The World Awaits: travel tales to inspire your wanderlust

Spot the Big Five on a South African safari…and then really start seeing what the Greater Kruger National Park has to offer. Jacques Smit takes us on a tour of Sabi Sabi, a private, fence-free reserve within the Greater Kruger area. Take a birding tour, a walking safari, visit local communities; then soak up the luxury trimmings - think spa, sundowners and stylish villas, with tips on the best tim...

Would you cycle for more than 210 kilometres in 30+ degree heat around southern Sardinia? For host Kirstie Bedford it was a dream come true. Kirstie just spent a week biking the hills of the Italian island, all in the name of fun. She rode through an abandoned medieval village, biked through a Blue Zone, climbed hills to scour some of the Mediterranean's most beautiful beaches, and drank wine...

This week, we go to the high mountains and quiet forests with two mindful hikers, in Nepal and New Zealand. Ever think about quitting your corporate job and following a life-long dream? Laura Waters did, and she’s now an award-winning author, travel writer and speaker. Laura talks to Kirstie about hiking the length of New Zealand in a life-changing experience that led to her to write her travel me...

This week, two of the world's biggest travel entrepreneurs speak to The World Awaits. Social entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author and G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip talks about his decision to take his company into the luxury space after three decades – and what it means to you, the traveller. “The beautiful thing of travel [is] you have the opportunity to transform lives if y...

Need some travel tech or gear inspo? We’ve got you covered this week, with Belle and our producer Alaisdair Leith back behind the mic. We’ve also teamed up with Gypsea Loop to give away a gorgeous Hair Tie Bangle, talk whale swims and Rick Stein's NSW hotel, pop into Melbourne bar Brass Monkey’s love letter to Victoria, and stay at the W Sydney.   Here's our travel gear hotlist: Gypsea L...

Welcome to the winter series, where we talk to two of the biggest influences in the travel industry.  He’s eaten tarantulas, jumped out of planes, dropped his kilt while Highland dancing and even…gone camping *quelle horreur!* Kevin Moloney, together with his wife Janetta Stones, are 'the snobby travellers' on the incredibly successful Travel Guides show on Nine network. See  https://www...

Chef, restaurateur, author and all-round nice guy Luke Mangan has restaurants in hotels, cruise ships, airports and even in a pylon in the  Sydney Harbour Bridge He has an OAM for his services to hospitality and has just launched his own wine brand. Kirstie chats to him about his favourite places to travel and eat, how he got his start and what he’s up to next. See lukemangan.com We also talk thro...

It's our birthday! The World Awaits turns one, and to celebrate, we're talking the world's oldest and rarest cultural traditions, where to drink martinis and we even have a great giveaway! Author Eliot Stein talks about how he travelled around the globe in search of people who are maintaining some of the world’s oldest and rarest cultural traditions for his book, Custodians of Wonde...

Jenny Gray is the force behind Intrepid Travel’s incredibly successful women-only expeditions, which it runs in seven countries including Saudi Arabia. Jenny and Belle travelled together recently in the kingdom, exploring its deserts and meeting its people, merging two of the hottest trends in tourism at the moment - women-only travel and Saudi Arabia, intrepid.com   Also, the rise in cruising and...

 ‘It’s already authentic, it’s not made for the tourist, everything is there like it has been for hundreds of years, Sanjib Raj Khanal, CEO of Explore Japan. Sanjib is a leading tour operator in West Japan, and talks about why Shikoku , Japan’s fourth largest island – with its tranquil Iya Valley,  ancient rope swings and famed ramen – offers an authentic cultural experience, and why going regiona...

How do you earn the right to list “Adventurer” as your occupation? Ride a bicycle 10,000km across Russia? Row a wooden boat to the Arctic Ocean? Or maybe spend 3 ½ years riding from Mongolia to Hungary on horseback? Tim Cope has done all three, and has written and filmed his epic adventures. His best known book is On the Trail of Genghis Khan: An Epic Journey Through the Land of the Nomads , and h...

Social entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author and G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip talks to Kirstie about his decision to take his travel company into the luxury space after three decades – and what it means to you, the traveller. Stay to the end because you do not want to miss his most bizarre travel moment!  gadventures.com Also, why not trade the southern winter for a food festival...

All eyes are on Paris ahead of the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, from 26 July, 2024. Magali Déchelette joins us to talk about the world’s most beloved city, and how to get the best out of a visit to Paris . Magali, who is the founder of Family Twist, a company that creates luxury family-friendly experiences across the great cultural cities of Europe, shares her favourite times to visit,...

It's the Switzerland of the Middle East, but unassuming Oman flies under the radar as a travel destination. This week co-host Belinda Jackson talks about why you should visit Oman - come for the evocative deserts, stay for the wild turtles and the rose harvest. We also take you on a quick run through the newly renovated boutique hotel The Lyall in South Yarra, and the four-star, wallet-friend...

Do you go on holiday, only to come back feeling like you need ...another holiday? How do we come back rested from a getaway? Journalist, author and co-founder of Life Unhurried, Celeste Mitchell talks about how to slow down when you travel, and the best places to do it, lifeunhurried.com Also, new research on travellers' sleep habits shows how important a good night's sleep is, and we (o...

What’s a tourism experience you can have nowhere in the world but here in Australia? Uluru is one of our great icons, and its tourist hub, Ayres Rock Resort, turns 40 this year. So it’s a great time to catch up with Matt Cameron-Smith, the CEO of Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, which manages the resort. We talk about his favourite indigenous cultural experiences, with tips on where to eat, d...

How green is Tasmania? Lush mountainsides and emerald islands, but also farmers' markets and farmgates, and a story of pristine bays and innovative Indigenous experiences. The isle that is the apple of our eye lured Tourism Tasmania CEO Sarah Clark back home for the top job, and she tells Kirstie what makes Tassie different to anywhere else in the world, discovertasmania.com.au Also, the worl...

Tune in for a masterclass on getting into Gold Class when you fly, with points whisperer Chris Chamberlin of Points Hacks. Chris has travelled over two million kilometres in First or Business class (that’s to the moon and back, twice) and shares his insights on which loyalty programs to focus on, and how to strategise your spending to switch your seats from beside the toilets to the champagne clas...

Would you cycle around the world with three kids, including a one-year-old baby? Andrew and Nicola Hughes quit their teaching jobs to do just that – they tell Kirstie about how they finance their trips, the logistics of it all and the trick of juggling three kids on bicycles.  “Challenge and persistence, perseverance and exploration…are values we hold dear and want to share with our children, says...

Do you love the romance of a long train journey? Do these names – The Orient Express, The Ghan, The Flying Scotsman or The Rocky Mountaineer – have you dreaming of riding the rails into the sunset?  Belle chats with train aficionado and travel writer Tim Richards , author of several books including Heading South and Ultimate Train Journeys World about why sleeper trains are back in fashion, new in...

How do you experience Māori culture? Andrew Waddel from Tourism New Zealand talks about Indigenous tourism, the balance of getting it right for both the tourist and the local tangata whenua and why it’s so important to help ensure New Zealand attracts the travellers it so badly needs to boost the economy.   Also, iconic travel photographer Steve McCurry is best known for his portrait of Sharbat Gu...

They’re billed as ‘the snobby travellers’ but is it all just a front for Channel Nine’s Travel Guides, Kevin Moloney and Janetta Stones? In conversation with Belle, Kevin gives us a peek behind the velvet curtains of the tv show, which has sent the pair travelling to every corner of the globe since Travel Guides started in 2017 (meanwhile collecting armfuls of gongs along the way).  Also this week...

Louis Thompson from Nomadic Resorts talks about how he’s flipping luxury travel on its head by creating flat-pack hotels with a low-carbon footprint – and he’s won two UN recognitions in the process. And stay listening for Louis' thoughts on how AI will have a positive long-term impact on eco-lodges in the future, nomadicresorts.com Also, we chat Switftonomics with Taylor Swift in Australia t...

Tony Wheeler is one of the most recognisable names in travel, and anyone who’s ever used a Lonely Planet guidebook will have read the story on the last page about how he and his wife Maureen wrote and published their first guidebook, Across Asia on the Cheap, on their kitchen table in 1973, finally selling the Lonely Planet behemoth in 2011. He talks about counting countries, flying with carry-on...

Let us take you to a remote tropical island in the Indonesian archipelago, where young Aussie couple Jess and Dan Baldock have built Alamayah , a luxury boutique retreat. Designed by Jess and built by Dan along with the people of Sumba, the tiny, six-suite retreat has been a cultural experience, as the couple learned the local language and culture in the process, embedding Alamayah into the commun...