From ghost busting in Scotland to buying running shoes in Paris and hanging out with Richie and Gemma at world rugby matches, 76-year-old Bev Nesbit is romping through her bucket list with a special joie de vivre.

The fun-loving Tauranga resident has just returned from her first big OE with her friend Michelle, where, by all accounts, she has been spreading her own cheerful enjoyment of life, exultation of spirit and plenty of laughter.

How this classic Kiwi lady, already living life to the full in Greerton, ended up holidaying with Richie and Gemma McCaw in Paris, is a story told by Gemma on her Facebook page.

“Making special memories with Bev today.  When Mum was 17 she very sadly lost her Dad (my Grandad) so I never got to meet him,” writes Gemma.

“During that time, Bev and her family lived next door and she was the most amazing support for my Nana who had four kids and has remained her best friend since. Bev’s husband Kevin was there the day I was born and he became my godfather but sadly he passed away to cancer years later.

“Prior to this trip, Bev had never travelled further than Australia, so to see her doing her OE and tick off her bucket list which included a Rugby World Cup has been very special.”

Bev says she and Michelle were away for five weeks and four days, returning to New Zealand just before Labour Weekend.

“Gemma’s grandmother and I have been best friends for well over 50 years,” says Bev. “Her mother was only seven when I got to know them.

“It was a bucket list, to go on an overseas trip. Gemma’s mum and I are great travel mates. She is 60 and I’m 76.  I really wanted to go to Scotland so went with Michelle, and then met up with the others in France. And away we went!”

And away they went indeed. Michelle and Bev first arrived in London, staying for five days.

“We went on the big eye. It’s so high!” says Bev.

“We went to Scotland by train. That was a neat trip, about five hours."

Gemma McCaw with Michelle Flynn and Bev Nesbit. Photo: Supplied.

"We went first class, that’s the first time in my whole life I’ve done anything first class!”

They spent around 20 days in Scotland, first joining a tour for the first week, then hiring a car and driving themselves around.  One of her favourite activities is what she calls “grave searching” or “ghost busting”.

“I found my great-grandparents grave in the highlands of Scotland. A little church graveyard in a town called Fyvie.”

She says she had the best fish and chips in her life on wharf in a place called Peterhead.

“They were almost flapping on the plate they were so fresh.”

Leaving Scotland, the pair flew from Edinburgh to Paris.

“I didn’t dare go near snails in France. I just couldn’t bear it, just the thought of it.”

In Paris they met up with Richie and Gemma who were there with their three children.

“The next day we went to Lyon to the New Zealand Italy game. It was very exciting. Thousands of people, getting in queues, a great experience.”

Of course, there are many other activities apart from rugby to indulge in, in Paris.

“We went shopping, went to markets, to the Adidas store. Paris is very dear, very expensive.”

Bev Nesbit on her OE. Photo: Supplied.

She overcame any shopping phobia and bought herself a pair of shoes at the Adidas store.

“I bought some running shoes and thought it might make me go faster but I don’t know if it works.”

She jokes that it’s not easy keeping up with the likes of elite athletes Richie and Gemma.

“I probably arrive about two hours after everyone else but I get there. I’m a bit older than them, not quite as fit. And slower.”

Gemma caught moments of Bev in Paris on camera, capturing the sheer enjoyment Bev was experiencing.  But the trip did have its wee catastrophe moment.  

“I had a little disaster. I was taking photos on the boat and dropped my phone into the Mediterranean. I had all my banking on my phone. So I didn’t buy a hang of a lot after that as I had to stretch out money.”

She got another phone, and saw that some of the photos she’d previously taken could be retrieved.

“I got some photos back because of them being on the cloud.”

Despite the loss of the phone and potentially losing thousands of photos, she still managed to take another 1500 photos before the trip ended.

Bev has a word of sage advice for anyone else planning to travel internationally.

“My advice is don’t pack so much stuff. I took miles of stuff and you don’t need miles of stuff. A pair of jeans can last you four or five days.  You don’t need all your clothes. You’ve got to think about the weight of your bags.”

Next year Bev and Michelle want to visit Dunedin.

“I want to go grave searching again. We’ve got some family down there.  And I’d love to go around the islands, that has always fascinated me. “

She’d also love to go to Canada.

“I haven’t got thousands of years left, I’ll have to hurry up.”

Michelle Flynn, Bev Nesbit and Gemma McCaw. Photo: Supplied.

Bev works one day at week at Vegestar in Greerton, spread across a Monday morning and a Thursday afternoon.

“And I work at Centrepoint op shop.”

When asked to recount some special highlights from her trip, she says “everything I did was a new experience so it was all a highlight”.

For a person who had never been further afield than Australia before, the whole trip was one big highlight.

“Do everything while you’re young and you can. It’s all very well doing it now. I don’t care I have enough energy to do what I want,” says Bev.

“[Bev} is a constant reminder to laugh often and make the most of every day, because you never know what tomorrow may bring. I adore you, Bev,” writes Gemma McCaw on her Facebook profile.

Gemma McCaw and Bev Nesbit. Photo: Supplied.