A cancer diagnosis pushed this couple out on the road to live the life of their dreams

For Sharon Hastie, 65, and her wife Kathy Hall, 67, life on the open road in their housebus has meant freedom and relaxation like they never knew before.

Formerly an IT manager and a police communications manager, respectively, the pair have been together for 18 years and had been living in Auckland, before cashing out of their home and relocating to Paraparaumu Beach.

A nomadic retirement had always been on the cards, with the pair shopping around for five years before they finally found their dream housebus, which they’ve called Ladies in Red, for $85,000 in Christchurch.

The plan to gradually downsize and retire was ticking along, but then when Hall was diagnosed with breast cancer, the plan went into overdrive. Just four months later, in October 2021, they had moved out of their house and into the bus, with their beloved dog Sofia in tow.

Sharon Hastie

Hastie and Hall love the freedom of their travelling lifestyle.

“That was really what made us decide, ‘Gosh, we’re doing it now’,” says Hastie. “Because you don’t know what’s coming tomorrow.”

Fortunately, Hall was finally given the all clear after radiation therapy in November 2022.

The pair spent six months living in the bus on their property in Paraparaumu to acclimatise, and since then, wherever they park is home. They started heading south and just haven’t stopped.

Primarily freedom camping to enjoy more of nature, the couple are also members of the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association and park up at their sites from time to time for added security, and to ethically dispose of their wastewater.

Sharon Hastie

The couple prefer to freedom camp as they are fully self-sufficient and love to take in a scenic view.

Sharon Hastie

Hastie is often behind the camera, taking pictures of Hall and Sofia for their travel blog, Ladies in Red, on Facebook.

“We get the million dollar views for just parking up,” says Hastie.

A self-confessed “hoarder” before they became nomads, Hastie says they gradually adopted a minimalist lifestyle.

“When we first moved into the bus, I brought 10,000 more things than we needed.”

They are gradually clearing out the storage lock-up they still have in Kāpiti, visiting it to do so every six months, donating anything they haven’t used to the Salvation Army.

Sharon Hastie

A stunning view in Kaikōura that the pair woke up to recently.

“We’re still downsizing,” laughs Hastie. “A lot of people have benefited from us moving into the bus.”

“I had all these things that I thought I had to have, and I’ve just been dropping them off. Digital clocks and all sorts of things like that, which we just don’t need because time isn’t really an issue anymore.”

The sense of timelessness and the unhurried pace of life these days is what Hastie says they value most.

“It’s fantastic. I tell you, the most freeing feeling.”

Sharon Hastie

Sofia is at home in the bus and loves to curl up in a sunny spot.

“Thinking, ‘What time is it? What day is it? Oh, I feel like doing something now.’ Not just because I have to do it by a certain time. It’s a really nice feeling.”

Though there isn’t room for the amount of knick-knacks they used to have in their house, Hastie doesn’t feel that their mobile home is low on space.

“We’ve got the driving area at the front and then behind the driver’s area, there’s a lounge area with a four-seater on one side and a three-seater on the other side.”

“And then it’s got a full kitchen that’s got a four-burner stove and oven. There’s a full fridge-freezer, like you have in the house. It’s got a pull-out pantry, a ceiling pantry, and then we have our own separate shower and toilet.

Sharon Hastie

Sofia also enjoys the changes of scenery, including any local wildlife.

“Then you go back into a back area where it’s got two wardrobes, one on either side in a walk-around, and probably a just larger than queen-sized bed.”

“We’re not small ladies. I’m nearly six foot and Kathy is 5’9. What we have is well and truly sizeable enough for us.”

Equipped with just about everything but a washing machine, the couple do their laundry at laundromats, and an investment of $20,000 into solar power has taken care of their energy needs.

They pay a further $99 for wifi from Wireless Nation to have high speed internet wherever they roam, streaming television and shows as they please when it’s cold.

Sharon Hastie

Hastie takes the wheel as they explore the South Island.

When the sun’s out, they like to barbecue and have a glass of wine outdoors, sometimes putting up an awning, or setting up a small enclosed area with a table and chairs.

They also house- and pet-sit as they traverse the country, and say getting to know people’s pets in new places is a way of making fond memories. A recent seven-week stint in Invercargill on a farm had the pair nestling into a rural lifestyle, even cuddling up to the owner’s hens, but they’re always glad to get back on the road.

“We should have done it years ago. We could have done it years ago,” says Hastie. “It was the job that I was doing, I could have worked online a long time ago. I didn’t need to be in the house.”

“One of the great things is meeting like-minded people, and we have met some that have been doing this for at least 18 years and many who have been doing it for more than 10 years,” says Hall.

Sharon Hastie

The couple have a full kitchen on board and Hall often whips up baked goodies, such as these scones.

Sharon Hastie

Hall relaxing inside the bus: The kitchen is at right and the bedroom can be seen through the back.

“There are hundreds of us, and we are often called “the grey nomads”, as it’s cheaper to live this way than upkeeping a house and property.

“You just have to make your mind up and do it,” says Hastie. “You think you need all these things. You think you need the house, but it’s so freeing, and we don’t have to worry about lawns. We don’t do any gardening.

“We carry our own little things, we have little herb pots with us, so that where we’re staying we have our own things like coriander and basil. And daily cleaning takes us five minutes.”

Lou Corry / Stuff

South Base Homes took out Best Commercial Build at the Tiny House Awards with this quality home.