The World Awaits: travel tales to inspire your wanderlust

• EP 86 A&K's groundbreaking philanthropy; the changing habits of Aussie travellers & top five passport mistakes

  “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 Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy.Keith Sproule oversees 55 philanthropy projects for A&K in 24 countries, including this one that he mentions, where A&K opens bike shops for women across Africa and the Middle East who use the money to buy homes and ensure their children have access to a better education. Also, TravelInsurance.com.au research shows many Aussie travellers are choosing Asia over Europe – we explain why, and our tip is about the top five passport mistakes you need to avoid by Smartraveller.Send us a textSupport the showVisit us at https://theworldawaits.au

  --------  

  38:46
• EP 85 Celebrating St Patrick's Day, Marvellous Melbourne & the art exhibitions you can't miss

  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.comThis coming week sees the celebration of St Patrick's Day, one of the biggest festivals on the Emerald Isle. Walk the famous saint's waymarked way, or find your  own celebration, from the long-running Galway International Oyster & Seafood Festival to the Puca Festival, marking the pagan event Samhain, the ancestor of Halloween. Ireland's most famous literary son, Oscar Wilde, died 125 years ago in 2025, and is celebrated in a new Wilde weekend, In Our Dreams.Then, we take an about-turn back to Australia. "Melbourne is a city of stories," says author, guide and Melbourne aficionado Dale Campisi, whose new book, Naarm/Melbourne Neighbourhoods is a wealth of history, walks and minutiae about the Victorian capital. We ask Dale all your burning questions; did Melbourne narrowly avoid being called Batmania? Which Melbourne skyscraper is drizzled in (symbolic) blood? And was Flinders Street Station really supposed to be built in Mumbai? He also talks about Naarm/Melbourne's indigenous history, and what the land was like before Europeans settled here. We also have a giveaway! To win a copy of Dale's book, drop us a line at [email protected] to be in the running.  And our tip this week is the art exhibitions you need to see right now. We're talking Inca gold, Japanese pumpkins and Australia's contribution to Europe's 20th-century, avant-garde art movement. Melbourne @ National Gallery of Victoria ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/yayoi-kusama/ Sydney @ Australian Museum australian.museum/exhibition/machu-picchu/ Canberra @ National Gallery nga.gov.au/exhibitions/anne-dangar/ Send us a textSupport the showVisit us at https://theworldawaits.au

  --------  

  38:45
• Ep 84 The Australian woman walking the length of the Earth; the best food cities & how to avoid jet lag

  “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 more fitting interview for this week as Lucy attempts to be the first woman to walk the world from Argentina to Alaska, covering 30,000 kilometres across 14 countries, with her dog Wombat in tow.  Lucy shares her favourite places to hike and explains what it’s like walking through regions so dangerous you need a police escort tanglesandtail.comAlso, the world's best food destinations according to  British online travel agency Travel Bag - which Australian city's taken the coveted prize of the global food capital and we're talking gold-covered baklava (say Dubai without saying Dubai) travelbag.co.ukNIB Travel has seven top tips to beat jet lag, nibtravelinsurance.com.au and Belle opens the doors to the Little National Hotel in Sydney’s CBD littlenationalhotel.com.au/Sydney/Drop us your thoughts on this week's episode at [email protected] - we love hearing from our listeners!Support the showVisit us at https://theworldawaits.auSend us a textSupport the showVisit us at https://theworldawaits.au

  --------  

  37:32
• Ep 83 An insiders' guide to Vienna, cherry blossoms without the crowds & everyone must go to NZ

  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 to lure Aussies across the ditch. Have you heard of the new tagline? Sublime or a stinker? Take a listen to hear our thoughts, newzealand.com And here's a link to Australia's own tourism classic youtube.com/watch?v=LaWrkBo0t1o and the current Swiss campaign, which we love, features Roger Federer and Trevor Noah, youtube.com/watch?v=5JK7vjVaIvo And how do you avoid Japan's cherry blossom crowds? We're thinking outside the box on this one... japan-guide.com/sakura/ Drop us your thoughts on this week's episode at [email protected] - we love hearing from our listeners!Support the showVisit us at https://theworldawaits.au Send us a textSupport the showVisit us at https://theworldawaits.au

  --------  

  29:12
• EP 82 New travel gear, world's most polite drivers & the UK's new visa

  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 bottleBellroy Lite Travel PackSony in-ear headphonesThe Bevledge - ta-da!and Belle's addition, thanks to guide James Burt of the Tasmanian Walking Company, is the Wollemi 90 Ultralight Expedition packAlso, Kirstie and Belle chat about their recent stay at the newly reopened Adina Apartment Hotel Sydney Town Hall, and bring you the best news from the world's biggest travel industry meet, by TravMedia. And finally, we touch on the UK's new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) and ask; where will you find the world's most polite drivers?  Drop us your thoughts on [email protected] - we'd love to hear!Send us a textSupport the showVisit us at https://theworldawaits.au

  --------  

  43:17

More Leisure podcasts

Trending Leisure podcasts

About The World Awaits: travel tales to inspire your wanderlust