives in state housing in a suburb of Perth. Every autumn, Harry packs his caravan and drives to the Blowholes. Harry says that he “feels a lot better” when he is away (5). He gets more exercise, loses weight and feels healthier. He also feels safer and happier. Marg explains how the warm weather helps her feel healthier:

Why I go up north, where its warmer, is because I’ve got bad arthritis. I’ve now got two artificial hips and an artificial wrist. In the cold, wet weather you really suffer...I can’t swim down here

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[in the South West] because it’s too cold for my artificial hip. But in the warm water up north, I can swim. It’s healthy. I just seem to feel a lot healthier when I’m up there. I can do more (3).

According to health research, longitudinal studies point to the importance of

avoiding risk factors and “getting good nutrition, physical activity, social interaction, being productive and engaged, and maintaining a positive outlook” (Byles 2007, 115). It is impossible to say whether our interviewees were better nourished while in the Ningaloo region but they certainly claim to be more active, more social, engaged with their surroundings and happier while away. The relationship between social connectedness and improved health has been the subject of much academic debate. The American political scientist Robert Putnam argues that there is a link between social connectedness and improved health (1995 314). According to the framework developed by health geographers Fleuret and Atkinson, spaces of wellbeing fall into four main groups: spaces of security, therapeutic spaces, spaces of capability and integrative spaces. The latter spatial construction is described as one which facilitates “integration into a rich network of social associations,

especially those that operate at the local scale” (2007, 113). For older visitors, those in phases six and seven, the caravan parks and campsites of the Ningaloo region function as an integrative space and the many examples of support and friendship detailed in the previous chapter underpin this. While ageing impacts upon repeat visitors’ accommodation choices, their engagement with the Ningaloo region continues to be significant to them as they anticipate the possibility of being unable to return. The ways in which older visitors maintain their health year-round in order to continue returning to the region is explored further in Chapter Seven.

Grandchildren play an important role for some repeat visitors in this phase of life. For example, Mary, 71, described how much she misses her grandchildren while she’s away in the region (48). This is echoed by another retired woman, whose granddaughter’s birthday clashes with her annual travel plans. Her granddaughter says, “Grandma, you’re never here for my birthday!” which she says makes her feel guilty and sometimes makes her reconsider her plans (56). On the other hand,

128 being away from the demands of family life could also be liberating. Some

interviewees spoke of how tiring their grandchildren could be, especially when left with them for long periods as a form of cheap childcare (22, 48). One caravan park in the region caters to this, and has a “no children” rule. The manager said that the rule lets retirees with children and grandchildren “off the hook” from having to holiday with their extended family (57). For other retirees, a compromise that enabled them to stay in the region for a long trip yet maintain contact with their grandchildren was to have their grandchildren come and visit (1, 3, 12, 19, 24, 31, 37, 45). Sharon and Kevin even have a spare bed in their motor home to

accommodate their grandkids (45). The delight that these interviewees take in introducing their grandchildren to the region is a clear example of how various life phases influence people’s engagements with the region.