Have
your say
A RESEARCHER is appealing to grey nomads to tell her how they stay in
touch while on the road.
Caravan park manager and student researcher with Charles Sturt University
in Wagga Wagga Margaret Dalmau is targeting adventurers aged over 55 who
have been travelling continuously for more than a year.
"This research project is one of the requirements for my Masters in
Gerontology, the study of ageing," 52-year-old Margaret told Caravanning News.
"Why research something that is common knowledge among grey nomads?
Because how they stay connected is not common knowledge in the general
community," she said.
She believed little had been documented on the experiences of
longer-term travellers who have been on the road for more than 12 months.
"And there's even less about how this group maintain and develop their
social connections with family and friends while travelling."
Gaining more knowledge on the subject could help in suggesting ways of
providing important health and well-being information for those travelling
full time, she added.
Margaret and partner Frank, 51, gave up their jobs in 2008 and spent 16 months
travelling with a camper trailer around Australia.
"It was a great experience and we met some really nice people along the
way as well as making some new friends," recalled Margaret. "It is something
we want to do again."
Before her travels, Margaret worked in health, particularly with older
people.
She began her Masters in 2007 but delayed finishing it while they
travelled.
"We came back to NSW because we had promised our elderly mothers, who live
in Melbourne and Wodonga, that we would be back for Christmas," Margaret
said.
She and Frank now manage
an Aspen
Park caravan park in Moama, NSW, called A Shady River Holiday Park, and she thought it
would be a good time to complete her Masters degree.
But they are saving to travel again.
Margaret has appealed to grey nomads to help her finish her research
project which involves, in the first instance, completing a short survey
about their motivations for travel and how they stay in contact with
family and friends.
The second stage of the project, which is optional, involves a small
number of respondents being interviewed to gain a more in-depth
understanding of their experiences of being on the road, their links and
support networks.
Grey nomads wanting to take part should email Margaret by
clicking here.
