The World Awaits: travel tales to inspire your wanderlust

Belinda Jackson & Kirstie Bedford
  • 4.7 (14)
  • Places & Travel
  • Updated Weekly

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.auInstagram @theworldawaitspodcast Support us https://ko-fi.com/theworldawaits (thank you!)

  1. EP 151 Winter Series: The Hiking Episode - Walk the French Camino & Learn to Navigate

    1 day ago

    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 breakfast for two at the Moxy Kitchen, return airport shuttle transfers and up to 14 nights valet parking at the hotel! See marriott.com Onto our winter series, Kirstie is chatting with UTracks hiking guide Jaclyn Beagley, who leads guests along the Le Puy Camino, also known as the French Camino. Jaclyn talks about the difference in the French section of the Camino compared with other hikes in the network of ancient pilgrimage routes across Europe, utracks.com And for our second interview, Belle catches up with author Caro Ryan OAM, whose book, How to Navigate, teaches people the art of navigation and map reading, which she says is essential for safe bushwalking and getting people outdoors, connected to and caring for nature, lotsafreshair.com Send us Fan Mail Support the show Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

    58 min
  2. EP 150 Best travel movies & film festivals for the diary

    18 June

    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 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   Send us Fan Mail Support the show Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

    36 min
  3. EP 149 Cruising Japan with a local cruise company & we turn three!

    10 June

    EP 149 Cruising 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 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   Send us Fan Mail Support the show Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

    37 min
  4. EP 148 Hear from the woman behind a blog where readers choose where she travels & the places billionaires holiday

    3 June

    EP 148 Hear from the woman behind a blog where readers choose where she travels & 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 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  Support the show Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au   Send us Fan Mail Support the show Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

    41 min
  5. EP 147 Six years on the Trans Canada Trail with filmmaker Dianne Whelan, worst airline experiences & Australia's best town

    27 May

    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 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 even snowshowing 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/  Send us Fan Mail Support the show Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

    53 min
  6. EP 146 The inspiring story of the first Tongan woman to become an airline pilot & the best wine regions to visit this autumn

    20 May

    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.   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/ Support the show Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au   Send us Fan Mail Support the show Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

    45 min
  7. EP 145 Hot Take: Travel fashion - activewear on flights and what to wear on a cruise? We answer all the hard questions

    13 May

    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 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.  Send us Fan Mail Support the show Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

    39 min
  8. EP 144 The latest slow travel trend: barefoot hiking; the most instagrammable hotels & better sleep on planes

    6 May

    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 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/ Support the show Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au Send us Fan Mail Support the show Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au

    41 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

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.auInstagram @theworldawaitspodcast Support us https://ko-fi.com/theworldawaits (thank you!)

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