Tuesday we gathered at the STA Travel store at the University of London to talk Western Australia, learn a little about aboriginal culture and receive guidance in the ways of the didgeridoo.

The evening was excellent thanks greatly to our educators for the evening – Dylan, STA Travel store manager and Steve, didgeridoo expert. There was also plenty of travel chat between attendees, STA Travel staff and the STA Travelbuzz team members. In fact, during this we learnt that David, a meet-up regular, had been to Aus only mere weeks after attending our previous Aussie themed get together. He even had a hat to prove it!

Dylan led a fairly diverse discussion on the joys of Western Oz referring to his presentation throughout that included details on camel riding, diving with whales, the beautiful Margaret River region and the ‘freedom’ offered by Willie Beach. After some brief allaying of fears amongst those attended about the chances of meeting a crocodile while swimming, Dylan handed over to Steve of www.obostick.com and the more practical side of the evening began.

First things first, Steve is the best didgeridoo player I have ever heard. I won’t lie, I’ve not witnessed countless numbers of ‘didge’ players, yet while watching Steve do his thing I was blown away. He spoke about the aboriginal culture and where the instrument fits in, including plenty on their construction and decoration. After this it was time for everyone to have a go…

You can see how that went in the video below.

We’re going to be featuring Steve on the STA travelbuzz site so check back for that. He’ll be passing on more information regarding Western Australia as he’s travelled the region extensively and has some great experiences to share. Aside from that enjoy the adventures contained on our Western Australia page and hopefully we’ll see you at the next meet-up! Read on…

Despite the dust having barely settled on our #STATravelWA soirée, we’re planning another meet-up! It’ll be focused on South Africa, and promises to be particularly interactive. To get yourself in the mood visit our Alternative South Africa Facebook page and if you want to put your name down early or just say ‘hi’ get in touch via our email, Twitter or Facebook pages.

Tomorrow is the STA travelbuzz Western Australia meet-up!

If you want to come along just give us an informal RSVP via Facebook, Twitter or email and we’ll put your name on the list. It’s all taking place at The University of London STA Travel store on Malet Street kicking off at 7:30pm.

There’ll be plenty of Western Oz chat, discussion and advice to begin with, before Colin from Aboriginal Art gives us all a didgeridoo lesson! I’m pretty sure being able to blare out a note on a didgeridoo is a life skill worth having so we’re all pretty excited about this.

*Update* We’ve had a late substitution, Colin couldn’t make it due to unforeseen circumstances but thankfully Steve has stepped into the breach. Don’t fret though; he has the skills to pay the proverbial bills. Have a look at him in action on his website Obostick – brilliant!

You can have a gander at other meet-ups in our retrospective post or by diving headlong into the photos collected on Flickr, a few of which I’ve included below – look forward to seeing you there!

This week our Travel Tuesday mention goes to the picture perfect Runaway Jane – full time travel writer and freelance illustrator (she refuses to choose between the two).

Disheartened by a career in sales Jane opted for a ticket to Australia instead. It turned out fairly well by all accounts, her own in particular,

“I’ve always been curious about the world outside my little town. It was that, and the encouragement from a friend that prompted me to quit my job in sales, and travel half way across the world in search of happiness. It’s a decision that I have never regretted doing.”

Runaway Jane is full of the type of content that anyone interested in travel would find a joy to delve through. Blog posts such as Top 5 Things I Love About Travel and Can Travel Change the World are her mainstays as is the travel photo of the week category, there is also a page dedicated to extracts from her sketchbook. Jane has also just started Jane’s Guide to Edinburgh.

At STA travelbuzz we strongly suggest you head over to Runaway Jane and enjoy her talents as a travel writer and illustrator – we certainly do!

#traveltuesday #tt

*Update* We’ve had a change of date for the meet-up! It will now take place on Tuesday 17th August with a 7:30pm start. Apologies for an inconvenience caused and we hope you’ll still be able to pop along…

We’re having a meet-up! This time around we’ll be at The University of London STA Travel store on Malet Street for an evening of Western Australia themed travel chat.

The date for the meet-up is Tuesday 17th August with a 7:30pm start. Everyone is welcome, so come along and get involved. If you do have any questions or queries just email, drop us a tweet @statravelbuzz with the tag #statravelWA or get in touch via Facebook.

Experts from STA Travel will be talking all things Western Oz, enlightening us with their wisdom and, if you’re looking for a head start, visit our Western Australia page which is full of info on a variety of locations in the region. There is also an A to Z of WA on the STA Travel site – 26 ways to enjoy the area including the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk and the Bungle Bungle Range.

Following the STA Travel talk will be Colin from Aboriginal Art who’ll be discussing not only the native art and culture but also didgeridoos! Start practicing your circular breathing now…

Surfing in Byron Bay is probably one of the more dreamt about lifestyles when it comes to imagining an alternative existence down-under. If you’ve a penchant for the beach bum scene and surf movies then a summer spent carving the waves in Byron has probably wafted through the landscape of your daydreams.

It had for Chris. However he’s no longer just dreaming it he’s out there living it. And the idyllic Byron scene has recently had an important addition for Chris – a long lasting swell,

“This basically means my daily life has turned into a beautifully repetitive routine. Get up, work, surf through lunch, work, sneaky evening surf, a little more work, party. It really is living the dream. Cash in my pocket and a good wave count to match.”

Chris did the honorable thing and forwent catching more surf to snap a couple of his fellow boarders about to depart Byron. Only fair I think. The photos are on their way, but the above is a taster.

If all this surf lifestyle talk has you tempted you can begin looking into the possibilities Byron has to offer in the way of surfing and more besides on the STA Travel website.

It is time for an update on the activities of some of our STA Explorers and how their travelling experiences are currently panning out.

First a relative newbie to the clan – say hello to Nicole! She’s an Aussie who is heading to London after summer camp in the US. From our great capital she’ll set off again on adventures that will hopefully see her,

“… teach English, learn to snowboard in the Swiss Alps, master a foreign language and help save the giant pandas in China!”

All of this will be documented across Bitten by the Travel Bug, @NicoleTravelBlog and Facebook.

Alex of the South American loveliness that is afowen.com has added significant amounts to the sites What to do in Bogotá page. Basically it’s a must read if you’re visiting!

Michael has updated his Facebook photos with what he refers to as leftovers from Mongolia. Leftover doesn’t really do them justice as the images are great. I’ve included one below (statues/monuments are nothing without horses in my opinion), though I’d also like to recommend this super shot that has one commenter asking, ‘Did you accost a local?’

Travelling Editor Dylan has also updated, going into detail about the preparation and subsequent effects of kava. Something he experienced while in Fiji.

It was also experienced by our very own Cam and Siobhan at the Adventure Travel Show…

Finally if you’ve travelled and filled the less hectic days with music and film,the sharing of which with fellow backpackers is something Chris sees as a mainstay of travelling, you’ll enjoy his latest Top Ten Tuesday – Film’s and TV.

There is more from th STA travelbuzz tribe on our  travelling experiences page. If your interested in joining the STA Explorer fold, just leave us a comment below or get in touch via email or Twitter. We look forward to hearing from you.

Today’s hero of travel is the Globetrooper website, which promotes a truly shared experience when it comes to making your way around the world.

Essentially the site is a network where individuals just like you can build a journey of a lifetime and then ask like-minded folks to join you whether they’re friends, or those friends you haven’t met yet, strangers. In their own words,

“Globetrooper is a tool to find travel partners for group trips and world adventures.

More specifically, Globetrooper is a tool for adventurous travellers to create trips and invite people from all over the world to join them.”

Currently on the front page of their site are three featured trips, Sam’s Europe and anywhere else… no time limit, Mark’s Great Circular Indian Railway Challenge and Alice’s Backpacking/Working Europe in Spring ~ 2011 ~. Clicking through to these will give you a grand idea of what is possible at Globetrooper.

Obviously this is only scratching the surface of what is on offer, I looked though and found road trips from London to South Africa, plans to travel the world while playing poker and a Tour of Khovsgul Lake in Mongolia…

Of course there is also a page of travel guides to help with the planning, a forum for discussing said plans with the community and a blog covering plenty of useful and interesting travel related fare.

Globetrooper is lots of what we at STA travelbuzz love – community and travel. And this is why we’re giving them a Travel Tuesday virtual handshake of hearty approval! Good work!

#traveltuesday #tt