Two more STA Explorers have joined the swelling ranks of travel lovers documenting their tours and both are £10 Poms. Be it the daily minutiae or the awe prompted by a once in a lifetime moment, we’ll be kept up to date in true STA Explorer style.

So who are our latest recruits?

First is Alice in Down-underland (you see what we did there?) who has turned her doodles into a plan. As you can see from her blog, Alice Goes Walkabout, the plans look fairly well thought out. She’s due to get to Aus early November and she’s already got her priorities sorted when it comes to taking her first steps on Australian soil…

Next into our global trekking fold is Fate Becomes Her, who in less grand moments goes by the name of Aileen. She’s been at the Edinburgh Festival but in three weeks she’s cashing in her £10 Pom ticket (it was the 14^th of 15 at the STA Travel Glasgow store – charmed!) and heading for Melbourne, but after that she’s got no fixed plans. Oh, apart from some time looking after turtles in Thailand…

Make sure you follow them on Twitter (@aileenelizabeth and @alice_walkabout) and head back to check what they’re up to.

Malph and his Mankini have made it to Nicaragua in the latest installment of the International Mankini Challenge!

As with the previous zip-line escapades this is by definition a challenge – cue Malph, Mankini and boarding down the volcano Cerro Negro. This leg of the tour has seen our Mankini on a Mission a little apprehensive, something that has been expressed in 140 characters via @mankinimalph,

“Wondering if friction burns from volcanoes are worse than normal ones and if volcanic ash can be easily swept out of private places?!”

Should he have been worried? Judging by the video, yes. Did he survive? Of course he did! Malph you’re our hero. It’s all below in glorious technicolour courtesy of the Mankini Challenge YouTube channel.

One of our latest STA Explorers Chris, aka Hang 10 and Party, has been ‘chillaxing’ with surf legend Tom Wegener.

I’ve always figured being a professional surfer would be the best job in the world, second only to writing on STA Travelbuzz of course, so I’m always interested to read about these guys. Chris has given a quick overview of why Tom is a surf giant,

“Tom has been thrust into the surfboarding limelight of the last few years due to the development/revival of the Alaia board. Based upon months of research and trial shaping, the Alaia replicates the style of board originally surfed by Hawaiians hundreds of years ago.”

Chris signs of his post with

“53 days!!!!!!!”

Seven exclamation marks – well worthy of the excitement heading to Australia in fewer than two months brings. Maybe Chris can drop in on Tom who, and this is why I think surfers have the best job in the world, resides in the Noosa – a surfing mecca. Chris from what I’ve seen and heard from Cam you’d fit right in. You got to go!

Chris will be discussing his day with Tom in the online pages of www.driftsurfing.eu should you need more surf conversation.

Yup, the last Thursday of August is nearly upon us. That means STA Travelbuzz meet-up number two!

As with our first meet-up we’ll be securing a spot in a London pub and inviting travel fans to come share a beverage and have a chat about exploring this little green and blue orb we occupy. We’ve already got a guest list including STA Exlplorers past and present and an STA Travel £10 Pom. Oh, and the first round is on us!

It’s all happening Thursday 27th August beginning at 19:00. If you’re a lover of travel and active (or interested in getting active) online, then get in touch with Cam. Peruse the site at you leisure to see the sort of things we get up to and if you’d like to be involved, it’d be great to see you there! Pete, our unofficial mascot, is a glorious sight and will be there too. Almost worth the trip out in itself!

We have more new Explorers and our tribe is on its way to becoming the full blown community we hoped it would! This time around we’ve got two eager bods who’ll be keeping us in the loop on what they get up to in Australia.

Escaping the Grind, also known as Marianne, is a £10 Pom 2009 (lucky her), and will be writing about her experiences of a working break in Oz at Filling the Pages. As a girl who’s particularly in to live gigs and photography, we’re sure there will be some excellent coverage. I’ve also been told she’s a fan of podcasts – Marianne, I’m thinking the odd cast while you’re away?

Our second Australian hero is Chris, who we’ve named Hang 10 and Party due to his surf lifestyle credentials. Also, just so you know, he’s the bees knees when it comes to photography. I’ll quote from an email we had from him asking what he’ll be doing, which will give you an idea of what’s in store,

“There will be copious amounts of partying along the way, even more in the way of surfing, and I shall be keeping you guys n gals posted along the way which tales to make you uber jealous and visual treats to keep you going in the office!”

Uber jealous indeed… so those are our new guys. Keep your eye on @mia914 and @curiouscheese for tweet shaped updates, and if you fancy becoming an STA Travelbuzz Explorer tweet @statravelbuzz and Camilla will give you the details and probably coax you into coming to meet us out our monthly meet-up – something which is way less scary than it sounds.

Yes, you read it correctly. Our latest STA Explorer is Mankini on a Mission. Known to friends and family alike as Malph, our most recent addition to the STA Travelbuzz Explorer stable couldn’t just travel the globe, that wasn’t enough. He needed a goal to achieve at each destination, a visual record of the wonders of the world by which his wandering feet had taken him – thus the International Mankini Challenge was born!

The Mankini Challenge is just how we like things at STA Travelbuzz, simple in concept and execution. Malph arrives at a destination and picks a significant location, be it national landmark, home of an activity or glorious natural feature, then dons the Mankini and is photographed for the world to see. ‘How’s it going’ I hear you cry… Pretty blooming well.

For those of a sensitive disposition I’ll warn you that the video of Costa Rica being ‘Mankini-ed’ by having Malph taking on the country’s longest zip line isn’t exactly family viewing. Though at 2250 feet long and 450 feet high, Monteverde Extremo (great name) should never be sniffed at!

As we welcome Malph and his Mankini, I’ll leave the last word to him as to what we can expect, taken from his Twitter @mankinimalph,

“ManikiniMalph is pretty sure that I’ll be boarding down a volcano in a Mankini in Nicaragua in a week’s time. This may not be one of my wisest decisions!”

For those interested in exploring far eastern climes, or offered the luxury of looking for that perfect holiday destination, this Scotland on Sunday guide to Beijing is an ideal read. Covering everything from food through nightlife to the ideal places to stay for budget adventurers – it is an in-depth micro guide to a city that has the potential to surprise even the hardiest traveler.

“Nothing can really prepare you for the culture shock that lies in store. It is worth researching the stretch of the wall you want to walk along. Badaling is the most popular, but can be overrun with tourists. There are quieter alternatives such as Mutianyu.”

But how should one go about actually getting there, and how much are we looking at? The guide clears that up, and it’s surprisingly frugal news….

“Return flights to Beijing from Heathrow can be booked for as little as £330 through STA Travel (www.statravel.co.uk). Alternatively, if you have time, catch the Trans Siberian Railway from Moscow to Beijing, via Mongolia. The 4,735-mile journey takes six days, and fares start at about £410.”