Tam and Bobbi adventures take them from anti-trans Florida to tiny Rupanyup

On a cool north-west Victorian afternoon familiar faces flow in and out of a small rural cafe, bringing warm greetings and friendly conversation.

It's easy to see why Bobbi Waterman sees Rupanyup, three-and-a-half hours from Melbourne, as home.

Bobbi is a transgender woman who lived the first 60 years of her life in the United States, where she worked as a NASA engineer.

At around the same time as her transitioning, Bobbi found her home state of Florida increasingly hostile — a state experiencing a record-high wave of anti-transgender legislation.

So she and her partner Tam decided to move. To where, was the question.

The couple searched worldwide for a new home, including the east African island nation of Mauritius and Portugal in Europe.

But when one of Tam's daughters moved from Bendigo to Rupanyup in regional Victoria in 2021 the couple learnt that it was an inclusive town for gender diverse people.

They describe Rupanyup, population 500, as the welcoming, safe and inclusive community they searched the globe to find.

"The thing I love so much about Australia is people don't really care [about labels]," Bobbi said.

Never too late

Bobbi met Tam on the top deck of a cruise ship at sunrise in 2013 after booking the trip to process the grief of losing her first wife to breast cancer.

"Tam had lost somebody in her life and understood grief and what I was going through," Bobbi said.

Their friendship evolved and the pair married in Florida where they lived together for eight years.

In 2023, Bobbi came out as transgender after experiencing years of gender dysphoria.

She had been worried she was "too old" to transition, but wife Tam told her it was never too late to become herself.

"They [Tam] gave me clothes to wear, they gave me jewellery and makeup and stuff to try and help me do that," Bobbi said.

But within months the anti-trans sentiment began mounting in the couple's home state.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis passed a law banning transgender girls from participating in girls' sports teams at school and college.

More than 100 anti-trans bills were proposed across the US that year, with 13 passed.

"Florida was already being anti-trans, anti-gay, anti-women," Bobbi said.

"It's illegal for me in Florida to use the women's rest room.

"That's one of the things I actually love the most about Australia. I can walk outside the house, I can walk down the street.

Welcoming Wimmera

Blacksmith Cafe barista Dylan Wall said Bobbi had been warmly welcomed into the small Rupanyup community.

"It's great having Bobbi around," Mr Wall said.

"We always love to see her."

Bobbi says she was pleasantly surprised by the rainbow stickers in shops around town and the openness of her local cafe.

She didn't realise how much stress she had bottled up by "presenting differently to what was inside".

"The stress that I didn't match was a pain that I carried for years. I didn't realise it until I corrected the problem," she said.

Rural adventures followed by thousands

Bobbi has become a source of queer and trans visibility through her social media presence.

She documents her travels, transition, and daily life on a TikTok account, which has over 30,000 followers.

"It was originally Tam and Bob Adventures, it's now Tam and Bobbi Adventures," she joked.

As she started sharing her life online she attracted followers from all over the Wimmera, and the world.

"I know I'm not everyone's cup of tea," she said.