Chloe Stead – From Navy Life to Nomadic Living, Caminos, Grief & Choosing a Simpler Way

In this episode of the Tough Girl Podcast, we meet Chloe Stead — 42 years old and currently living in a rustic tiny shack in the bush in Tasmania with her husband — but her journey to this simple life has been anything but ordinary.

Since 2008, Chloe has been living a travelling, nomadic lifestyle. After leaving school at 18 to join the Navy and later working in health and safety in Perth, Australia, she reached a quiet breaking point while staying at the Whim Creek Hotel in 2006. A simple but powerful thought surfaced: There has to be more to life than this.

Within a week, she sold her house, packed up a shipping container, took her dog, and began driving solo around Australia with just $500 AUD — despite being petrified of sleeping in a tent. That leap of faith set the course for the next chapter of her life.

But Chloe’s story is not just about adventure — it’s about grief, reinvention, and learning to live on her own terms.

After the sudden death of her partner Willy in 2013, everything stopped. In the depths of grief, Chloe stepped away from social media, let go of her old life, and slowly began again. Meditation, yoga retreats, and eventually walking the Camino de Santiago in 2014 became turning points. Carrying everything on her back, she discovered a deep love for minimalism, simplicity, and self-reliance.

Over the years, Chloe has:

• Walked multiple Caminos including the Camino del Norte, Camino Primitivo and Via de la Plata

• Hitchhiked and walked along the beaches of Uruguay

• Taken a 10,000km road trip with her dog Dexter

• Lived off less than $100 AUD per week

• Worked seasonally to fund months of adventure

• Cycled from Alaska to San Francisco (86 nights in a tent!)

• Walked the Wales Coast Path and the Portuguese Camino

• Chosen to stay off social media to be fully present on trail

• Now married, Chloe continues to design a life built around freedom, movement, and intentional simplicity. With big adventures planned for 2026 — including walking the South West Coast Path and the GR10 — she shares honestly about navigating partnership on trail, managing knee issues, strength training gains, and why getting to the start line is often the hardest part.

This conversation is about:

• Letting go of possessions and expectations

• Living with uncertainty

• Processing grief through movement

• Creating “trail life” off-trail

• Why you don’t need technology to experience adventure

• Trusting that the universe conspires to keep you going

• And why you should “give it a crack and get to the start line.”

• Chloe’s message is simple but powerful:

Life is uncertain. Don’t put things off. If there’s something you want to do — take the plunge.

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Show notes

• Who is Chloe

• 42 years old, currently living in Tasmania in a rustic tiny shack in the bush with her husband 

• Living a travelling lifestyle since 2008

• What was the lead up to making changes in her life

• Leaving school at 18 and joining the Navy

• 2006 living in Perth, Australia  and having a job in health and safety

• Starting to feel different when staying at the Whim Creek Hotel

• Thinking that there has to be more to life

• 100 things to see and do in Australia before you die 

• Selling her house within a week, filling up a shipping container

• Taking her dog and starting to drive solo around Australia 

• Being encouraged by a friend - to just do it! 

• Not being in tune with herself 

• Highlights from spending time on the road, driving around Australia 

• Starting off with $500 AUD and getting a job 

• Spending the trip just driving around 

• Being petrified of staying in a tent

• Pitching her tent and staying in it for the first time

• Meeting a boy, Willy (which wasn’t part of the plan!) 

• Deciding to move to New Zealand (2009 - 2010)

• Backpacking around Europe for 3 months

• Planning every day and having a very tight schedule 

• Feeling disheartened with her experience 

• Needing to do something spontaneous 

• Backpacking around Cambodia for 3 weeks with no plan 

• Seeing a flyer about yoga and meditation

• Struggling with mental health and things in life 

• Doing a yoga retreat in Australia and doing a deep dive into meditation 

• Starting to work in farming around Australia 

• 2013 and the year of her 30th birthday

• Deciding to go to South America to visit Machu Picchu 

• Willys death and how it stopped everything 

• Not knowing how to cope

• The funeral and not wanting to live where she was living or work where she was working 

• Getting rid of her phone and getting off social media

• Starting again and wanting to forget 

• Needing to deal with the grief 

• Going back to mediation and doing a workshop which helped 

• Learning about the Caminos in Spain 

• Walking the camino in April 2014 (The way of st James)

• Not knowing what she was doing and carrying far too much stuff

• Learning a lot on the way 

• Not being very open on the French Camino 

• Learning a lot from Willys death and making a promise to him 

• Doing what she wanted to do with her life - no excuses 

• Falling in love with a minimalistic, simple way of life

• Waling with everything on her back and how it agreed with her

• Finding her passion and purpose 

• Living this simple life

• Needing to create trail life, while off trail 

• 2016 - waling the Camino del Norte and the Camino Primitivo

• 2017 - hitchhiked and walked along the beaches in Uruguay

• Feeling safe and not feeling alone 

• 2018 - ten years since starting her nomadic journey and taking a 10,000km road trip with her dog - Dexter

• Needing to sort out her stuff in the shipping container 

• Feeling so much lighter without all of her possessions 

• Losing Dexter in 2019 

• Doing a silent retreat in Bali 

• Wanting to do a 5 year walk around the world

• Not having any more responsibility and having ultimate freedom 

• Working in Tasmania in 2020 and dealing with Covid and why it was so difficult 

• Buying a block of land and a 1976 Volkswagen Kombi Van

• Self reliance and simplicity 

• 2022 and the world starting to open up again 

• Starting to work again to make money and giving up on the idea of the 5 yr walk around the world

• Her 40th birthday and wanting to walk 2,000km to celebrate it 

• Meeting Will 

• 2023 - Walking the Wales Coast Path and the Portuguese Camino

• Discovery the Tough Girl Youtube Channel! 

• Buying the Cicerone - Wales Coast Path Guidebook

• Trying to plan the first few days

• Wild camping on her first night 

• How things just kept working out 

• Heading to Bali in 2024

• Doing some backpacking in 2025, throughout Vietnam, Laos and Thailand

• Needing to thru hike these caminos by herself 

• Finishing the Camino Via de la Plata.

• Getting married! 

• Being the planner in the relationship 

• Deciding to do a bike trip in America - cycling from Alaska to San Fransisco (86 nights in the tent)

• The challenges of adventures with a partner and navigating them together 

• Needing to focus more on recovery and needing to put more effort into training before adventures 

• Adventures booked for 2026 - Walking the SWCP and the GR10! Starting 1st June!

• Thinking this is crazy and how am I going to do this! 

• Why you just need to start and the rest will unfold 

• Why getting to the start line is always tricky - mentally 

• Noticing her improvements in running at park run after strength training

• Having some knee problems 

• Starting on the creatine and having more energy during the summer

• The South West Coast Path 

• Not being on social media and being in the moment.

• Final words of advice for other women who want to live life differently and live life on their own terms 

• Life is pretty uncertain, and definitely our time here is uncertain. 

• Don’t put things off to the future. If there’s something that you want to do, take the plunge.

• The universe conspires to keep you going 

• Learning to live with less over the years and how money has become more abundant 

• Working for 6/7 months of the year, and 1 month of earnings goes towards her future 

• Living off less than $100 AUD a week 

• Stopping working after earning $20,000 dollars and coming back to a $3,000 dollar tax cheque

• Give it a crack - get to the start line.

• Keep that dream at the front of your mind 

• Don’t be afraid NOT to use technology on trails - walking the trails with just a guidebook or map     

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