Trailblazer Pamela says “travel far and wide”

Globetrotter Pamela’s thirst for adventure has taken her around the world.

The Bolton Clarke Cazna Gardens retirement village resident, 81, has travelled to Russia, embarked on the Kokoda Track in New Guinea (PNG), worked in London, and stayed in the Northern Territory in a tin shed. 

“Once I even had an unexploded bomb sitting in my front yard for six months when I lived in PNG,” she said.

“I lived in both Port Moresby and Rabaul, while I travelled pretty extensively through there.

“Then, in 1966 I went to London and worked there and travelled up through the Suez Canal, went into to Cairo, through the Mediterranean Sea, and back to the United Kingdom where I worked for Westminster City in the Actuaries Department.

“I also worked in Darwin law courts for a couple of years. My mother used to say that I got on a plane like she would get in a taxi!”

It’s International Day of Older Persons on October 1 and this year’s theme is The Resilience and Contributions of Older Women with Pam perfectly fitting the bill.

She said her advice to others is “take a risk.”  

“Try different things and if there’s something you want to do go out and do it so you can give yourself something to look back on and feel proud of,” she said. 

“Get out and see the world. My advice is travel far and wide.” 

“Be resilient and be your own person and get to know what you’re capable of so you will be able to bounce back if things don’t go your way.

“I often travelled on my own, met people along the way and stayed friends with them.”

International Day of the Older Person also kicks off Queensland Seniors Month, with events running throughout October around the theme ConnectFest.