The World Awaits: travel tales to inspire your wanderlust

Hey set-jetters, it's the movie episode, and Belle is teaming up with our entertainment reporter Alaisdair Leith to talk the best of travel films. 

We’re chatting movie destinations, because  set-jetting is one of the hottest trends in travel at the moment, where you decide where to travel based on something you saw in a movie. But also, we want you to take this as a list of movies you should watch on your way to your next destination. 

Think New Zealand and Hobbiton, Game of Thrones for Northern Ireland and what’s now called the White Lotus effect - the fourth season is currently being filmed on the French Riviera, and expected to drop mid-to-late 2027 so buckle up for an overload of Saint Tropez.

Emily in Paris (and Rome), Eat Pray Love, North of North, The English Patient.... Alaisdair shares the best new films while Belle digs up the classics, and we throw a a few wild cards. 

Also, we share a roll-call of great film festivals coming up in Australia, diaries out!

Fire Pit Festival, Sydney christmasinjuly.com.au

South African Film Festival, Sydney 2026, 21 June–26 July saff.org.au

Melbourne International Film Festival (August 6–23) miff.com.au 

Adelaide Film Festival (October 14–25) adelaidefilmfestival.org 

Nordic Film Festival, national (July- August) nordicfilmfestival.com.au  

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This week, we are celebrating our third birthday! Yes, we're basically toddlers! 

Please indulges us as all three of us - Kirstie, Belle and our sound producer Alaisdair share their favourite interviews, from the woman walking the length of the earth to eating on the Amalfi Coast, and best travel fashion hits and misses. 

And to our interview this week, we merge two of the hottest trends in travel right now - small-ship cruising and Japan, as co-host Belle shares life on board the Japanese cruise group Mitsui Ocean Liners, in a bid to explore the country more deeply.

Sailing the Seto Inland sea, there are origami crafternoons, sushi degustations, explorations of 16th-century castles and the joys of an oily massage when the seas are rough. To learn more about Mitsui's cruises, visit their Australian representative cruisetraveller.com.au

And make sure you enter our current giveaway, a night’s stay for two at the chic Moxy Sydney Airport hotel, breakfast and an incredible 14 days' valet parking! Enter via our Instagram or Facebook page @theworldawaitspodcast  

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Would you let readers of your blog choose where you travel? Carole Rosenblat did, and it’s seen her travel to 74 countries around the world. 

The freelance journalist, copywriter, and small-group tour operator started interactive travel site Drop me Anywhere in 2014, letting readers choose where she travels - and it can be anywhere in the world.

This week, she talks to us about how she came up with the idea, and how it led her to starting up solo trips to empower women in their travels. 

We also reveal the world’s favourite destinations for billionaires according to Maui Elite Property; and our tip this week is about the best winter light festivals around the country.

And make sure you enter our current giveaway, a night’s stay for two at the chic Moxy Sydney Airport hotel, breakfast and an incredible 14 days' valet parking! Enter via our Instagram or Facebook page @theworldawaitspodcast 

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At 50, filmmaker Dianne Whelan set out to walk and kayak the longest trail in the world, the 24,000km-long Trans Canada Trail. 

Her film, 500 days in the Wild, opened recently in Australia and documents her extraordinary six-year journey. She tells Belle about the project, paddling 8000km of water trails and walking, biking and snowshoeing 16,000km across land on a journey that has defined an entire decade of her life. 

She tells of not seeing anyone for months at a time, of escaping bears (all while carrying a cup of coffee) and paddling for months across the world's largest freshwater lake, Lake Superior. In her six-year odyssey, she also found peace, awareness, acceptance and even love.  

Make sure you enter our current giveaway, a night’s stay for two at the chic Moxy Sydney Airport hotel, breakfast and an incredible 14 days' valet parking! Enter via our instagram or facebook page - @theworldawaitspodcast 

Also, our best and worst airline experiences - tune in for Belle's horror story on Ural Airlines, and Kirstie names an Australian carrier for her worst experience.  

And finally, Australian Traveller recently named its 100 best Aussie towns, and the #1 is a Tasmanian beauty. Listen to see if your town was named. 

Watch the trailer for Dianne's film: garage.com.au/500-days-in-the-wild/

Read about Belle's $900 flight from Perth to Melbourne: thecourier.com.au/story/9241171/would-you-pay-900-for-a-perth-to-melbourne-economy-flight-form-hell/ 

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You might need the tissues for this one. This is the heartfelt story of Silva McLeod, the first Tongan woman to become an airline pilot, who wrote about her incredible journey from 'Island Girl to Airline Pilot' in a memoir of that name.  

Silva always dreamed of becoming a pilot, but never imagined it'd come true until she met Ken, who she eventually married, but it wasn't until a near-death experience that she pursued her lifelong passion.

As well as telling us about her remarkable story, she also breaks down some myths about flying, from where pilots sleep to should you really drink the water on the plane.

Buy her book here exislepublishing.com/product/island-girl-to-airline-pilot/ 

And we have a new hotel giveaway! Win a night’s stay for two at the chic Moxy Sydney Airport hotel, breakfast and an incredible 14 days' valet parking! Enter via our instagram or facebook page - @theworldawaitspodcast 

We also chat about the winners of Roy Morgan’s annual customer satisfaction awards. It might come as a surprise who was the domestic airline winner.

Full list here: https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/10212-roy-morgan-customer-satisfaction-annual-awards-2025

And, the Meat & Wine Co has come up with Australia's best wine regions to visit this autumn.

Check out its full list here: https://themeatandwineco.com/blog/australias-best-wine-regions-to-visit-this-autumn/

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White ski gear? Wearing pink on safari? Are shoes optional on flights?

Hosts Kirstie and Belle ask the big questions about what to wear when you travel. We're talking dress codes on cruises, debate the merits of zip-off trousers and share a couple of our favourite savvy travel clothing buys.

Should we make more of an effort to dress nicely for flights? Pyjamas in public?  When are too many sequins never enough? 

Strong opinions, we've got 'em, from activewear on planes and the fashion choices of Aussie men.

Fabulous and faux pax, we share them all. 

Also, tips on safe travels with your beloved power bank. 

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Slowing down, connecting with nature and managing mental health are all the benefits of barefoot hiking, says our interviewee this week.
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Dale Noppers is a safety professional in Western Australia who has been taking people barefoot hiking for more than seven years. He talks this week about the reasons it's so important to get your shoes off, and explains some simple ways to get started in your own backyard. 

We also chat about the most Instagrammable hotels in Australia with Sovereign Interior's designer Cayley Scrooby, and Sherry Peters, who has been a flight attendant for 27 years and flies up to 12 times a month, gives us her top tips for the best sleep solutions when you're travelling long-haul.

Dale Noppers barefoot hiking tours can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565575561949

The story Kirstie mentioned is here: https://karryon.com.au/luxury/aktg-australian-advisors-exclusive-event/

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How do you like to see wild animals? From the comfort of a guided safari vehicle? What about driving by yourself or perhaps by ebike? Host Belle Jackson tried all three options in South Africa recently, and shares her successes. 

We're talking the all-inclusive and exceptionally knowledgeable experiences provided by leading luxury safari company Sabi Sabi Game Reserve; sabisabi.com 

And also, what it's like to self-drive through Kruger National Park, with expert travel planner Travel Africa Your Way and about spotting ostriches and kudu while e-biking to the Cape of Good Hope, South of Cape Town, thanks to new tour company Cape Point Bike Tours, led by its enthusiastic owner Neil Kohler;  capepointebiketours.com; travelafricayourway.com.au

We're also announcing the winner of our giveaway of a night & buffet breakfast at the Novotel Melbourne Airport! Thanks to everyone who entered, it was a hard-fought comp!  See https://all.accor.com/hotel/B327/index.en.shtml 

Also, why Gen Z's lost interest in taking an overseas working holiday, according to new research from Southern Cross Travel Insurance. And finally, Crusader Caravans shares tips on how road trippers can manage increasing fuel prices.  

Download SAILY in your app store and use our code 'theworldawaits' at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase; see saily.com

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Rob Goss is a UK-born, Tokyo-based writer who has lived in Japan for almost two decades and authored more than a dozen books about the popular island nation. 

His latest book, Another Japan (Gestalten, Sep 2026), with photographer Irwin Wong, looks at community, rejuvenation, and cultural preservation in non-urban Japan.

Here, he talks to us about some of the best lesser-known places to go, and he has some top tips for first-time visitors.

You'll find him at:

 https://www.tokyofreelance.com/bio/ https://www.instagram.com/robgosswriter/

The story Kirstie mentioned about Australians still prioritising travel is here

And the village of dolls in Japan which Rob and Kirstie talk about is here.

We also discuss how fuel surcharges are impacting flights, and give you an update on the cruise industry in light of the Middle East conflict, and we have found some of Australia's prettiest national parks that you may have never heard of. 

Download SAILY in your app store and use our code 'theworldawaits' at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase; see saily.com

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Come to Central Asia's forgotten country, Afghanistan. This episode, we are joined by Afghanistan’s first female tour guide, Fatima Haidari, and adventure travel company Untamed Borders' founder James Willcox, who is the author of the new Brandt Afghanistan guidebook. 

From Herat and now living in Italy, Fatima leads virtual tours through Afghanistan, a tribal country with enormous diversity. She talks not only about the tours, but the impact tourism has upon her country, from the natural beauty of Bamiyan, chaotic, crowded Kabul and the poetic heart of Herat.  

"Isolation is the worst way to punish a population," says Fatima, who shares the profit from the tours with a women's education charity operating in Afghanistan. "Because the media is so heavily censored, tourism is one way to help open up the country. It helps local businesses and helps us to get out of isolation just a little bit."

Our tip this week is born from personal experience, as we share tips on keeping your eyes healthy while you travel, safe from polluted water and cabin pressure, thanks to The Eye Practice, based in Sydney CBD. 

 And do you use cash or card when you're on the road? The inaugural Travelex Travel Money Insights Report; see travelex.com.au

Download SAILY in your app store and use our code 'theworldawaits' at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase; see saily.com

Fatima's virtual tour https://untamedborders.com/itinerary/virtual-tours-with-fatima-afghanistan/ 

Untamed Borders https://untamedborders.com/ 

The Bradt guidebook to Afghanistan https://www.bradtguides.com/product/afghanistan-pb/ 

Champions of the Golden Valley  https://www.championsofthegoldenvalley.com/ 

Secret Marathon Film https://thesecretmarathon.com/ 

For more eyecare tips https://www.theeyepractice.com.au/optometrist-sydney/why-flying-dries-out-your-eyes-and-how-to-prevent-it/ 

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