The Challenges of being older and travelling solo

Wake-up Call for Solo and Older Cruisers

As widely reported, on 25 October 2025, 80-year-old Ms Suzanne Rees, who was travelling solo, disembarked from the small cruise ship Coral Adventurer at Lizard Island, near Cairns, Queensland, on the first day of a 60 day circumnavigation cruise of Australia, when the worst tragedy followed.

After disembarking, Ms Rees, who has been described as “healthy and active”, joined a scheduled hike to the island’s hiking peak, known as Cook’s Look. During the climb, it appears she felt unwell and withdrew from the group, returning toward the ship unescorted.

Lizard Island

It was a hot day, around 30 degrees Celsius, and the hike was classified as ‘difficult’. She never re-boarded the Coral Adventurer. It appears the ship did not verify her presence on board after the excursion before departing the island at 3.40pm. It was another five hours, apparently, before authorities were alerted that she was missing. A land and sea search and rescue operation was then launched.

The following morning, her body was found on the island about 50 metres off the hiking trail. The authorities are treating Ms Rees death as “sudden and non-suspicious,” while an investigation into the apparent failure of company protocols to mark her absence is now being undertaken at Cairns by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

120 passengers joined the cruise out of Cairns on Friday 24 October, along with a crew of 46. The cruise has now been cancelled, and passengers are being flown home. 

For many Fremantle Shipping News readers the story will resonate. For a start the Coral Adventurer is a well known visitor to Fremantle and many folk will have seen her coming and going at the port. Here are some of our images of the ship.

And many of our readers, myself included, are fit and active seniors who have recently travelled solo. But this sad incident will really make us think about the risk of fatigue, heat stress and injury, and excursions that might suit younger travellers but not seniors.

Travelling solo certainly increases one’s vulnerability. Although Ms Rees wasn’t strictly ‘solo’, being on a cruise and a hike in the company of others, it appears she was alone when she separated from the hiking group to return to the ship. Travellers who are travelling solo often may have no companion to notice problems, or to call for help, or to signal an issue in time.

When on organised excursions, travellers rely on the operator’s systems for check-in/out, communication, medical readiness. The incident shows what happens when those systems apparently fail: absence unnoticed and departure not delayed.

Some considerations that come to mind from my experience as a solo traveller include:

• Being realistic about fitness and environment. Before signing up for an excursion (especially in remote / rugged / hot conditions), assess whether the activity matches your physical capacity.

• Asking about check-in/out procedures. Ensure the tour operator has clear systems to track participants, conduct rollcalls, radio/communication links.

• Staying within sight of guides, carry a mobile / satellite communicator if available, take note of local signal conditions.

• Inquiring about an exit plan. If you feel unwell during an excursion, inform the guide, don’t attempt to return unassisted. Especially in hot weather or difficult terrain, retracing a route alone can be dangerous.

• Travelling with a companion when possible. Even if solo, you might arrange to pair with another guest or ask the operator for buddy-systems.

The concerns reportedly raised by Ms Rees’ family — “failure of care and common sense” — echo long-standing issues in remote tourism: insufficient supervision, inadequate tracking of participants, departure decisions made without full accounting. No doubt they will all be reviewed once again as a result of this distressing incident.

The death of Ms Rees on Lizard Island is a tragic event and a powerful reminder that beautiful remote destinations come with heightened risks — particularly for solo travellers and those of older age.

Our heartfelt sympathy goes to Ms Rees’s family and friends.

Jean Hudson is our Shipping and Sailing Correspondent and also a regular feature writer and photographer here on the Shipping News. You may also like to follow up her informative Places I Love stories, as well as other feature stories and Freo Today photographs, right here.

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