Helene and Philip Procter have done without a backyard for seven years.

This week they are sharing a view of Castle Hill with 700 or so other members of the CMCA on the shorn turf of Townsville Showground.

Helene missed her garden at first, after they bought a motorhome and left Bundaberg in 1992. "I tried a herb garden in the motorhome, but it kept dying and I had to give it away," she said last week.

The Procters quit their jobs to see Australia when the youngest of their five children left home. They were both aged 45; Helene managed a Katies store and Philip was a surveyor and draftsman with the Department of Primary Industries.

"After the last one left home we said, 'Why are we working? Let's enjoy life', so we gave up our jobs and started travelling," Helene said. "Everyone has a dream, but many leave it too late. We could see a lot of people dying young from cancer and we felt it was best to get out and travel without waiting for super when you are too old or too ill. Since then we've been zig-zagging around Australia, changing course depending on the circumstances and family reasons. When babies are born we tend to come home [to Bundaberg]."

The Procters belong to the Highway Wanderers, a 600 strong chapter of the club comprising dedicated travellers.

They generally move somewhere new every two or three weeks. "If you don't like your backyard, or the grass gets too long you can always move," Philip said.

Helene says they have enjoyed some million dollar views and made thousands of new friends. "Every Australian must go into the Red Centre," she said. "Ayers Rock is many times better than what you see in magazines. There is nothing like the feel of the place. I have stood and watched the sun set over the Olgas and said 'I'm in love, I want to stay here forever.' The moon rise over the Devil's Marbles is just magical. You find there are so many wonderful little moments that put a joy into travelling."

She recalled driving through a dense mist on Eyre Peninsular one afternoon and deciding to stop for the night. Outside they found the mist was swirling up from invisible crashing waves over the Great Australian Bight. "We got out two directors chairs and watched the sun set", she said.

The Procters did nothing but travel for the first year, but have worked as relief managers in caravan parks since then. They have recently bought a 2.4 hectare block in the Sunshine coast hinterland where they plan to spend three or four months a year. "Friends will come in and house sit and enjoy some digging in the garden when we are away", Helene said. "Then if we get tired of travelling we can get back to earth again."

This interview was first printed in the Townsville Bulletin on June 3, 1999.