Bushwalker.  Author. Advocate. Rescuer. 

Our guest this week is Caro Ryan, who has just been awarded an Order of Australia Medal for 14 years of service in bushwalking safety and community support in the Australia Day Honours 2026. 

Caro leads a 60-person strong specialist Bush Search and Rescue team for the NSW SES in the Blue Mountains, where she lives. And her book, How to Navigate teaches people just that - the art of navigation and map reading, which she says is essential for safe bushwalking and getting people outdoors, connected to and caring for nature. 

Caro runs navigation courses including the upcoming Introduction to Navigation with Caro Ryan: Flinders Island Edition with Tasmanian Expeditions. And we ask for her best one-day and multi-day walks in Australia and overseas. See lotsafreshair.com 

Also, we announce the winners of our giveaway of two of the best travel hat ever (tried and tested by the podcast team!) Tune in to listen to see if you won a Bahama Flexibraid Fedora by Australian designer Tina M Copenhagen!

And finally, Airbnb reveals five travel trends that it says will dominate 2026 and our tip this week is about discovering what's new in Victoria this coming year. Whew! 

Read Belle's forecasts in the Australian Financial Review: https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/travel/the-best-restaurants-hotels-and-happenings-coming-to-victoria-in-2026-20260106-p5ns67 

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