We recently asked about your hot takes and controversial opinions on the outdoors. Tune in to find out which takes they agree with and which they think are just plain wrong. If you have an outdoor hot take you’ve been keeping from the world, now’s the time to let it out! Check out the original Instagram post and share your thoughts.


In This Episode The Hot Takes We Cover Are

• Jess Nehme thinks waterfalls are underwhelming
• Hiking Bec thinks 4WD shouldn’t be allowed to drive on beaches
• Kate Donald hates the beach
• Josh Fletcher thinks taking chairs on hikes is pointless – just sit on the ground
• Sarah Larcombe wants more walks to be wheelchair accessible
• Tim Ashelford thinks campfires in summer are unnecessary – unless you’re cooking on it
• Brooke Nolan and Elissa Ward think ultralight hiking is overrated
• @danielclarkephoto thinks ultralight hiking is worth it – trip dependent
• Mogely Tessa thinks camping is more effort than it’s worth
• Ben Dawson thinks bluebottles are absolutely absurd creatures and there’s no need for them
• Rhys John thinks the odd person taking a stone isn’t that bad
• Paul Fencaros wants to remove handrails and safety bars – people should be responsible for their own safety
• Caitlin Skye hates walking uphill – give her downhill any day
• Crisps on Tour/Anika Ebner asks how come everyone has forgotten to swim, filling all of the swimming holes in the Northern Territory with inflatables and pool noodles
• The Eastern Thredbo Village thinks cold water plunges are too cold
• @inthewildernessoz doesn’t want to hear how many steps you did, tell her about the adventure you did instead
• @littlechirpybird asks why people need music, podcasts or talking just for the sake of talking. When did people lose interest in the sounds of nature?

Follow Along for More!

Show us some love and subscribe wherever you get your audio fix. It helps us continue to bring you the goods and uncover the weird and wonderful adventure folk (that’s you!) who are doing inspiring things.

Find us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, with new episodes every second hump day.

Or check out the We Are Explorers Podcast page.

From studying spatial science at uni to being diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition that changed how he lives, Matt’s story is a tale of dealing with challenges as they come and turning passion and community into a career. Join We Are Explorers Podcast host, Tim Ashelford, as he chats with Matt about his personal journey and how it led him to founding Fractel.

They chat about the importance of community in building a brand, the challenges of creating sustainable products, and the difference between being tokenistic verses actually holding yourself accountable.

In This Episode We Cover

• Importance of sport in Matt’s life
• Matt’s early career
• Degenerative eye condition diagnoses
• Dealing with changes/challenges in life
• Getting back into running
• Starting Fractel
• Community and sustainability
• Working with and showcasing First Nations artists
• Upcoming work from Fractel

In this week’s episode, our hosts unpack how MOMENTS entries are going and the harmony between creativity and the outdoors. They yarn about outdoor sports in the Olympics, and how different this version of each sport is to the activities most of us know and love.

Finally, with a variety of articles catching the interest of our audience recently, they go deep into the stories that caused a stir!

In This Episode We Cover

• MOMENTS – photo, video, and writing competition
• Olympics – sport in a controlled environment
• Arc’teryx’s new ‘MO/GO’ pants
• Pros & cons of Tassie’s controversial ‘Next Iconic Walk’
• Fires in the bush – K’gari bushfire investigation
• PFCs in rain jackets – Your rain jacket is probably harming the planet
• 9 best 4WD tracks in Australia
• Junk sailing from Hobart to Sydney

Join We Are Explorers Podcast host, Tim Ashelford, as he learns how Cezary & Leo dreamt up this unique gap year, and what's gone down in the first six months. Joining the podcast from the Western Treatment Plant (yep, a sewage treatment farm that apparently has great spot bird watching), the pair are over 10,000km and 590 birds into their year-long adventure.

They've both deferred uni in favour of a wild adventure, combining their passion for birds, their bikes as a means of affordable transport, and a fundraising effort to build a school in East Timor.

In This Episode We Cover

• The 700+ bird species in Aus
• Getting into birding
• Why the pair chose to travel by bike
• Trip budget
• Bikepacking experience
• Fundraising for a school in East Timor
• Bird highlights
• Chasing the common redshank
• Characters on the road
• Bike setups
• Safety on the road
• What's next
• Spend it well – school in East Timor

Show Notes
Cezary and Leo are raising money for Spend It Well, a charity that builds schools in East Timor. You can follow along their journey via their joint Instagram @twobirderstwobikes.

Ready for an adventure of your own?
Follow We Are Explorers:
Website: https://weareexplorers.co/
Instagram: @we_are_explorers
Events Calendar: https://weareexplorers.co/events/list/

Enjoying the podcast? Why not subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an ep. It helps us to continue bringing you epic adventure content!

Host: Tim Ashelford

Join our hosts as they recap some recent articles that have captured your imagination and take a deep dive into the world of misadventure. They also talk about the recent launch of Explorer Basecamp, our accommodation vertical and MOMENTS, our first creativity and storytelling competition which opens today! There are $15,000 worth of cash prizes to be won and entries are open until the 15th August.

In this chat we cover:

Recent articles

• Wombats – Tourism Tas & Maria Island
• Seasonal articles – Best Coastal Towns for a Beach Holiday
• Solo hiking

Misadventure

• NZ Bikepacking Adventure
• Pitches – what we do and don’t publish
• Infinite Raspberry Excerpt – Katrina Hemingway
• Tips to avoid misadventure
• Safety Messaging/articles

Recent We Are Explorers Launches

• Basecamp
• Moments

Brendan Waters set up his disability service provider Limitless Ability because he believed disability care should be individually tailored to each client. From group camping to gold panning, listen on to hear how he is providing people with disabilities the same coming of age experiences as everyone else.

In this week's episode, join We Are Explorers host Amy Fairall as she chats to Brendan to unpack how he got into the industry, the cookie cutter approach large scale providers take, and what he thinks is most important for people living with disabilities.

In this chat we cover:

• Brendans Journey into disability care
• What makes Limitless Ability different from other providers
• The activities Limitless Ability takes its clients on
• The benefits of getting outdoors
• The isolation that living with a disability can create
• Why the outdoors is so powerful
• Why family and friends can't offer this experience
• The importance of independence
• Terrible Trojans All Abilities Rugby Union team
• How to find similar providers

Find out more about Limitless Ability:
Website: https://www.limitlessability.com.au/

Ready for an adventure of your own?
Follow We Are Explorers:
Website: https://weareexplorers.co/
Instagram: @we_are_explorers
Events Calendar: https://weareexplorers.co/events/list/

Enjoying the podcast? Why not subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an ep. It helps us to continue bringing you epic adventure content!

Host: Amy Fairall

Join We Are Explorers Podcast hosts, Tim Ashelford and Amy Fairall in this week’s episode without all the distractions that come with doing a bushwalk at the same time.


They chat about recent articles that’ve been published about conservation and accessibility to nature in Australia. You'll also find out how the editorial team writes news and chooses what to publish, plus some more lighthearted discussion on fishing in the NT, Tim’s recent trail race in the Red Centre, and of course the wrap up from Alone Australia Season 2.

In this chat we cover:

• Conservation issues
• Lee Point land clearing
• National Parks – what can we learn from US National Parks and what makes Australia’s National Parks so special?
• Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area
• Making parks accessible to all
• How WAE write news and chooses which stories see the light of day
• Fishing in the NT
• Alone Australia finale
• West Macs Monster Trail Run

Follow Tim Ashelford:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tim_ashelford/

Follow Amy Fairall:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amy.eloise/

Ready for an adventure of your own?
Follow We Are Explorers:
Website: https://weareexplorers.co/
Instagram: @we_are_explorers

Enjoying the podcast? Why not subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an ep. It helps us to continue bringing you epic adventure content!

Hosts: Tim Ashelford and Amy Fairall

On the 64th day of the show, the winner of Alone Australia Season 2 was crowned. We Are Explorers were lucky enough to record this chat with the winner.

*Alone Australia Season 2 Finale spoilers below*

We Are Explorers host (and Alone Australia fanboy) Tim spoke to Krzyzstof about bed construction, the edit, Krzysztof’s favourite piece of gear and how the experience changed him.


In this chat we cover:

• The winning feeling
• The motivation to keep going
• Krzysztof’s shelter
• How he ended up on Alone Australia Season 2
• Neurodivergence and positivity
• Crafternoons
• Packing list
• The isolation
• How the experience changed him

Ready for an adventure of your own?
Follow We Are Explorers:
Website: https://weareexplorers.co/
Instagram: @we_are_explorers
Events Calendar: https://weareexplorers.co/events/list/

Enjoying the podcast? Why not subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an ep. It helps us to continue bringing you epic adventure content!

Host: Tim Ashelford

This podcast was made possible thanks to our mates at Arc'teryx.