AT NINETY years young, Launceston’s Kath Steer could be forgiven for taking it easy.

However, she recently made a 10,000-mile plus trip to Australia to see her family.

In 2018, Kath had achieved an amazing milestone in her life by celebrating her 90th birthday. She enjoyed this special occasion with her family and close friends. Her youngest daughter Marlene travelled from Australia for the occasion.

After all the excitement, she settled back into her daily routine in her home in Launceston contemplating her life and future on a daily basis.

Life was just passing her by and she was wondering what she could do to add some excitement, ignite the spark for a new lease of life and to erase the daily boredom.

She is a very active person and is not one to sit around waiting for the inevitable. She discussed the possibility of visiting her family in Australia to spend a couple of months with her daughter, son-in- law Jim and her two grandsons.

Kath has travelled to Australia on three previous occasions before, to visit the family with Ken, her husband who passed away some six years back. However, this was to be her first solo trip.

It was a bold and exciting plan and there were a few inevitable hurdles to cross before she could make the trip. She was in reasonably good health considering her age, with failing eyesight and hearing, she required a full medical check and clearance from her doctors.

Once she was given the all clear to travel, the plan to visit Australia was put into motion.

Her son-in-law, Jim Dantrell, said: “The anticipation of the adventure gave her an incredible boost to her spirit and she started to have a completely new lease on life.

“There were a few negative comments and doubters saying she was crazy and would not make the journey, which made her more determined than ever to make the journey. However, she was given a lot more positive and encouraging support from friends and family for her to seize the time and enjoy every moment. She was more focussed on the end results of getting to Australia and spending some enjoyment and quality time with her Australian family and the fond and treasured memories that she would have.”

Well, Kath eventually made the trip from Heathrow to Singapore on her own where she was greeted by her daughter Marlene. After a short stop over, they flew from Singapore to Brisbane.

The next three months of the journey saw her have an amazing and exciting time where she enjoyed the beaches, rainforests and city sights on the Gold Coast of Queensland.

Eventually the journey came to an end and she travelled back to Singapore on her return home and once again made the final leg of her journey solo back to Heathrow and down to Cornwall. Kath arrived back in Launceston last week and is settling back in her daily routine at home with a heap of fond memories and photographs of her daily experiences and excursions. And to enjoy the time remembering her very special adventure of a lifetime ‘Down Under’.