Adventure grannies are amazing. This one has grey hair, she knits, she looks like your usual granny. But she’s not ordinary, she’s an adventure granny! Dedicated to joie de vivre, the joy of life, our adventure granny rushes around to a non-stop timetable that would exhaust someone half her age. Meet Judie our guest adventure granny.
Non-Stop Adventure Granny
Adventure granny, Judie has been to Africa 16 times, all around the world endless times, and just recently returned from Antarctica. Not even COVID stopped this senior lady from enjoying herself in far-flung adventures around Australia. She took off on a road trip with a mission to distribute her knitted trauma teddies to under-privileged outback kids.
Unlike other oldies, when you ask Judie how she is, you will not be bored with details of hip replacements or arthritis creams, but be treated to the latest highlights of her social calendar. It doesn’t matter that she lives alone for Adventure Granny makes friends wherever she goes.
Whenever she goes camping at music festivals, young festival goers invite her over to their campfire and she entertains them with stories of her life.
Like Charlene in the song, ‘She’s been to Nice and the Isle of Greece where she sipped champagne on a yacht.’ You name it anywhere in the world and Adventure Granny has been there, because before she was an adventure granny, she was always Miss Busy, overly energetic and hyperactive. Oh, for such energy!
Judie has worked around the world as a nurse, completed a university degree at 62. She continued casual nursing well into her senior years and thrives on adrenalin. She has to be busy all the time.
Adventure Granny Celebrates every Birthday with an Adventure
For her 79th birthday, our senior adventuress booked a flying lesson. The young instructor sensed he had a special lady aboard and took her for an extended flight and even threw in a few aerial acrobatics. Judie was rapt!
This was not Judie’s first flight or aerial sports adventure. On previous birthdays, she’s bungee jumped, para-sailed and even jumped out of planes. All year round, she snorkels, dives, treks and explores canyons. Go Judie!
Endless Bucket List
She’s travelled from Senegal to Ghana on a truck, mingled with nomads in the Gobi desert, abseiled over the Victoria falls and been nearly everywhere on this planet. Mexico, Chile, Bolivia, Equador, Galapagos Islands, Patagonia, Argentina, All through Europe, Turkey, Israel and many, many more, too many to mention.
Also amazing, is the fact that Judy is not a five star traveler. No, indeed. She is happy to bunk down in a tent, a youth hostel, wherever. Judie tells me she always sleeps like a log. Out of pure exhaustion, I’m thinking.
Judie’s bucket list is huge and though emptying, still has destinations and experiences left. There’s no stopping her. She is blessed with good genes, excellent health and boundless energy. At just five foot, Judie is a pocket rocket fueled by an everlasting battery.
Adventure Granny Gives Back
Interspersed between her travel and physical adventures, Judie volunteers for three theatres, two zoos, her church and works at an op shop. Lately, she has offered her services at 7am at a school, making pancakes with Nuttella for 500 kids before school. On any given day, Judie has a tight schedule involving five or six outings. Life is non-stop for this octogenarian!
Carpe Diem
The lesson we can take from Judie is ‘Live life to the full’, Carpe Diem or ‘suck the marrow out of life.’ Life is a gift, treasure it and get busy before it runs out. Life is fleeting. We are only here once. Go for it!
Joni Scott is an Australian author with two published novels: Whispers through Time and The Last Hotel. She co-hosts a women’s blog; https://whisperingencouragement.com/ and has her own website; https://joniscottauthor.com.
Read more inspiring reads on our encouragement blog Whispering encouragement.
Photo Source; Judie on a bridge climb.
