The World Awaits: travel tales to inspire your wanderlust

Welcome to our Winter Series! This week we're taking you to Greece. First up, host Kirstie chats to Andria Mitsakos, founder of Anthologist and global founder of AMPR , who takes us to some of the country's best artisans where she buys her artefacts, and shares insider tips on the best way to enjoy a Greek getaway.  Next, host Belle Jackson takes us to Greece and Bulgaria, travelling by...

Welcome to our Winter Series! This week is all about Italy. We are taking you from the Amalfi Coast to a tiny town south of Rome.  First up, host Belinda Jackson’s chats with author Maria Pasquale , who explores the food histories and dishes across regional Italy. Maria, born to Italian parents and raised in Melbourne, is the author of four books and has readers in more than 100 countries. Then, h...

Veteran journalist Andrew Conway has been to India four times, but this time he's doing things differently. His latest month-long sojourn was self-funded, and he took his husband, Greg, who had never been to India before.  Andrew talks about how having a personal driver (details below) changed his entire experience and lets us in on some of the lesser-known places to go in this often chaotic...

The World Awaits has hit a remarkable milestone, celebrating its 100th episode! To get the party started, Avani Hotels & Resorts has partnered with us for a listener giveaway a tropical holiday in Thailand!  To enter, simply like, follow and tag a friend on our Instagram page here . On this special episode, our sound producer Alaisdair Leith joins us, and we chat about our favourite guests ove...

Meet the singing teacher who founded a hiking company in Bhutan. Keen hiker Karen Haranis, of Rare Air Himalayan Travel , shares her favourite hikes, through the territory of Bengal tigers and red pandas, from the high mountain passes and lush rhododendron forests of this tiny mountain kingdom. Together with her guides Tashi and Namgyel, they scout new routes and cultural experiences in Bhutan, in...

“These dolphins surrounded me and I was hovering above the sand and they were playing with me and I swam up with them and thought I would die for them to be safe, it was like my heart was cracked open and I came up thinking how can I be more impactful in the ocean space,” says freediving champion turned conservationist Hanli Prinsloo. It was this encounter with dolphins in Mozambique while teachin...

"Southern Africa is very hard to describe; for many people, you get bitten by something, or you breathe something in, and you become hooked," says Australian author Tony Park.  Speaking to us from his home just north of Kruger National Park in South Africa, Tony shares his vast experience about going on safari in southern and east Africa. From the Kruger to the Kalahari, we're takin...

On the fringe of the Sahara, at the birthplace of Star Wars, the little Northern African country of Tunisia's drawcards are its medinas and souqs, its Roman ruins and Mediterranean seaside resorts. Stay in desert camps or in cave hotels carved into the mountains; you'll find spicy harissa, dramatic doors and ornate tiles everywhere. "What's not to love?" asks co-host Belle...

"The best way to see the Mekong is slowly," says travel journalist Michael Turtle.  He takes us on a cruise down the river in Laos on board the beautiful new boat Boheme . With only 13 cabins, it runs between the royal city of Luang Prabang and the capital, Vientiane, connecting you to the lifeblood of the country, all while exploring Laos' cuisine and visiting its villages. "W...

 Do you know who was behind the design of Canberra? What about the first person hired to manage the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge? Both are women whose stories have historically rarely been told. That’s something tour guide, feminist, history nerd, and author Sita Sargeant plans on changing. Frustrated by the lack of recognition for women’s historical contributions, she founded She Sha...

Have you ever thought about packing everything up, renting or selling the house and moving to Italy? Well, that’s just what our guest this week did.  Award-winning freelance food, travel and lifestyle journalist Natascha Mirosch has swapped the sunny shores of Brisbane to move temporarily to a tiny village south of Rome. We chat about why she did it, what there is to see and do in the region where...

Should Australians be concerned about travelling to the US now? With a super-strong US dollar and reports of 'enhanced vetting' at US borders, economics groups forecast a 12% drop in visitors to the States this year. So just how welcome are travellers these days? New York State is bucking the trend, says Michael Cassis, the Australian representative for the state, and shares some tips fo...

Australia has more than 10,000 beaches, so if you need a beachside break, how do you choose where to go? Celeste Mitchell, author of Ultimate Beaches Australia has scoured the nation to come up with 80 of the best beaches from the big names to some secret spots; places for world-class surf breaks or rock pools for the kids.  https://publishing.hardiegrant.com/en-au/books/ultimate-beaches-australia...

Giant green palms, sugar-white sand beaches where every shell seems to move with life, and gin-clear waters home to an aquarium of kaleidoscopic marine life. Welcome to the Cocos Keeling Islands – an atoll almost halfway between Australia and Sri Lanka where the airport runway doubles as the golf course, so infrequent are the flights. We explain why this special little spot should be on your trave...

What do you do when a revolution breaks out? If you're Dennis Bunnik, you throw yourself into the thick of it. Dennis is co-owner of Bunnik Tours which, in 2025  celebrates 30 years taking Australians to every corner of the globe, and he chats to Belle about the situations he's found himself in as a very, very hands-on small group tour operator.  He's also a hardcore aviation geek w...

First, she walked the length of New Zealand and now adventurer, author and inspirational speaker Laura Waters has completed an epic journey paddling the length of Australia’s longest river, the Murray River. The 2,400-kilometre challenge saw her paddle for weeks on end. She tells us why she did it, recounts the tough challenges she faced along the way and tells us where the best spots are if you w...

If your dream destination is anywhere curled up with a great book in a cosy nook by the fire or by the pool, let Lucy Pearson take you on a reading retreat.  Lucy is a bibliotherapist and bespoke library curator who has designed a series of upcoming reading retreats in France, Wales and Australia.    Expect silent book clubs or find a cosy nook by the fire or pool to read, as well as a bibliothera...

“These women are selling bikes to families who are using them to get to the river to fish, fields to farm and to get to school… we have one bike shop in Zambia that has sold over 8,000 bikes in that local community… and they are ferocious entrepreneurs and it’s so fun to hear them talk about their lives now compared to when they started nine years ago,” Keith Sproule, the Executive Director of Abe...

Discover what fills your heart with Ireland, be it the rich culture, the legendary Irish hospitality, the stunning scenery, ancient cities or world-class food.  This episode is sponsored by our friends at Tourism Ireland . Learn more at ireland.com This coming week sees the celebration of St Patrick's Day , one of the biggest festivals on the Emerald Isle. Walk the famous saint's waymark...

“I don’t see a town any sooner than five days and now 10 to 20 days … so it’s remote, it’s very cold …and there are grizzly bears, and wolves and they travel in packs… so I start at daylight and I’ve always got a podcast playing because of predators,” says Lucy Barnard , the Australian woman walking the length of the Earth.  With International Women's Day fast approaching, there couldn’t be a...

Ice skating, Christmas markets, imperial palaces and eating sausages in your opera gown – welcome to Vienna. Co-host Belle Jackson gives us a rundown from her recent 'coolcation' to Austria's capital and why 2025 is the year to visit, wien.info/en   and how you can use Vienna as a hub for further European exploration, using a Eurail pass. We also chat about the NZ$500,000 campaign t...

How do you get more real estate in an economy airline seat? Tech reviewer Alaisdair Leith rounds up some great new travel gear - with a seriously unexpected find...  His new travel gear recommendations are: Ninja water bottle Bellroy Lite Travel Pack Sony in-ear headphones The Bevledge - ta-da! and Belle's addition, thanks to guide James Burt of the Tasmanian Walking Company , is the Wollemi...

It's one of the world's greatest tourist destinations, and Machu Picchu totally lives up to the hype!  Our guest this week is Sol Campos de Parry, Peru trade commissioner to Australia, who talks about the joy of hiking to the Inca City's Sun Gate. But if you miss out on a hiking permit up the Inca Trail, or are keen to explore other trails in Peru, Sol also takes us to other great w...

"I always say 'collect, don’t shop'… so when you're purchasing something that’s a tangible representation of a destination you’re making a contribution not only financially, but also to that cultural preservation of a destination, and that’s something you’ll have forever and it’s better than any memory," says Andria Mitsakos, founder of Anthologist and global founder of AM...

“Costa Rica has something that’s very special… we have the second best place in the world for diving … and now the Government is thinking in blue, and you’ll hear that soon about the Costa Rica preservation, the idea is to make the coastline a [fish] nursery… so you’re going to hear very soon about the blue country Costa Rica wants to be,” Juan Carlos Rodriguez, a naturalist guide with Explore Wor...