Marigold Hadfield has travelled from Auckland, with her daughter and team-mate Roimata, and with 6-year-old granddaughter Tuihana, to take part in the Air New Zealand Golden Oldies World Netball Festival in Queenstown.
"This is a wonderful active holiday for us. We have never been to Queenstown before," Mrs Hadfield said.
At age 76, Marigold Hadfield is the oldest player out of 500 participants in 49 teams from five nations.
Her daughter Roimata (42) is participating in the tournament for the first time as the youngest member of their team, where the average age is 64.
Granddaughter Tuihana has been called the mascot of the team, but proudly announces that she plays netball too, and wants to join the tournament.
She will have to wait another 29 years, though, before she is old enough to play as a "golden oldie".
The family said for them, the most important element of the competition was the social aspect.
"We are mostly here to meet old friends and also to meet new people from other parts of New Zealand and from different countries. The sport gives us something in common.
"I had never dreamt that I would get the chance to go to all these different countries, before I started attending the Golden Oldies festivals.
"It has taken me to Australia, the South Pacific, Asia and even as far as Canada," Mrs Hadfield said.
She co-founded the netball team Ex Airwomen Sport Club with former colleagues from the Air Force to join the first Golden Oldies netball festival in 1994, and has played in 12 out of the 13 Golden Oldies netball festivals so far.
But while sport has always been part of everyday life for the Hadfields, she puts her good physical form down to a healthy lifestyle rather than training.
"I no longer play netball between the festivals. A balanced diet, light exercise, gardening and daily walks keep me fit," she said.
