How grey nomads are saving thousands by travelling Australia on the cheap
These two couples have found a perfect way to holiday.
From free accommodation to discovering new parts of the country plus making new furry, feathery or scaly friends, Australians hitting their second prime are enjoying being house or pet sitters.
Dean Christoff and Carolyne Holmes started house and pet-sitting while travelling around Australia in their caravan.
Advertising their services through the website Aussie House Sitters, they stay in someone's home and look after it plus their pets in exchange for parking their caravan on-site.
What caught them by surprise were the people they met.
"We've met some amazing people and made good friends," Mr Christoff said.
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Among the places they have stayed at are Cooee Bay, Lismore, Toowoomba and Stanthorpe.
The couple's home in Brisbane is rented and treat the caravan as their primary place of residence. They also each work two days a week remotely.
Mr Christoff said the couple, who are turning 60 this year, had saved at least $2500 in accommodation costs by house and pet sitting.
For a successful sit, Mr Christoff said to make sure you have clear ground rules and expectations of what will be involved in the sit, including what will be involved with looking after pets, and what maintenance of the property will be involved.
Dianne and Vigo Kohler have been house and pet sitters for more than 10 years and have stayed in country towns across SA, Victoria, NSW and Tasmania, plus suburbs in Queensland, saving money on accommodation.
Using Aussie House Sitters and Mindahome Australia to promote themselves, the Adelaide-based couple stay in the home of the property owner, which has saved them thousands in accommodation fees, and get to their destinations by car, but have flown once.
Mrs Kohler said they love sitting other people's pets as they are not allowed their own in their retirement village that they live in.
"Our enjoyment from the pets we sit is so rewarding," she said.
House sitting and pet sitting is where someone lives in the home to look after the property or animals.
Ruth Myers is the co-owner of Happy House Sitters, an online platform where sitters and people looking for someone to stay and look after their homes and pets for free meet.
Mrs Myers said grey nomads made up a significant portion of the service and were often perceived as highly dependable by homeowners.
She said many people in rural areas preferred homeowners in caravans as they often wanted someone to stay on and care for the land, but not necessarily be in the house.
Mrs Myers said grey nomads had told her they enjoyed being able to see different places and loved the companionship they had with people's animals, plus the connections they made with people they would not have met otherwise.
She said the key to a successful house sit was both the sitter and the property owner carefully considering their arrangement and making sure they understood each other's expectations, before starting the placement.
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