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Oct

Explore Malta with chef Shane Delia; getting compensated for delayed flights & hire car accident hotspots

There’s great nightlife, it’s summer all year round, and really, really hospitable people. Add to that fabulous architecture and a blossoming food scene, and what’s not to love about Malta?

In Australia, he’s Mr Malta – Maltese-Australian chef, restaurateur and TV presenter Shane Delia has been returning to the Mediterranean island nation since he was 13, so he knows a thing or two about exploring Malta’s food, beaches and lifestyle.

Shane joined me on the podcast just ahead of Maltese Independence Day.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or via our website and all other great podcast apps.

His restaurants include Maha in Melbourne, Layla in Brisbane and the Biggie Smalls kebab chain, and he appears on Channel 9’s Postcards every week. He says Malta is blossoming with high-end restaurants.

“But while it’s well documented where we’ve been, young Maltese chefs are asking, ‘Where can we be, who can we be?'” he says. His hot tips include Marsaskala Bay for swimming and Sphinx Malta for delicious pastizzi. Follow Shane at @shanedelia

Also, be compensated for late or cancelled flights here in Australia: you can have your say on the proposed Aviation Consumer Protection Scheme, see http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure-transport-vehicles/aviation/aviation-consumer-protections

And finally, car rental group VroomVroomVroom says that Australian airports are the most common place for bingles in your hire car.

Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ep-112-exploring-malta-with-chef-shane-delia-payouts/id1689931283?i=1000727243372

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Tuu5FlHKAg7WOmyaBBB7W

Oct

Old Salt, Pier Runner, Wellness Cruiser: What’s your cruise personality?

From pier runners to the bargain hunters, which one of these 10 cruise personalities are you?

My story in the Australian Financial Review’s High Seas magazine decode the most common ocean journey archetypes, including the Old Salt and Round-the-World Devotees, and why you should google upside-down pineapples before you cruise. There are the wellness cruisers, the hypermilers, and the round-the-world devotees.

Click here to read the full story and to see if you are, actually, a Pier Runner. Thanks to Simon Leitch for the great illustrations.

In this edition, I also got to put the case for why sea days are the best days on ship, in a cheeky little essay recalling my mum’s inability to find a glass of water on an epic Seabourn cruise.

Click here to read the full story, where you can forget the destination, cruising is all about the journey. Watch the ocean, soak up the sun and enjoy the curious sensation of seeing nothing on the horizon.

Oct

Shortlisted for Australian Travel Writer of the Year 2025

I’m very, very pleased to announce that I’ve been shortlisted again for Travel Writer of the Year in the Australian Society of Travel Writers 2025 awards!

I titled my collection of three features The Underrated and the Understated, reporting on a train journey in southern Spain, AlUla in Saudi Arabia and Oman (that’s me, stopping to smell the roses, after being trapped in flooded Dubai on the way to that mountain of fragrance).

Thanks to ASTW and to the companies who continue to support travel journalism, including InnTravel, Saudi Tourism, Emirates, Shangri-La Muscat in Oman and Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar, and their PR representatives

And thanks also to the editors at the Traveller section of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers and Luxury Escapes’ Dream magazine, who commission features from these adventures, which sometimes (Ok, often) slip away from the conventional path.

The competition is daunting – my friends Justin Meneguzzi and Kate Henessey complete the trio shortlisted for the TWOTY (best acronym, right?) Luckily, they are both great humans as well as extremely talented writers.

@hh_510 thank you so much, once again, for this photo from Al Jebel Al Akhdar It’s one of my favourite travel photos.

Sep

The view from a neurodivergent traveller; world’s most crowded hotspots & duty-free shopping tips

Airports are one of the most stressful places we’ll find ourselves, and this week on The World Awaits travel podcast, we’re looking at travel from the viewpoint of a neurodivergent traveller.

Listen to the current episode of The World Awaits on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or via the website https://theworldawaits.au

Sarah Maree Cameron is a radio and TV presenter, writer and comedian. She presents the House of Wellness on Nine Radio, and in Melbourne, the Weekend Break with Grubby on 3AW and TravelOz on Channel 7.

With that job description, she’s constantly on the road, and we chat about how she manages her hectic schedule while juggling a number of dietary and health issues. Listen for her top tips on staying stress-free and healthy. Follow Sarah Maree on instagram for more wellness tips

Also, which are the most crowded tourist destinations in the world? A couple are particular favourites for Australian travellers, according to new analysis from Deluxe Holiday Homes.

And Kadi Luggage reveals how to get the best bang for your buck when shopping duty-free at airports.

Sarah Maree’s tips include:
Listening to sleep stories with the Calm app
Hotteeze heat pads

Sep

Travel in Asia: the hotspots and the sleeper hits

Hanoi’s hot, Phuket’s hotter and Tokyo is sizzling like a summer’s day in Hades. This week, I chatted to ABC Mornings Adelaide about the hottest places to travel in Asia, and where you can step off the beaten path to some alternate destinations in these countries.

It comes on the back of the news that a million – a million – Australians visited Japan in the past 12 months. We can’t get enough of it, and nor can the rest of the world. Which is fair enough; they’ve got fabulous culture, food, landscapes and history. What’s not to love.

I chatted with Rory McClaren about alternative destinations in Japan, away from the Lost in Translation moments in Tokyo, and why chasing geishas through Kyoto is a really, really bad look for travellers.

Also, my sleeper hit of Hue, in Vietnam, and why the Philippines is so often overlooked – and unjustifiably so.

Take a listen to the conversation – here’s a link on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHIjMRbAAfo

Aug

Best things to do in Cairo, how to guarantee a sunny holiday & things left in Ubers: The World Awaits podcast

You’ve booked a holiday to Egypt, but the Grand Egyptian Museum’s (GEM) opening has been postponed…again! “All is not lost!” I say!

Listen on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-106-the-new-cairo-with-belle-jackson-avoiding/id1689931283?i=1000720943277
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0sBUGYM7YLATaHjYawp5yq?si=b0a843ca0b4a4408
or via the website at https://theworldawaits.au

As podcast host of The World Awaits travel podcast and an Egypt aficionado, I’m the guest this episode, rounding up the best of new things to do in Cairo.

I share my top three things to do in Cairo, including the best Egyptian museums and neighbourhoods, essential experiences and answers the age-old question, is Cairo safe right now? For more of my travels, including some pretty great footage (if I do say so myself) see https://www.instagram.com/global_salsa

And we have a winner of our tropical Thai holiday giveaway of four nights at Avani+ Khao Lak! Thanks to Avani Hotels & Resorts, who generously offered this prize to our listeners to celebrate our 100th episode!

And finally, our tip this week is how to avoid the rainiest places in the world (unless you love a downpour!), and we cover off the craziest things people have left in Ubers.

Aug

Boat safety in Bali; media appearance on ABC TV News Channel

Bali has had four tragic boat disasters this year, most recently with a speedboat carrying 80 people between the popular tourist island Nusa Penida and Sanur, on Bali’s east coast.

I spoke with ABC TV’s News Channel about boat safety in Bali, and how travellers can travel safely in the region.

Click here to watch the full television report: https://youtu.be/JPJD0hqUABM?feature=shared

If you’re thinking about taking a boat ride in Bali – either to Nusa Penida or further afield to the Gili islands, don’t be afraid to ask even the most basic questions, such as :

is there one lifejacket for every person on board?
do the crew do a safety briefing?
is the crossing going to be rough?
and ask yourself… does it feel right, does it feel safe?

In the end, you have to trust your gut instinct. There are regulations in Bali, they are not enforced.

Take a listen and see what you think; and let me know in the comments.

Jul

Hotel Review: Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino, Greece, Dream by Luxury Escapes magazine

The dream assignment: go to Greece, stay at the new Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino, on the Peloponnese coast. Reader, I acquiesced.

The hotel is about 3.5 hours’ drive south of Athens – hello, hire car/wrong side of the road/wrong side of the car dramas! But I’d seen the photos of this luxury hotel, and I knew I could survive Athens’ traffic jams to get there.

It was worth it. The location, its history and its mythology pervade all aspects of the first Mandarin Oriental hotel in Greece, from its spa to the ultra-Hellenic breakfasts, even the hotel’s architecture. Despite being a global group, it’s as Greek as yiayia’s meatballs.

I wrote about the new hotel’s opening for Luxury Escapes magazine, take a look.

For more great travel inspo, head to https://luxuryescapes.com/inspiration/

Jul

New hotels, cruises and a Qantas tie-in: why you should holiday in Oman, Australian Financial Review

I first visited Oman way back at the beginning of my crush on the Middle East – at the time, the country was little known to Australians, and to beat an impending group of journalists visiting, two of us opted to go early. Which is how I came to be sitting in a desert, looking at the thermometer touch 50 on our Toyota 4WD.

My most recent visit was not in the height of summer – happily, it was in the relative cool of spring, and this time, I was high up in the mountains to watch the country’s brief and beautiful rose harvest.

You can read more about it in this story for the Australian Financial Review, where I get to rave about my love of desert fortresses, rose terraces and frankincense.

I’m heading off to the Middle East again shortly; everyone asks if it’s a good time. The problem with the ME is that when there’s trouble in one area, the whole region is tainted with the same brush. No-one ever avoided London if there was a crisis in Romania (or even, say, Paris). Oman is the standout in the region as stable, peaceful and neutral; I’m always calling it the Switzerland of the Middle East. If that’s not a reason to holiday in Oman…

Click the link below to read my latest story on Oman:

https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/travel/new-hotels-cruises-and-a-qantas-tie-in-why-you-should-holiday-in-oman-20250410-p5lqpq

And you can always search back through this blog to read more about this fragrant, happily overlooked jewel of the Middle East.

Jun

How can we protect Africa’s wildlife from poaching? Go on safari! The World Awaits podcast

How can we protect Africa’s wildlife from poaching? Go on safari! Australian author Tony Park is my guest on The World Awaits travel podcast this week, chatting about safaris in southern Africa, where he lives on the edge of Kruger National Park, and his whodunnits all have a strong conservation theme.

We’ve teamed up with Tony and publisher @macmillianaus to give away five copies of Tony’s latest novel, Die by the Sword, to be released on 29 July!

To win:
Follow @theworldawaitspodcast on Instagram or Facebook
Like this post https://www.instagram.com/p/DKlUKNIp654/?igsh=NHhkZHEwMGYzNTlw
Tell us in the comments below where you’d like to travel to next, and tag your favourite travel buddy!

“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 Tony.

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. You can read more about his 23rd novel, with a synopsis and behind- the-scenes author notes at https://www.tonypark.net/sword.html

T&Cs: Australian addresses only. Winners announced on the podcast on 26/6/2025 and notified by email.

#theworldawaits #podcast #travel #travelpodcast #southafrica #wildlife #conservation #africa #africatravel

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