The odd trio came about by chance, but Ms Hardman has embraced her unique life, as has the small but devoted fan club who follow her cat’s Facebook page ‘Pablo the Bengal Does Oz’.

“My mum always told me when you get a pet it was for life,” Ms Hardman said.

“My dad also said when he’s gone I should buy a good 4WD and a van and travel Australia.”

After five years of looking at caravans and weighing up her options, Ms Hardman pulled the trigger and set off as a full-time grey nomad in 2016, leaving behind her life on the Sunshine Coast.

What she didn’t leave behind was her four-year-old Bengal cat, Pablo, who thankfully, has embraced life on the road.

“He loves meeting people, they invite him into their caravans and he goes to sleep on their beds and they love it,” Ms Hardman said.

Pablo’s days are quite simple. He sleeps on the end of Ms Hardman’s bed, has a morning shower with her (“he loves water”) dries himself off, and sits outside the van on his harness and tether three times a day, and is taken for a walk once a day.

“I’ve trained him to do a fair bit, so Pablo sits for his food, he knows how to shake hands, jump up, jump down, I can say ‘this way’ and he definitely understands ‘no’,” Ms Hardman said.

“I can walk him on a leash down any main street. He’s OK with trucks and bikes, everything. This makes him very easy to handle. When we go for a walk I take a pram and if I see a dog I’ll say ‘up’ and he’ll jump into his pram.”

The pigeon

It was during one of these strolls around town that Ms Hardman and Pablo came across a stranded pigeon fledgling in Moss Vale.

“I saw this fledgling sitting against a shop front on the floor. I went up to her and she had an injured wing and leg,” she said.

“I rang around trying to find a carer but there was no one that would take her, and because pigeons are listed as feral animals and not wildlife the vets won’t fix her.

“I didn’t really want her because I wasn’t sure how Pablo would react but I took her and sort of got attached.”

The pigeon became Bobbi-girl, the unusual third member of the caravanning family.

Ms Hardman said it only took about five days for her to train Pablo to the bird, and now both animals were content to ignore each other.

“He was more shocked than anything when I bought her inside,” Ms Hardman

“Pablo has never been a real hunter, which is strange because Bengals are meant to be a hybrid of the Asian leopard cat and a domestic cat, but his breeder said he was an F11 which means he’s 11 generations removed from the initial Asian leopard cat breeding.”

Ms Hardman has been living with Bobbi-girl for nearly two years now, and uses a product called ‘pigeon pants’ so the bird can roam loose around the caravan cleanly.

“Every night she comes up to me when I’m sitting at the table for scratches, and last night she fell asleep with my granddaughter under the blankets,” she said.

“They are very friendly, they love humans, and they are smart.”

The secret to training a perfect caravan cat?

Ms Hardman’s method for training the perfect caravan cat started from day one, when she selected which kitten she wanted from the litter.

“I was a cat person but I didn’t know what Bengal cats were until my co-worker showed me some pictures,” she said.

“A lady who came into our work bred them, she was called Catwalk Bengals, and I decided to put a deposit down for a first-pick kitten.”

Ms Hardman said when she looked over the litter, she was drawn to Pablo for his “droopy sad eyes” and because he was the most dominant kitten.

“I didn’t want a skittish or scared cat and I thought a dominant cat would be better,” she said.

“I had a lot of time on my hands when I got him, and I did a lot of training.”

Now 13-years-old, Ms Hardman said Pablo has gotten more confident and intelligent as he ages.

“He’s a super good cat and I’m so proud of him,” she said.

“He was the first cat to ever go on the Mary Valley Rattler steam train, and the first cat to ride in the Richmond Wagon Adventures horse carriage. He’s been the first cat to do a lot of things.”

Pablo’s hilarious Facebook page came about because of Ms Hardman’s friends.

“When I first started travelling I stopped posting on my personal page and all my friends kept asking me ‘what’s happening, how is Pablo?’ so I thought it would be easier to start a Pablo page.

Over the last nine years, Pablo has steadily grown his online fan club to 2,500 people, mostly by meeting them on his travels.

“He’s got a lot of fans, even some in American and Japan. I try to make people laugh, and it’s fun to showcase what you can do with cats,” Ms Hardman said.

“Because of my health I can’t do too much so my hobby has become Pablo and taking pictures of him.”

Travelling solo

There has been a sharp rise in retired women taking to the roads solo, and Ms Hardman said she’s seen it first hand.

“I’m on a solo ladies camping Facebook page and I think there is something like 25,000 or 30,000 women in it. The era has changed and women have become very independent,” she said.

“Starlink I believe is a game changer, because you have reception everywhere you go. I think everyone should have it just for the safety aspect in case your car breaks down or you get injured.”

Ms Hardman says she makes her grey nomad lifestyle work by renting out her property on the Sunshine Coast.

“I couldn’t afford to travel and have a home so I’ve rented out my property and that gives me a bit of income,” she said.

“Living on the road full-time requires a lot of maintenance, planning, and it can cost a lot. My caravan insurance alone is $380 a month and fuel can be $600 a month.”

Ms Hardman said she mostly free camps or goes to showgrounds, unless it’s hot and she needs power to run her aircon.

“I hate caravan parks and Pablo does too. He likes to have space around the van to walk around on his tether,” she said.

This winter, the trio have settled down in Emerald to spend time with Ms Hardman’s grandchildren.

“It’s lovely because there is a creek down the back and I can live in the background without being on top of everybody,” she said.

“My next trip will be to Airlie Beach, and then once it starts to warm up a bit I plan to go and see parts of New South Wales I’ve never been to before.”

Happy travels!