Why I swam from Europe to Asia in my 60s

Daring, adventurous travel was once perceived as a male-dominated pursuit, but that view has changed over the years and older women are leading the charge.

“More free time and fewer responsibilities mean you can focus once again on yourself and create new life experiences, and travel is one activity that does just that,” says psychologist Javier Labourt. “It brings together self-knowledge, adventure, enjoyment and personal growth, all of which are important factors for health, wellbeing and resilience as you age.”

And women are going it alone, too. Research found that 71 per cent of Aussies have travelled solo, of which half are women. Where once female travellers were viewed as risk-takers, a shift in attitudes means they’re now seen as adventurous.

Labourt adds that when you embrace adventure whether solo, as a couple or with friends, it gives you a boost of courage because you’re walking into unfamiliar territory.

“In turn, travel further advances your communication skills as you meet new people; it expands your world view, which then increases your levels of compassion and empathy, and because unexpected things will always be waiting around the corner for you, you’ll be enhancing your problem-solving skills.”

Here, three women share with us their unconventional travel adventures – some alone, some with others – and how they changed their lives.

“I have learnt not to believe everything I hear”

Catherine DeVrye, in her 60s, is a Sydney-based author and motivational speaker. Travelling mostly solo over the years has made her more appreciative of her life.

“Travel was not on the agenda when I was younger. My family never had much money, but as an IBM executive and motivational speaker, I’ve been privileged to travel for work, then tag on trips to over 140 countries. My journeys have occasionally been part of an organised group or with a friend, but are mostly solo adventures.

In my 30s, I cycled over the Andes without a support vehicle – not my smartest move. For my 40th birthday I climbed Kilimanjaro. And I trekked to Timbuktu in my 50s.

To celebrate my 60th milestone, I decided to trek beyond Everest Base Camp because I love extreme landscapes. I also thought it would be a much cooler thing to do than a birthday party with a bunch of friends telling me how old I am.

“I also thought it would be a much cooler thing to do than a birthday party with a bunch of friends telling me how old I am.”

I travelled to Kathmandu alone and then joined a group to embark on the 3½-week trek. It was rough, but I wanted to challenge myself physically and mentally.

Two years ago, I swam from Europe to Asia taking part in the Dardanelles Hellespont Cross Swim in Turkey. I’ve always been a fitness junkie, so this race was another way to test my fitness levels, but perhaps also to defy my age. I completed the 4½-kilometre distance in less than two hours.

On some of my solo trips I’ve felt unsafe, even though I try to manage risk as best as possible. This involves researching the country ahead of time, staying at a centrally located hotel, but mostly talking to people, which results in more serendipitous experiences.

On one such occasion, I ended up skiing in Lebanon just by chatting to an American woman at the airport in Kuwait. The security situation in Lebanon was risky at the time because of ISIS activity in nearby Syria, but because she knew someone with access to intelligence, we decided it would be safe for two single women to spend a weekend on the slopes. And it was.

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Overall, I’ve learnt not to believe everything I hear. I’ve travelled to the Middle East and was treated with kindness by men and women, which shattered preconceived stereotypes. In El Salvador, I met women who had lost their husbands during the civil war. They asked me to speak on change and resilience and it’s been my most memorable speech to date.

I started life in an orphanage, so visiting developing countries always reminds me of how fortunate I am to be born in a developed country and for all the opportunities I’ve had in life.

I’ll continue to travel alone and remain curious. Age is just a number so, if you have your health, go ahead and travel while you can. Be open and prepared to be surprised, but also grateful to return home.”

“Living the dream is possible”

Victoria Rose, 71, a Melbourne-based leadership trainer and founder of We Build Your Bot, travelled solo on an age pension.

“I’ve been travelling solo since I was 18. Working holidays to the UK were something that young Australians did back in the late ’60s. Little did I know that half a century later, just after my 68th birthday, I would embark on the greatest solo adventure of my life.

However, I had to go through some tough love first. Although I’d published a book called How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life, aimed at women over 60, my life was not the best it could be. I was unhappy and felt like a fraud. After renting a little flat for 12 years, the landlord wanted to move back, and finding a new home was proving difficult.

Determined to find a way out, even though I didn’t have much money, I decided to fall back on travel since I loved it so much. Then one day, thanks to my yoga teacher, I figured out how. She told me she was waiting to hear back about a house-sit in Mexico.

That moment changed my life. I’d house-sat in Australia, but the thought of house-sitting overseas had never occurred to me. I googled ‘global house-sitting’ and discovered a new world of opportunity. This included volunteering where, in exchange for work, volunteers receive free meals
and accommodation. I wanted to prove that women can travel and live entirely off an Australian aged pension, and not having to pay for accommodation became the game-changer. To put it simply, limited funds didn’t mean I had to limit my dreams.

Feeling inspired, I landed my first international house-sit. At the time, my money covered a return ticket to Rome and food expenses. Trusting in the process, I decided to allow my journey to unfold. And unfold it did.

“To put it simply, limited funds didn’t mean I had to limit my dreams.”

Over 16 months, I backpacked solo through 10 countries, living entirely off my pension while enjoying many fulfilling life experiences.

In Italy, in exchange for food and accommodation, I taught conversational English to school kids. In Spain, I helped a chef promote her cooking retreats online. I worked with a centre that supported female victims of domestic abuse in Albania, and in the UK I worked with a finance business, building their social media using chatbots. My final destination was Malaysia, where I stayed with an Australian couple I’d met on my travels, before returning home in December 2019.

The question I’m asked most is: was it safe? Sadly, I’ve felt more unsafe in Australia than at any point overseas. My epic trek proved that living the dream is possible. With my hand on my heart, I can now say I’m making the rest of my life the best of my life.”

“Nothing went wrong, but it could have”

Christine Godfrey, is a 60-something Sydney-based TV producer and filmmaker. Travelling with her partner in a four-wheel-drive inspired her to create a new way of life.

“My partner, William, is adventurous. When we first got together, he asked if I was interested in doing a motor rally with him from London to Athens.

Consequently, I went to rally school and learnt how to navigate. Five years later, when a friend of his mentioned that no one had ever driven to the four corners of the world, they began organising a guys-only trip to do it. But as the proposed departure time came closer, each member of the all-male team dropped out.

One November evening in 2006, William asked if I fancied going with him. I said yes and we began preparing our journey to the four corners of the world, which we identified through the Mercator projection as being Nord Kapp in Norway, Cape Spear in Newfoundland in Canada, Ushuaia in Terra Del Fuego at the tip of South America, and Cape Agulhas near Cape Town in South Africa.

We set out in 2007 in a family four-wheel-drive, which William drove while I navigated. Over a period of 14 months, we covered 90,000 kilometres.

Apart from occasional car trouble, regular police checks and anxiety at border crossings, nothing horrendous went wrong. But it could have. In Mongolia, we were lost in the desert when a military fort with armed soldiers appeared out of nowhere.

“In Mongolia, we were lost in the desert when a military fort with armed soldiers appeared out of nowhere.”

We explained we were off course, but we were guarded in our car for four hours in the midday heat until the commanding officer received confirmation of our identities from the hotel we had stayed in the night before and thankfully let us go.

One of the issues that kept coming up during our trips was how important water is. In Tanzania, we were carrying four-litre water containers and giving them to people wherever the need seemed the greatest. In one instance, we engaged a lady in conversation and found she had to walk 10 kilometres with her donkey to get clean water for her family. We gave her one of our containers and she just sat in the sand and began weeping.

Inspired by this encounter, one of the things we did on our return was to build an off-grid rural home in Bathurst, where we generate our own electricity and collect our own water, aiming for a sustainable way of life.

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The journey brought home to me that we live on the most incredible planet. Since the four corners drive, I now walk 120 and 160 kilometres each year just to have my feet on the planet and appreciate all it has to offer. My advice to other women who want to expand their horizons is to believe in yourself and start your journey.”

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