The World Awaits: travel tales to inspire your wanderlust

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 over the last two years (after all, there are now 100 to choose from!)

And it's time to ask ourselves the question we ask all our guests: What’s the most bizarre thing that’s ever happened to you on your travels?  Flying pigs, anyone? Listen in to hear all about that escapade, and we also share our upcoming travels.

We’d like to give a big shout-out to those who have partnered with us over the past 100 episodes and shown so much support for the show: thanks to Avani Hotels & Resorts, Explore Worldwide and Tourism Ireland.

And finally, thank you to you, our listeners. We are so grateful to you. And we love hearing from you, so drop us a line at [email protected] to let us know your thoughts or discuss upcoming partnership opportunities.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

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, including the little visited East Bhutan, also known for its handicraft villages, rareairtravel.com.au

Also, we track down the most disappointing of the world's famous beaches. The USA has a strong showing at the top, with rubbish, noise and overcrowding destroying the experience at some of its iconic strips of sand, says with research by cloudwards.net

And our tip is all about wellness tourism, which is forecast to be worth $1.35 trillion in 2028. The AvaniWell program focuses on personalised wellness at its resorts, where you can do everything from freediving to football camps, avanihotels.com 

This mini-series is brought to you by Avani Hotels & Resorts. With more than 40 properties across five continents, Avani offers city hotels, tropical resorts and retreats in nature. For more, visit avanihotels.com

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

“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 teaching a freediving course that made Hanli Prinsloo turn conservationist, and now she hosts retreats to teach others how to freedive and educate about marine conservation.

For more about her next retreat in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Baa Atoll while staying at Avani+ Fares Maldives Resort, go to avanihotels.com. For more information about Hanli, go to hanliprinsloo.com

 Also, do you ever wonder when and where you should tip? Travelex has put a guide together to help you know which countries you should tip in and how much you should be handing over. For the full tipping guide, go to https://www.travelex.com.au/media/1338/tipping-guide.pdf

And our tip this week is from Travelinsurance.com.au about how to maximise your frequent flyer points. For more, go to https://www.travelinsurance.com.au/

This mini-series is brought to you by Avani Hotels & Resorts. With more than 40 properties across five continents, Avani offers city hotels, tropical resorts and retreats in nature. For more, visit avanihotels.com

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

"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 taking self-drive safaris on a budget, which regions are better for different wildlife and wildlife poaching.

"The best way to tackle poaching is to uplift the communities and the people, who feel that their only option is to turn to wildlife crime," he says. "So the best thing for wildlife is to visit Africa." 

Tony has published 22 novels set in southern Africa; his 23rd, Die by the Sword, is out at the end of July, and like all his novels, it has a strong environmental and wildlife conservation angle. See tonypark.net

Also, what's new on the slopes for the Australian ski season? From lifts to going cashless. Visit perisher.com, thredbo.com.au, charlottepass.com.au and perisher.com.au

And find out which of the Avani Tribes you belong to, and then match your destination to your personality type at https://tribes.avanihotels.com.

This mini-series is brought to you by Avani Hotels & Resorts. With more than 40 properties across five continents, Avani offers city hotels, tropical resorts and retreats in nature. For more, visit avanihotels.com

Tony’s picks:

For a great, all-inclusive luxury safari experience in South Africa, check out the Sabi Sabi collection of lodges in South Africa's Sabi Sand Game Reserve: sabisabi.com 

A bit cheaper, but in a great game viewing area inside the Kruger National Park is Imbali Game Reserve (and also check out its neighbouring, affiliate properties, Hamiltons and Hoyo Hoyo), imbali.com 

If you’re game for a self-drive trip (which will save you loads), fly from Johannesburg’s OR Tambo Airport to Skukuza in the Kruger National Park and hire an Avis or Europcar rental car and stay in self-catering accommodation (there are also restaurants in most of Kruger’s rest camps), sanparks.org

For a get-away-from-it-all safari in an untouristy-park, check out Hwange National Park, close to Victoria Falls. These are good places: hideawaysafrica.com, robinscamp.com 

In East Africa, Tony prefers the Serengeti in Tanzania to Kenya’s Masai Mara. Maasai Wanderings, owned by an Aussie woman does excellent mobile safaris, maasaiwanderings.com 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

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 Jackson, who travelled through Tunisia recently with Intrepid Travel, intrepidtravel.com

Also, if you enjoy going off the beaten track, travel insurance company Insure & Go lists the 10 global destinations you must visit before they boom, insureandgo.com And the bulk-billed travel vaccination clinic TravAX lets you search your travel destination and the vaccinations it recommends, travax.nhs.uk  

Finally, our tip this week is about how to get a good dose of culture when you travel to Italy, from mask making in Venice to touring Milan in a Fiat 500.  Find out more at avanihotels.com

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS

The full length, 19-minute documentary about Belle's slow-food travels in Greece and Bulgaria with Eurail has now been released; watch it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf7ldApatlQ

This mini-series is brought to you by Avani Hotels & Resorts. With more than 40 properties across five continents, Avani offers city hotels, tropical resorts and retreats in nature. For more, visit avanihotels.com

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

"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.

"Watch longtail boats, see temples... on a river cruise, you see the river at all times of the day, while people are fishing or swimming," says Michael of the six-day sailing journeys. 

For more about the Boheme, visit mekongkingdoms.com and add a stay at the Avani+ Luang Prabang, avanihotels.com And to follow Michael, see timetravelturtle.com 

Also, what's the world's most beautiful airstrip? This list of ravishing runways will have you fighting for the window seat. https://www.allcleartravel.co.uk/blog/the-worlds-most-beautiful-airport-landings/ 

And finally, tap into the set-jetting trend and get your travel inspiration from movies and TV series. We're talking Thailand, Malta and the UK - tune in to see what's filmed where.

This mini-series is brought to you by Avani Hotels & Resorts. With more than 40 properties across five continents, Avani offers city hotels, tropical resorts and retreats in nature. For more, visit avanihotels.com

READING RECOMMENDATIONS

If you'd like to read Belle's story on the young woman shaking up PNG's traditional drumming scene, visit airniuginiparadise.com

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

 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 Shapes History – a tourism company offering entertaining and engaging walking tours in Canberra, Sydney, and Melbourne to make sure the remarkable achievements of women are not lost.

She chats to us about how she got started with her tours, and what her plans are to ensure the message is spread far and wide.

We also talk about the sober curious movement and how Avani Hotels is ensuring no one is left sipping a boring drink!

And Health Direct has some top tips for avoiding motion sickness. 

This mini-series is brought to you by Avani Hotels & Resorts. With more than 40 properties across five continents, Avani offers city hotels, tropical resorts and retreats in nature. For more, visit avanihotels.com

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

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 she’s now living and how you could do it too.

We also have a last-minute Mother’s Day guide for the travel-loving mum in your family (or yourself) and do people really care about giving back when they travel?  We give you the feedback from some of the experts including Booking.com's 2025 Sustainable Travel report. 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

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 for smooth entry into the US.  

And - jazz hands to the ready - 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of iconic American novel The Great Gatsby. Author F Scott Fitzgerald set the novel amongst the mansions of Long Island, so Michael takes us back to  1925 and where to visit to find the romance and glamour of the Jazz Age, iloveny.com

Also, monkey bites, bag snatches and Bali belly -  Southern Cross Travel Insurance spills the tea on the most unusual claims submitted by Australians holidaying in Bali and the biggest, most eye-watering claims, scti.com.au

Finally, if you've ever had an opulent train trip in mind, this North American beauty is the last word in luxury, according to research from Japan Rail Pass, jrpass.com 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

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-by-celeste-mitchell/9781741178920

Celeste is also the owner of the slow travel booking site, Life Unhurried and she reveals some of her top picks for beachside slow stays.

Also, Skytrax’s annual survey of the top airports around the world is out. Can you guess which airport takes the top gong? 

And DiscoverCars.com reveals the best countries for a road trip. Take a listen to find out where they are!

And co-host Belle Jackson visits the Bendigo Art Gallery for the Frida Kahlo: In her own image exhibition – a look at one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. 

Support the show

Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au