Episode
Chloe Stead – From Navy Life to Nomadic Living, Caminos, Grief & Choosing a Simpler Way
- Podcast
- Tough Girl Podcast
- Published
- May 21, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3572
- Processing state
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Summary
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 prese…