Isobel Marchment's 103 years of adventures, companionship and memories

The Mittagong local, who was born in England, celebrated her 103^rd birthday in February.

When it comes to lessons she has learned over the years, she said it was important to be open-minded.

"Not to criticise people, to try and see their point of view," she said.

"Too many people think they've got the answers and they haven't."

Although she has not travelled for some time, one thing she does repeatedly is meditating.

"I meditate every day, twice a day," she said.

"It takes the attention off [of] yourself."

Up until the age 100, she held weekly meditation classes at home and walked up the Gib.

The former teacher also held English classes for Taiwanese students who came to the Highlands to learn about mushrooms from her late friend Dr Noel Arnold - the man behind Li Sun Exotic Mushrooms.

She still keeps in contact with them, and other students she has taught across the globe.

In the middle of her studies at Bishop Otter Memorial College in England, she had to start teaching in 1940, due to the demand for female teachers when men were called in World War Two.

She specialised in English, geography, religious studies and physical education, and taught students who were evacuated from London and Blitz.

Following this, she taught and travelled around New Zealand, was a teacher briefly in Sydney, and went to schools in London, and the Canadian province of Newfoundland.

The centenarian said she had fond memories of hitchhiking and riding a bike in New Zealand, and cycling across Canada and seeing the Rocky Mountains.

Isobel then travelled through North America before travelling home to care for her mother Mary, who was unwell.

She said she had an instinct to go to Africa after her Mary passed away, and her first stop was Uganda.

At first, she taught boys in Uganda, but "fought" for the rights of girls and established a secondary school just for them.

The Bahamas was her next destination to teach, followed by Papua New Guinea, where she became the headmistress of the Madina school.

With a passion for "all sports", Isobel led different physical activities and helped train and guide female students who competed in the Pacific Island Games.

With Mittagong as her base in between her travels and teaching stints, she also taught at Frensham.

Thankful for the friends she has met along the way, she is also grateful for her neighbours.

They call upon one another and check in with each other regularly.

"I'm very lucky with the neighbours," she said.

One is Les Smith who she has coffee with regularly.