Forget yacht week and Capri, Gen Z want red dirt and Aussie air

More young Aussies than ever before are prioritising a “nomad van life” over an international gap year, their careers and locking themselves into mortgages.

Queensland couple Brody Robinson and Mia Licciardello have been travelling around Australia for more than two years. Photo: Supplied.

More young Aussies than ever before are prioritising a “nomad van life” over an international gap year, their careers and locking themselves into mortgages.

An Australian Associated Press study has revealed that despite the cost of living crisis, youngsters are still travelling but unlike previous generations are looking at ways to make their adventure more low cost.

The survey found 42 per cent of Generation Zs (born between 1997 and 2012) are ditching long-haul international flights in favour of domestic travel, with 22 per cent of respondents saying they’ve blown their travel cash on a van.

High school sweethearts Mia Licciardello and Brody Robinson kicked off what has now been a three-year stint travelling in their van after Covid-19 ruined their international holiday plans.

Originally from Ayr, in North Queensland, Miss Licciardello spent her first five years post-high school studying a Bachelor of Laws, while Mr Robinson did an electrical apprenticeship in Townsville.

The couple said they felt a great amount of freedom. Photo: Supplied.

Miss Licciardello said the couple had enjoyed renting vans for weeks at a time and once their trip to America was off the table they decided to go all in on one of their own.

“Van life has become more normalised, especially since Covid, because you can do a trip for so much longer compared to if you went to Europe or somewhere like that,” said Miss Licciardello.

“We live so cheaply from our self sustainable van, we can cook every meal and sleep in there,” she said.

Mr Robinson said it took a year to find a suitable van that was reliable, spacious and within their budget.

“We noticed the prices of vans shot up just after we bought ours, luckily with my tradie background I gutted the insides and kitted it all up myself,” Mr Robinson said.

The couple, who originally planned on living in their van for only one year, said they felt an immense amount of freedom.

The pair don’t eat out when travelling. Photo: Supplied.

Three years in and they are still loving the adventure. Photo: Supplied.

“We tell everyone the freedom this lifestyle brings, you wake up each day with no plan and choose to explore wherever you want,” Miss Licciardello said.

“We have met people from all over the world who we now call close friends,” she said.

Mr Robinson and Miss Licciardello said they had stopped their trip at three locations to work for six-month periods before hitting the road again with their tanks full.

“We have worked a ski season at Perisher and Jindabyne in the winters, and at a hotel, it’s great to build a sense of community in somewhere that was still so new to us,” Mr Robinson said.

The couple have recently built up their online presence and have begun producing paid content for brands.

Miss Licciardello said before the trip began she had never owned a camera.

“We’re not influencers, but we also want to take photos and videos for brands to use on their own social media accounts and it’s been so great to have that extra income,” Miss Licciardello said.

Queensland couple Mia Licciardello and Brody Robinson now make content on the road. Photo: Supplied.

The couple had faced several challenges on their escapade such as working around the needs of their cavoodle Miley, finding free or affordable campsites, daily cold showers and working around the weather.

“Things you should consider are that if you and your travel partner can stay in the van for an entire week sometimes when the weather is rainy,” Miss Licciardello said.

“Being on the lookout for park rangers, being safe, missing our family and friends and planning our next moves around the weather are all things we have to consider,” she said.

The couple said their adventures had taught them to live in the moment and to not worry too far into the future.

“At the moment we’re not worried about earning heaps of money or having a house, you can’t book a camp site six months in advance because you have no idea where you’re going to be,” Miss Licciardello said.

“We take everyday as it comes, if you like to plan ahead the van forces you to live in the moment,” she said.