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.

Hitchhiking may immediately set of alarm bells for some, especially those familiar with the work of Rutger Hauer. However, we’ve met a few individuals, including former Lonely Planet writer Robert Strauss, who reckon it’s great. Also among these is Dylan, or the Travelling Editor to give him is Twitter name. Sad at the belief that it is becoming ‘a lost art’, he’s put together his top tips on hitchhiking,

“Tested and road-proof, here’s my version of ten nudge-nudge-wink-wink’s on how to not only have a successful hitchhike, but also a emotionally and spiritually satisfying one.”

The tips are great fare for anyone tempted by getting from ‘here’ to ‘there’ by standing roadside and sticking up a thumb. I think my favourite tip among Dylan’s pearls of wisdom is ‘Minimal Planning’. He makes hitchhiking sound so simple, and maybe it is,

“You begin from origin A and you end up in destination B. Sweet as. Now drop the fretting, stop scrawling red lines all over your map and take yourself to spot A.”

Apparently the unpredictability is what it is all about. So what you waiting for, read Dyl’s tips and see where you can get to for free. Paul Smith, the Twitchhiker, got from Newcastle to New Zealand no less! It’s all quite exciting – maybe we should do a STA travelbuzz hitchhike? If you fancy giving it a go be sensible, stay safe and make the world your playground.

Although they may sound like incomprehensible characters from a Matrix sequel, the Nomad and the Editor are actually Matt from Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site and Dylan @travelingEditor. And this casual tweet from Matt on Friday had by Saturday turned into a few beers and travel chat between Matt, our very own Cam and STA Explorer Dylan.

This social media in action serving all took place in Victoria Station, (The Shakespeare to be absolutely precise) and came about because Matt was left with time to kill between returning from Vienna and then flying to Thailand. The discussion was a mix of travel and social media, and how the two mix. While in Thailand, Matt is actually hooking up with a friend he made through Twitter.

One particular topic covered was the types of food that they’d all digested while travelling. Cam declared croc meat was way too fishy for her delicate palette and Dylan and Matt were both fond of a bit of kangaroo when cooked rare. Matt also added that fried maggots tasted like French fries. Croc and kangaroo I can do… maggots maybe not.

The evening ended with a bottle of Speights, beer brewed in New Zealand, something that Dylan was happy about as he’d spotted it earlier. To go with the final shared beverage, plans were made by all to meet again in both New Zealand and Greece if possible. Couple this with the STA Explorers in Aus, travelbuzz is racking up destinations for our world tour…

As part of STA Travel’s 30^th anniversary celebrations we asked our tribe of Explorers to give us their thoughts on how traversing this little old green and blue planet has changed in the last three decades. We’ve had great responses so far, among the highlights are Malph’s back-packing in 2009 and Rob Strauss on hitch-hiking, but now it is the turn of Dylan – the Ramblin’ Rucksack Man.

He begins his post with a tale of a heady night in the house of Junior, a Fijian and staff member of the Coral View Resort. Junior’s Father was in full flow showing proudly a collection of items, one of which was a ‘beautifully preserved guestbook’ from when the household used to double as a guesthouse in the 80s. The book to him,

“represented the regretfully passed days of travel, when travellers could legitimately title themselves as adventurers.”

Not missing the opportunity, Dylan asked the question and in his words,

“[…] grew fascinated with the priceless perspective of a local on how travelling has changed since thirty years ago.”

Dylan relays exactly that perspective on the changing face of the practice of exploring foreign destinations and their cultures. It raised seriousness, nostalgia and some points worth considering about the connections made between nations through the global paths we tread. Let Dylan know your thoughts by leaving a comment on his excellent (and cleverly titled) post – [Insert travel-related title here].

We tweeted about Dylan, or the Ramblin’ Rucksack Man to give him his STA Explorer name, and his recent nomination for Travel Writer of the Year in the Guardian Student Media Awards.

In celebration Dylan has reblogged the article that got him the nomination and it’s a great read. It’s all about his charity hitch-hike to Morocco hosted by Link Community Development, a charity that raises money to help improve education in African countries. The journey was certainly filled with highs and lows, physical and mental. Dylan describes travelling partner Anna’s delight after one particular long wait for a lift,

“That exhilaration is what found throughout the trip: it gives proof that, the bitterer a situation gets, the tastier the sweetness when it bears fruit. Wetness, coldness, sleeplessness, we endured them all – the belief that our frustration would soon end, and tables would turn, kept us going.”

To read it all, something I’d certainly recommend, click through.

Our Fiji bound Ramblin’ Rucksack Man, or Dylan to those who knew him before he took on the STA Explorer mantle, has updated twice since we last covered him here.

Beside the exhaustive post on his trips to Rangitoto and Devonport that we’ll get to in a bit, he’s compiled a rather excellent list of 21 things that make him what he is today. It was all prompted by his recent birthday.

But enough revelry! We’re all about the travel and thankfully so is Dylan! If you skip over to his site you’ll be able to take in his escapades climbing Rangitoto,

“The morning breeze hit me with a vengeance, [but] the sun and cloudless skies were encouragements to my adventurous spirit. And I knew it – it’s going to be a great day for climbing a volcano (well, a dormant one)!”

If this wasn’t adventure enough, he also decided to stop for coffee in Devonport, and scale Mt. Victoria. Now I could tell you about either of these, but I’ll let you read his words instead, because I’d rather leave you with a quote about a curious discovery,

“We each paid NZ$5 for one of the most bizarre five minutes of our lives – laid belly-down in the machine, a plastic sack filled with water would hammer your body from heel to neck in a massage phenomenon I can only describe as ‘wow’.”

Intrigued? Click through!

Our newest STA Explorer, Dylan – or as we like to call him, the Ramblin’ Rucksack Man – has put together a plan.

He mentioned that before leaving Auckland for Fiji he was going to take in some of the local surroundings in full discovery mode. Well, he’s decided where and is looking to take in some spots

“[…] where tourism has hardly left a trace.”

These are Davenport – a beautiful town on the North Shore, Takapuna – where he’ll find fossil-trees (sounds intriguing) and finally the volcanic island of Rangitoto. And all this before he sets off proper. Good work Dyl, we’re beginning to think our name might be more apt than we originally thought.

To drop the Ramblin’ Rucksack Man a message and stay up-to-date with his Auckland forays click through to Dylan Goes Walkabout.