The Thoughtful Travel Podcast Amanda Kendle

Many of us like to “do good” when we travel, and getting involved in some kind of citizen science program when we travel is a fantastic way to do this. Citizen science might involve making observations of wildlife or flora, collecting other kinds of data or even working in a science lab, and the guests on this podcast have a variety of wonderful citizen science experiences to report.

First up, I chat with Roger Smith of Echidna Walkabout. After running tours in Australia for several decades, largely centred on our intriguing wildlife, he has much to say about using citizen science on their tours, and has a great example from a koala project to share.

I then speak with Jamie Van Jones of Salt and Bush Eco Tours. They include some kind of citizen science aspect to all their tours and Jamie explains how travellers are contributing to helping conserve a critically endangered possum in Western Australia.

Finally, Justin Meneguzzi explains his experience of citizen science on an expedition cruise to Antarctica, where he could get involved in various projects run by the scientists on board the ship.

Links:


Roger Smith of Echidna Walkabout - https://echidnawalkabout.com.au/
Koala Clancy Foundation, their NFP - https://www.koalaclancyfoundation.org.au 
Jamie Van Jones - www.saltandbush.com.au 
Swanlandia, their NFP - https://www.swanlandia.com.au
Justin Meneguzzi - https://www.justinmeneguzzi.com
eBird - https://ebird.org/ 
iNaturalist - https://www.inaturalist.org  
Questagame - https://questagame.com 
Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/293
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting animal experiences right when we travel is something we can all try hard to do - checking ahead of time whether the ways we might be about to interact with animals are ethical and appropriate. 

In this episode I have a bit of theory and practice to share. First up, we hear from Nora Livingstone at Animal Experience International, an organisation which helps travellers volunteer at ethical animal experiences around the world. 

We then move on to India with my long-time listener Anuj, who recently spent time in the Gir National Park in Gujarat, India, and explains both the ethics and his incredible experiences there.

Links:


Nora Livingstone from Animal Experience International - https://www.animalexperienceinternational.com
Anuj’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/anujph/ 
Gir National Park - https://girlion.gujarat.gov.in - official site, available only in India
Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers 
Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/292
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is, apparently, no end to the appetite of both me and my listeners to hear stories about things going wrong on our travels. It’s not that we want to laugh or point fingers at people who have bad things happen to them - I think it’s more an empathy and sympathy, and the kind of entertainment that arises from someone who’s told a travel story many times, and can tell it well. That’s my excuse anyway: this is just one more of quite a number of episodes on this topic!

My first guest in this episode is Nora Livingston of Animal Experience International, and her tale of something going wrong does, indeed, feature an animal - a Cape buffalo, in fact, in Kenya. Fortunately, all involved come out of the experience unharmed.

I then chat with Staci Mellman of Brand USA about the natural disaster kind of “things going wrong” - when cyclonic storms interrupted a boat ride while she was in Fiji a few years back.

Finally, I discuss work travel with Joseph Kolapudi, who’s had quite a string of bad luck when he’s travelled to present at conferences. He has tales from India and Kenya about some of the things that have gone wrong - but that he always manages to get through nonetheless.

Links:


Nora Livingstone, Animal Experience International - https://www.animalexperienceinternational.com 
Staci Mellman, Senior VP, Brand USA - https://www.thebrandusa.com 
Joseph Kolapudi, SolveSquad - https://www.solvesquad.co/ 
Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/291
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This special episode is the audio of the Facebook Livestream of the March 2023 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, talking about Travel as a Political Act by Rick Steves.

Justin and I chatted about some of the positives of this book - the various lessons learnt from travel and some guidelines for travelling thoughtfully - along with a few parts we didn't agree with so wholeheartedly.

If you'd like to join the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, all the info is at https://notaballerina.com/bookclub, and you can keep up with all the thoughts about our current books in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook Group at https://facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy 7th birthday to The Thoughtful Travel Podcast!

This is a special episode with a few interesting tidbits about the podcast, inspired by members of the Thoughtful Travellers groups who gave me some excellent suggestions. For example, I've got the stats to show you which seven episodes have been the most downloaded over the history of the podcast; I've also got our group's version of the seven deadly sins of travel.

I've also combined this seven-year celebration with a trip report on my recent experience in Kununurra, in the far north-east of Western Australia. It's an incredible part of the world and I feel so blessed to have been sent there to run some workshops, and I wanted to share a few of the highlights from my experience. But I have to return to see more!!!

Links:


SxSW Session Select voting - https://notaballerina.com/vote  “Why We Need Travel More Than Travel Needs Us” (until 11th April 2023)
My Instagram for Kununurra pics and videos - https://instagram.com/amandakendle 
Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/290
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What really goes on behind the scenes of travel writers, content creators and podcasters, and their counterparts in the tourism and travel industry, public relations firms and tourism boards? I recently spent the best part of a week in Sydney immersed in this world and I realised that lifting the curtain on how this part of travel and tourism works might prove interesting for my listeners.

This episode is part trip report (in short: Sydney is gorgeous) and part BTS of IMM Australia, and more. The what? You'll have to listen to find out! I also chat with Christina Koullas of CK PR who gives us a great rundown on how public relations in general works within the travel industry.

Links:


Christina Koullas of CK PR - https://ckpr.com.au/ 
Christina’s blog about working with a journalist - https://ckpr.com.au/how-we-secured-a-cover-story/
The resulting article from Catherine Marshall - https://www.traveller.com.au/cape-york-queensland-travel-guide-the-last-great-adventure-destination-in-australia-h1twly
TravMedia - https://travmedia.com 
Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/289
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.