NONI GOVE is the winner of the 2005 Get Up & Go Award for Australia’s most adventurous senior. Noni only started travelling at the age of 50, but she has since visited almost 50 countries and is determined to make a difference in the world. MIONE PEACOCK reports.

While most people half her age are tucked away in bed every morning, Noni Gove is out making the most of the empty beach and 7am waves on her boogie board.

But last month 67-year-old Noni swapped surfing at her home beach, Sydney’s Bondi, for skinny-dipping in icy mountain streams when she travelled to Canada for her latest adventure. Noni spent August hiking and bike riding in Canada, as well as living among cougars, wolves, snakes and porcupines at Birch Lake with her 38-year-old son Will and his family. She also travelled across the country by train, and then visited Hawaii on her way home. "I have a friend who swims with the turtles there, so I thought I’d check it out," she says.

Noni makes most of her travel choices on a whim, rarely booking ahead, and usually travelling alone. Although she only started travelling when she was 50, she’s seen a lot of the world in this time: Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Mexico, Greece, Tonga, Nepal, Tibet, South Korea, the Netherlands and many more. "It's about 40 or 50 countries now – I’ve really been bitten by the travel bug," she says.

"I had always wanted to travel overseas as a teenager, then marriage and kids came along, so it wasn’t until I got divorced at 50 that I was able to fulfil my wishes. I was earning good money and my ex-husband didn't like to travel, so the divorce set me free to do what I had always wanted to do – visit Europe. I backpacked for six months around 18 countries including the UK, Europe and Scandinavia, plus Hong Kong and Thailand."

Since retiring last year from her work as a remedial massage therapist, Noni has had more time to travel. "I often just get a round-the-world ticket and go," she says.

Sleeping cheap in paradise
Noni saves up for her travels by walking everywhere, choosing not to have a car, and always asking other people where to find the best bargains. For example, when planning a trip to Asia, she discovered it is cheaper to book through the travel agents in Cabramatta, a largely Asian community in western Sydney.

Noni seldom pre-arranges accommodation and often snaps up the best deals on arrival. "Once I arrived in LA airport and looked on a board for a cheap guest house. I found one with a swimming pool and they picked you up, gave you a complimentary drink of alcohol, a continental breakfast, a free bus trip to the beach and a lift back to the airport – all for US$12!" she says. "I have been offered a bed in private homes, shared dorms with five young lads, slept on the footpath in Paris and outside a bakery in Santorini. I had my own hut in an orchard in Thailand, a bed of rocks in South Korea, and I've slept on a mat on the floor many times. I have also stayed in five-star hotels."

She prefers cheap accommodation and staying with locals "to get to know the culture and lives of the inhabitants. I have learned patience and tolerance, and gained an understanding of other cultures, traditions, and religions," she says.

Noni usually travels solo, but she is never lonely. "I have travelled alone 39 times to 20 different countries. I find when I travel alone, others are more likely to start a conversation, and I am not backward in approaching people. I offer a helping hand when I can see a need, and I have made lifelong friends from people I have met along the way," she says.

The bright side of life
Wherever she goes, Noni brings her infectious laughter with her. As co-founder of the Bondi Laughter Club, she has taught the benefits of laughter at Probus meetings and retirement homes, and last year she held laughter club sessions with Catholic nuns and homeless teenage girls in South Korea while she was there teaching English.

Laughter has influenced the way Noni travels. "I am much more likely to see the funny side of things – serious issues can be let go of more easily with a laugh," she says.

Noni also tries to squeeze her other loves – massage, Qi Gong, horse riding and polo cross – into her trips. A horse rider all her life, after growing up in Mossvale, NSW, she spent ten years as a volunteer teaching riding to people with disabilities.

A second family in Thailand
Noni is the type of person who goes with the flow and seizes opportunities when they arise. A chance meeting with a man at a beach on a Thai island in 2002 sparked her ongoing love of teaching and Thailand. "I was coming out of the water at Koh Samet and got chatting to a man who invited me to visit his monastery school. I was invited to teach English to the novice Buddhist monks," she says. "Six months later I found myself going back to Thailand with classes of about 40 high school-age boys. It was a challenge, but a wonderful experience. I am never one to miss an opportunity."

One of the greatest highlights of her travels was meeting the Dalai Lama. She waited all day and then came back at dawn to be blessed by him. During this trip to India, she stayed in Bodh Gaya at a monastery where the Buddha was enlightened. There were no baths or showers, and she kept herself cool in the 42-degree heat by sitting in a plastic tub of water. "I wasn't the only occupant of my humble room – mice were swarming everywhere and running into bags of flour and rice."

Wrestling cows in Dharamsala, was another of Noni's adventures in India. When a cow was blocking traffic, she took it by the horns and pushed it out of the way of the cars. "People were shocked – I got quite a few stares."

Noni also lived in a Tibetan settlement in Paonta Sahib, India, with a family of Tibetan refugees, whom she continues to support. She experienced life in a Tibetan school where the children's father worked. "It was amazing – I'm 'momo' (grandmother) to twins, Kalsang and Lhandon."

As for scary moments, Noni had to be rescued by police from a car during massive flooding in Thailand, and she encountered deadly snakes in Korea. But Noni maintains that she hasn't had a bad experience whilst travelling. "It's all just part of the adventure," she laughs.

Where to next?
For the moment, Noni is enjoying the buzz of winning the Get Up & Go Award and is planning her prize trip to Vietnam. "I am excited beyond belief – I can hardly sit still," she says.

"I'll take my daughter, Bindi, with me to Vietnam, as she and I have lots of fun travelling together, and she always encourages me to take off on my hair-brained adventures. Vietnam is a wonderful country."

As for other overseas adventures, Noni has lots of ideas. "There's still so much more I want to do. Walking across Ireland is still on my list, Bhutan's on my list, and I want to live with the nomads in Morocco.

"Everytime I visit somewhere, I meet people who say 'you've got to do this' and it makes me want to visit somewhere else – the more I see, the more I want to see. I’m not done yet though – not by a long chalk."

Australia has more than one adventurous senior, and the competition for finalists was tough. MIONE PEACOCK introduces our five runners up.

David Nobbs, 65
David Nobbs almost didn’t make it onto his flight to South America after his hip replacement set off airport security alarms. But after some furious explaining, he was back on his way to begin a 4,500-kilometre motorcycle adventure from La Paz, in Bolivia, across the Andes Mountains to the Pacific Coast and back again.

"Riding my motorcycle 90km/hr, sending plumes of water high into the air was an incredible feeling – as though we were waterskiing," he says.

But David also had to overcome challenges, such as getting lost in the dark with no petrol, near Chile, and riding through landslides near the Amazon River. "We went from exhilarating heights to the depths of despair," he says. “Within days of departure, three of our riders were hospitalised due to riding accidents as we zigzagged up the steep dirt roads into the mountains – fortunately, my bike held fast to the road."

South America is only one of many adventures David has had since turning 60 five years ago. His other journeys include riding a motorcylce over the highest road in the world, riding through France and learning to drive steam trains in Poland.

David’s other love – vintage microcars and goggomobils – keep him busy the rest of the time. As part of his latest adventure, in May this year, he travelled to Germany and Spain to race in microcar rallies. “I’m also currently restoring rare goggomobil cars. Or when things get a little quiet at home, I make use of my commercial pilot’s licence and go flying helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft."

Dot Miller, 68
No longer satisfied with jumping out of planes or joy flights in fighter planes, self-confessed adrenaline-junkie, Dot, was drawn to the great white continent.

“Going to Antarctica was a life-long dream. It’s an experience that will stay with me forever, especially seeing my first giant iceberg. It was just so beautiful, it was like a dream – I had to keep pinching myself to make sure I was really there," she says.

Her trip, with her daughter Carolyne, started with 22 hours in planes to reach Ushuaia, the southern-most city in the world, located at the base of Argentina; then she stepped aboard the MV Orlova for a confrontation with the dreaded Drake Passage, one of the roughest stretches of water in the world.

The only way to Dot could get to land – or ice – was by walking up and down a steep gangplank, climbing three flights of stairs and by travelling in zodiacs (inflatable boats), after layering up with thermals, jumpers, jackets, hats, scarves, gloves and cameras.

Her many Antarctic adventures included witnessing cracking glaciers calve into the icy waters, marvelling at seals and thousands of penguins, exploring an old whaling station, and enduring days of rain, hail and sleet.

Dot later swapped 0-degree Antarctic temperatures for tropical South America, where she did tango dancing, went to a gaucho ranch to see Argentinian cowboys in action and walked about 20 kilometres a day to take in the sights.

“I never cease to be amazed at her sense of adventure – she has more get up and go than anyone I know and just can’t get enough of life," her daughter, Carolyne Jasinski, says. “Next stop for Dot, if she could, would be outer space."

Ian Metcher, 90
What better way to celebrate your 90th birthday than by hanging upside down 1,000-metres in the air?

In May this year, Ian Metcher turned 90 in style – piloting a plane and doing aerobatic stunts over the Jandakot Aerodrome in WA. His feat earned him a place in the Guinness Book of Records as 'The Oldest Competing Aerobatic Pilot in the World'.

Ian has been flying ever since he passed his unrestricted pilots licence on his 75th birthday. He was drawn to flying after being diagnosed with lung cancer (from which he later recovered) and the removal of half a lung, which prevented him from renewing his diving licence.

With his wife, Pat, Ian learned to scuba dive at the age of 71, and took dive trips to the Great Barrier Reef, Rottnest Island, Exmouth, Abrolhous, Bali and the Phillipines. Ian spent ten years of his life diving, with nearly 70 hours underwater. "He decided he needed a new challenge," says his daughter, Gillian Cuss.

But his adventures don’t stop at diving and flying. Ian has spent the 30 years since his retirement, at age 60, living life to the fullest. His other journeys include trips to China, India and the US, travelling around Europe and North Africa for 16 months, and driving across Australia in a motorhome.

Elizabeth Tindle, 66
In July, Elizabeth took time off from her job as a psychologist at a Queensland University to travel to Canada to play for the over-60s American basketball team in the World Masters Games.

She has played basketball for over 50 years and still plays on Tuesday every week, as well as coaching. Although she has a pacemaker, Elizabeth also swims every Saturday with a swimming club and participates in 65-69-years age groups events in 'Aussi' Masters carnivals all over Queensland.

Elizabeth recently travelled to Ecuador, the Amazon jungle and the Galapagos Islands, where she worked studying flamingoes for three years in the 1970s. "I had my first child in Ecuador – he's now 27," she says.

"On my latest trip, we lived at a place called Kapawi and we flew there in a tiny aircraft over the Amazon forest, and landed on a mud airstrip that can only be used if it hasn't rained. In the Amazon jungle, I fished with the native Indians in their dugout canoe and caught pirhanas and catfish."

This year has also been busy for Elizabeth, with visits to the University of British Columbia in Canada and cycling around the coast of Vancouver.

Janina Wallauschek, 67
Janina Wallauschek has always loved the water, regularly swimming and taking walks along the beach. At age 62 she decided to try windsurfing, and later, scuba diving. "Two years ago I decided to give it a go – I needed a challenge – and a challenge it was," Janina says.

"I wanted to go on a diving holiday and experience the underwater world before getting out my rocking chair and knitting needles," she jokes.

Since then, Janina has done more than 130 dives, including diving at the Maldives, the Philippines and the Great Barrier Reef.

"Getting my Open Water Certification was anything but easy, but I was determined to get there," she says. "In quick succession, I did my Rescue Diver, Enriched Air Diver, Boat Diver, Equipment Specialist, Underwater Navigator and Night Diver certificates to get me the longed-for title of Master Diver.

"I just love the feeling of weightlessness while looking at all the underwater life – it is so relaxing and such a wonderful feeling – definitely worth the effort of getting there."

Janina's latest diving was in June this year. "I've just come back from the Philippines, for four weeks of diving – it was fantastic and so cheap compared to the Great Barrier Reef.

"Before I started to dive, doctors wanted to do a hip replacement, which I flatly refuse," she says. "I'll still keep on diving!"