The World Awaits: travel tales to inspire your wanderlust
Where does your wanderlust lead you?
To Melbourne’s cafes or the vast deserts of the Empty Quarter, a New Zealand vineyard or the pavements of New York… what’s your neighbourhood?
Join travel journalists and editors Kirstie Bedford and Belinda Jackson for inspiring stories and inside information from across the world.
Website https://theworldawaits.au
Instagram @theworldawaitspodcast
Support us https://ko-fi.com/theworldawaits (thank you!)
Episodes
163 episodes
EP 157 Intriguing stories behind the world's most popular landmarks; hotels to have on your radar & costly travel mistakes
"The Eiffel Tower was a crucial tool of espionage when WWI broke out, helping to catch a spy credited with causing up to 50,000 deaths... she was funnelling information back to the Germans after she weaponised her beauty to beguile them," says ...
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Vale rock historian & travel journalist Glenn A Baker
This week, the travel community farewells Glenn A Baker, who was not only a rock historian and journalist, but an avid traveller who'd visited more than 150 countries, documenting his travels in books and the Australian media. An ac...
EP 156 ¡Vamos a Argentina! Sultry tango, huge steaks and epic roadtrips with travel planner Rebecca Arnold
Stylish and sultry, home of the tango, gargantuan steaks and runners up in the World Cup - this week we're going to Argentina! Melbourne-based travel consultant, writer and serial expat Rebecca Arnold has called Buenos Aires home, and is just b...
EP 155 Hot Take: Travel books - from modern pilgrimages to destination crime & the top Aussie tourist spots
We're talking travel books, starting with some of the favourites of the man behind travel guide books, Lonely Planet co-founder Tony Wheeler.We also chat about our favourite travel books: non-fiction for co-host Belinda Jackson, includin...
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EP 154 Winter Series: Adventurers - filmmaker Dianne Whelan on the Trans Canada Trail & Tim Jarvis AM's Antarctic journeys
This week have interviews with two remarkable adventurers.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,
EP 153 Winter Series: Taking flight - demistifying frequent flyer points & the first Tongan woman to become an airline pilot
First up Toby Venus of the Point Hacks podcast joins us to demystify frequent flyer points – how to earn, how to burn and creating a checklist to keep your points in good shape and working f...
EP 152 Winter Series: Our adventures - South Africa safari & hiking, biking and kayaking New Zealand's Marlborough Sounds
This week, we’re taking you on some of our own recent travel adventures from the postcard-worthy South Island of New Zealand to the wilds of South Africa. First up, Belle takes us on a self-drive safari through Kruger National Park...
EP 151 Winter Series: The hiking episode - walk the French Camino & learn to navigate
Welcome to our Winter Series! This week is all about hiking, from the French Camino to the wilds of Tasmania.But first, we have a winner for our competition! Truc Pham has won a night’s stay at the Moxy Sydney Airport hotel, buffet...
EP 150 Best travel movies & film festivals for the diary
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 tr...
EP 149 Cruise Japan with a local cruise company & we turn three!
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 le...
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EP 148 A blog where readers choose where you travel & the places billionaires holiday
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 tra...
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EP 147 Six years on the Trans Canada Trail with filmmaker Dianne Whelan, worst airline experiences & Australia's best town
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 r...
EP 146 The inspiring story of the first Tongan woman to become an airline pilot & the best wine regions to visit this autumn
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. ...
EP 145 Hot Take: Travel fashion - activewear on flights and what to wear on a cruise? We answer all the hard questions
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...
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EP 144 The latest slow travel trend: barefoot hiking; the most instagrammable hotels & better sleep on planes
Slowing down, connecting with nature and managing mental health are all the benefits of barefoot hiking, says our interviewee this week.Dale Noppers is a safety professional in Western Australia who has been taking people barefoot hiki...
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EP 143 South African safari by e-bike, car & in luxury; fuel-saving tips & the death of the working holiday?
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'...
Ep 142 Japan's lesser-known regions, flights and fuel surcharges & Australia's prettiest national parks
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 photogra...
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EP 141 Travelling in Afghanistan, keeping your eyes healthy on the road & why cash is still king
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 ...
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EP 140 Hot Take: Navigating the unknown – travel during the Middle East crisis & Australia's best airport hotels with a runway view
Travel has taken a huge hit with the Middle East crisis now entering its fifth week, and it can be challenging to keep up with what you should and shouldn't do with travel plans during these significant and devastating world events.This ...
EP 139 Fly flat-bed to Europe with Toby Venus of Point Hacks; biggest hotel rooms & how new EU border rules will hit travellers
Toby Venus of the Point Hacks podcast joins us this episode to demystify frequent flyer points – how to earn, how to burn and creating a checklist to keep your points in good shape and worki...
EP 138 Hiking and biking NZ's Queen Charlotte Track; the world's 50 top cities & the best places to travel with your pooch
New Zealand is renowned for its spectacular scenery, and the Marlborough Sounds on the northern tip of the South Island will not disappoint.Come with host Kirstie Bedford as she hikes and bikes the Queen Charlotte Track, and kayaks in th...
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EP 137 Europe by motorbike with the Pillion Princess; getting home from the Middle East & should you cancel your Euro-trip?
She's the queen of the roadtrip, and bestselling author and travel writer Lee Atkinson joins us to talk about her latest adventure, motorbiking across the European Alps. A self-described 'pillion princess', Lee and husband Bill ship...
EP 136 Sordid and scandalous histories of famous hotels; how we're using frequent flyer points & the shocking cost of insurance claims
This week, we are taking you through the colourful, decadent, sordid, and scandalous histories of famous hotels with D'Etta and Yael, hosts of the Hotel History podcast.They launched the podcast to explore the history of hotels an...
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EP 135 The Hot Take: climbing the Pyramids and smoking on planes, we chat lost travel experiences & keeping e-docs safe on the road
This week, we’re launching our new segment, Hot Take! Kirstie and Belle are hacking out lost travel experiences - things you may have done in a former travelling life but are now no longer possible. Let’s wallow in the nostalgia!Think cl...
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EP 134 The author who bases her books on her expat life, the new trip planner & avoiding disease when you travel
Andrea Barton started her career as an electrical engineer, but when her husband was offered a job overseas, it changed the entire course of her career.Now award-winning author of the Jade Riley Mysteries, owner of a book editing company...
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