For Ell Regan popping off to the shops takes a little longer than most might expect.
She braves a 10-hour round trip through 900 kilometres of remote country in the Northern Territory to cross the border into Queensland to pick up her groceries in Mount Isa once a month.
But the young country musician, mum-of-one and former Sydney resident says she wouldn't have it any other way.
As soon as lockdowns lifted in Sydney, Ms Regan carted her family off to red-dirt country.
"The city was getting too much for me, so I piled my husband Les, my little baby Clancy, and our two dogs into a caravan and we became the crazy family that winged it and moved away and it's actually working out," she says.
Ms Regan is the resident musician at the remote Barkly Homestead in the Northern Territory, between Camooweal and Tennant Creek.
The family has been living there for a little over a month.
She says it's a happy accident that they made it their home.
"We were actually aiming for Katherine or Darwin. But I just sent an email to the Barkly Homestead to see if they'd like me to play there for a few nights.
"They asked me if I'd like to stay for the whole tourist season.
"Now I keep joking that they're going to have to kick me out because I'm not going to want to leave."
'The Woolies girl'
Last month, she posted a video to her TikTok joking that she "really need[ed] some Tim Tams" so was just "popping down the road" for 10 hours to pick up her groceries.
The video racked up nearly 120,000 views and saw Ms Regan thrust into the media spotlight.
"It went off. I'm now called the Woolies girl," she says.
"Obviously if you haven't been to rural Australia, you wouldn't understand but this is just normal life for mums out here on cattle stations that have to go into town to get nappies.
"A few news places took it and turned it into something a bit silly.
"One thing I didn't want was people who have literally been doing this their whole lives to see this new chick rock up and make a spectacle of it when it's one of the most normal things you can do."
Hydralyte and hair bands
When you travel that distance for your grocery haul, you don't want to forget anything, Ms Regan says, adding that there are some must-have items at the top of her list.
"Hair bands! You wouldn't believe I haven't been able to find hair bands anywhere," she says.
"Hydralyte is another big one for my husband. He is a diesel mechanic and always working out in the sun.
"Bulk nappies, fresh fruit and fresh milk. It's ridiculous, but the one thing I miss is fresh milk."
The highlight of the long trip is the clothes shopping.
"I love myself some Kmart shopping, getting a new pair of boots. My husband goes crazy for BCF.
Country fever
Ms Regan says the monthly shopping expeditions are a small price to pay to live in "the beautiful outback".
"Tourist season is starting a lot earlier and I speak to people every day who have bought caravans and escaped the city.
"It's its own lifestyle out here. It's a whole new world. I get up in the morning and it's just silent.
"And the best part is the people you meet, the people from all over the country who tell you all their stories about how the hell we all ended up in one of the most remote roadhouses in Australia."
