Donning a blue Arabia-themed matching top and pants, Denise Ryan is among hundreds of solo travellers dressed to the nines ready to kick off their big annual adventure together.
Ms Ryan travelled from the Gold Coast to a caravan park in Port Macquarie on the New South Wales Mid North Coast last week for the start of Stuck in the Middle, an annual travelling event run by online community Rolling Solo Australia.
The event is for female travellers aged between 40 and 85 and is now in its sixth year.
As Ms Ryan joins in the opening night belly dance workshop, she reflects on how important these events are for her.
"I'm an empty nester, I'm on my own, I'm retired and meeting some amazing women … and we're all in the same boat," she said.
Rolling Solo founder Michelle Lang says it is a week away from the domesticities of life.
"It's all about 'me time' when they're here, and that's why we try to fill their week with things that enrich them and make them feel good," she said.
"Letting go of those things, like washing the dishes or tending to somebody else's needs.
"We try to incorporate physical activities like belly dancing and laughter yoga … things they wouldn't necessarily try out in the real world."
How it all began
Ms Lang was travelling with her daughter eight years ago when she found herself wishing she had someone to meet up with for a coffee.
It sparked the idea to start a Facebook group, Rolling Solo, which quickly attracted 6,000 members in 2015.
The idea was to create a platform where women could ask for help if their vehicle broke down or find others nearby to meet up with, or set up a "tag-along" travel group.
It then extended to holding a large annual event.
"Just having that support network there if you do get in trouble, there's someone there to ask a question or help you," Ms Lang said.
"Our very first annual event was in the middle of Australia and we had 500 women come along to that.
"It was [called] Stuck in the Middle, so that name stuck, and this year we're stuck in Port Macquarie."
Finding new friends
Maree Gear from NSW's Central Coast started going to the annual event a few years ago and said she kept coming back for the friendships.
She had been recently widowed when she attended for the first time.
"My late husband and I had just retired and started doing some caravanning and I didn't want to stop that," Ms Gear said.
"[But] you pull into a caravan park, everybody's coupled, they have a wave and a chat and then go into their vans for dinner and you're sitting there on your own."
The group has enabled her to keep using her caravan and keep travelling.
“Everybody is happy to help and they’re always keen for you to look them up if you’re passing through their town, so you get a network of contacts," Ms Gear said.
Why go solo?
Vintage van creator and solo traveller Carolyn Cameron from the Central Coast says she goes by herself because "no-one else will go with me".
"First my partner was onboard, then he wasn't onboard, and I said, 'Well, I'll just get my own car and I'll learn how to drive'," she said.
"It was just my ticket to freedom … so it's been great for my mind and great for my spirit."
Carol Cummins, 75, has been slowed down by some health issues but enjoys the energy of the event.
She participated in a laughter yoga workshop and said it was a little forced at first.
"I know my laugh is a bit raucous so I was a bit self-conscious but once you start and everybody else starts, you can't stop, my belly muscles were sore, it was hilarious," Ms Cummins said.
Ms Cummins looks forward to "relaxed enjoyment time with like-minded people".
"Ones that want to get out there and have a go and not just shrivel up and think, 'I'm old and past it'," she said.