How solo female travellers are embarking on trips of a lifetime to bucket-list destinations - from Antarctica to Uluru
You're not alone. For many women, the idea of solo travel is exciting, but the reality can be overwhelming.
Between the daunting task of planning an itinerary, safety concerns, and a fear of feeling lonely, that dream trip often stays just that: a dream.
But a boutique travel company is redefining the way women explore the world, curating women-only journeys to awe-inspiring, bucket-list destinations, far from the crowds and the same old tourist traps.
From camping in Uluru, swimming with Manta Rays in the Great Barrier Reef, or journeying to Antarctica for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, OceanZen Travel is making dreams a reality for Australian women.
The best Bucket List Trips with OceanZen Travel
Antarctica
Set foot on the seventh continent, taking in the breathtaking frozen landscape, braving a polar plunge in the icy ocean, and witnessing majestic wildlife in their natural habitat.
The Antarctica Expedition is a rare opportunity to experience the untouched beauty and mystery of this magical part of the world.
Ready for a once in a lifetime adventure? Find out more here.
Dive into the mesmerising marine wonderland on a getaway to Lady Elliott Island in the Great Barrier Reef.
The most popular of OceanZen Travel's expeditions, the tour includes a fully guided diving experience swimming with Manta Rays.
Ready to escape winter with an island paradise escape to reconnect with nature? Find out more here.
Tonga
Five days of snorkelling and swimming with pods, mums and calves, or lone males singing for a mate makes for an unforgettable experience.
The Tonga expedition takes place in September, when whales seek warmer waters to mate and birth their calves.
Can you imagine swimming alongside a magnificent humpback whale? Find out how you can join this trip here.
Uluru
The Northern Territory's sacred centre is a must-visit destination. Uluru is more than one of the world's most iconic landmarks, it is the spiritual heart of Australia.
Sleep around a campfire while gazing at a starlit sky, hearing the stories of the Anangu people, hike the Kings Canyon Rim Walk and dine under a canopy of stars at the famed sounds of silence dinner.
Dream of a soul stirring journey to the Red Centre? Find out more here.
OceanZen Travel was Founded by Steph Gabriel in 2017.
The entrepreneur owned a swimwear company and while in Tonga in 2016 for a campaign shoot, she shared videos swimming with whales on social media.
Followers responded asking how they could have the same experience, and the idea for a travel company was born.
'Seeing the profound impact that these soul-stirring experiences has on the women that come away, lights my soul up,' Steph told Empower Her.
'It's so important for women to step outside their comfort zone and travel the world... and discover a new version of you that you didn't even know existed.
Other incredible trips include a ski tour in New Zealand, a 4WD adventure on Fraser Island, and a Northern Lights expedition to Greenland.
Facebook reviews recommending the company are simply gushing, praising the quality of the service and the 'magical' sense of community the trips cultivate.
'The OceanZen retreats are an unforgettable experience- once you've been on one you'll realise that one isn't enough!' one past traveller wrote on Facebook.
'To be surrounded by incredible, supportive and like-minded girls for a weekend is so soul nourishing, and you'll come back feeling so fulfilled - and with the amazing trip locations which help too!
'To share these experiences with people who are just as stoked to be there as you are creates lifelong friends and memories.
Facebook reviews recommending the company praise the 'magical' sense of community the trips cultivate
'Steph is amazing, and truly cares about each and every one of the girls on the trip. There's no one else I'd want to go on a trip with!'
Another client raved: 'Hands down best travel agency ever. Steph is amazing and really makes sure you have the best time possible on your trip. It is such a great experience and being able to go to these incredible and breathtaking places is such a blessing.
'If you have ever considered solo travelling and don't know where to start don't look further than OceanZen, trust me you will not regret it. So thankful to have met Steph and gone on a trip with her; I'm already booking my next trip and can't wait to go.'
'It's so important for women to step outside their comfort zone and travel the world... and discover a new version of you that you didn't even know existed,' Steph says of the trips
'I cannot recommend travelling with OceanZen enough! I recently went on a retreat to Lady Elliot Island and it was simply amazing,' another traveller commented.
'Steph organises everything to perfection. You don't have to lift a finger the whole time and it was just such a fun experience.
'Steph makes you feel so welcome from the get go, and it was great meeting the other ladies who were also on the trip. I truly can't wait until I can go on another retreat with Steph. I promise you won't regret travelling with OceanZen Travel!'
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Revealed: The tour where British and Irish Lions decided to take on Australian Rules Football teams in their own backyard
As the British and Irish Lions prepare to take on the Wallabies in the third and final Test tonight, Daily Mail Australia remembers the time the Lions came down under and tried to beat the Aussies at their own game. On June 16, 1888, more than 22,000 people packed the Melbourne Cricket Ground to watch Carlton take on a touring British rugby team under Victorian Rules. This was no ordinary football match. The visitors were a hand-picked squad of English, Irish and Scottish rugby players, later recognised as the first British and Irish Lions, attempting to master a code they had never played competitively. Their sixth game of the tour was their first under Victorian Rules and it immediately captured the public imagination. The tour itself was a bold commercial gamble. Cricketing entrepreneurs Arthur Shrewsbury, Alfred Shaw and James Lillywhite organised a 54-match schedule across Australia and NZ, mixing rugby union fixtures with matches under Australian football rules. The aim was to keep the tourists playing and earning gate takings across a long stay in the colonies. In Victoria, Australian Rules dominated the sporting scene and the organisers knew local clubs could deliver large crowds. Matches between the British tourists and the strongest Victorian Football Association teams promised both novelty and revenue. The English players were not without preparation. In New Zealand, they had been given instruction in the basics of Victorian Rules by local players PG McShane and J Lawler, but the differences between the codes were stark. Victorian football was faster, more open and far more reliant on accurate kicking, positional marking and quick handball. Rugby players were used to rucks, mauls and forward drives, not the constant movement and aerial contests of the Australian game. Carlton, reigning VFA premiers, wasted no time in showing the gap. The locals outpaced and out-thought the visitors, who played with spirit but little tactical cohesion. The Age remarked that the British 'worked harder but achieved less,' while the Bendigo Advertiser was blunt in its view that the tourists did not understand the game. Carlton won comfortably by 14 goals to 3, but the grit of the Englishmen and the spectacle of the contest kept the crowd engaged. Four days later, the tourists travelled to Bendigo and shocked the locals with a 5 to 1 victory. They followed this with a 3-3 draw in Castlemaine, showing signs that they were quickly adapting to the game. In South Australia they initially struggled against the strong Adelaide clubs, but the breakthrough came when they edged out Port Adelaide 8-7. The South Australian Register praised the performance as 'as brilliant as anything Adelaideans have ever seen at the finish of a game,' noting their improvement in ball handling, positional play and goal-kicking accuracy. The return to Victoria brought more success. Wins over Horsham, Sandhurst, Ballarat and Kyneton showed that the British had learned enough to be competitive. Their final Australian football record stood at six wins, one draw and twelve losses. While they were never truly a match for the top VFA sides, they proved far more adaptable than many had predicted. The tour demonstrated the skill gap between the codes but also the potential for cross-code contests to entertain and draw big crowds. The tour had little direct influence on Australian football's spread to Britain, but it was significant for rugby. It demonstrated the commercial potential of long, multi-match tours in the Southern Hemisphere. It also exposed British rugby's amateur restrictions, highlighting the value of professionalism for players asked to travel and compete so extensively. Many of the 1888 tourists would later be involved in the formation of the professional rugby league in 1895, with fourteen eventually playing the new code. The trip left a mark on both sides of the sporting world. Now, 137 years later, the British and Irish Lions are again in Australia chasing their own slice of history. Under Andy Farrell they have already secured the Test series with two wins from two, including last weekend's dramatic 29-26 triumph in Melbourne where Hugo Keenan scored the decisive try in the closing stages. The Lions now stand one victory away from completing a 3-0 clean sweep in Australia. The Wallabies squad has been hit hard by injuries. Captain Harry Wilson is leading a side missing several key players, with hooker David Porecki the latest to be ruled out and Brandon Paenga-Amosa called into the squad. Coach Joe Schmidt has spoken of the need to show composure and belief, while senior players such as Nic White, in what may be his final Test, are urging the team to deliver a performance that restores pride.
The Guardian
10 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘What choice have I got?': Lana built a life in Australia after years on Nauru – but now faces returning to the Iran she fled to keep it
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Daily Mail
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Ruben Amorim is no soft touch but not repeating mistakes of hawk-like Erik ten Hag is paying off... now the Man United boss must stop the roof caving in again, writes CHRIS WHEELER
When Manchester United went on tour to Bangkok and Australia three years ago, Erik ten Hag laid down the law to his players with a strict set of rules. Keep to the dress code, wear the right footwear and under no circumstances be late for team meetings or meals. Trouble was, the lifts at the Athenee Hotel in the Thai capital were running a little slow, so rather than risk breaking one of the new manager's commandments and incurring a punishment, players would routinely abandon them and race up 40 flights of stairs, emerging in front of the hawk-like Ten Hag out of breath, sweating and lucky not to have pulled a muscle. Discipline is all well and good, but sometimes it can have a detrimental effect. Ten Hag's successor Ruben Amorim is certainly no soft touch. That much has been clear from the way he has stuck to his football principles since being appointed in November, even though a 'my way or the highway' approach contributed to United's worst-ever Premier League finish. 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As a player himself until only a few years ago, he knows that would make no sense. The day before games, the pace picks up and observers in the US have been impressed at how the pictures Amorim is painting in his players' heads have been reproduced on the pitch in the impressive wins over West Ham and Bournemouth. 'Once we get used to that, I think we will reach a point, hopefully, where we can almost play with our eyes closed,' says defender Diogo Dalot. 'We already know where everybody is going to be on the pitch. 'We always do the walk-throughs and some tactical work, of course. He's very keen on that so we can be prepared. But at the same time, the message is really clear. There's not too much information, so everybody knows two or three things they need to do during the game. We go to every game already knowing what's going to happen, more or less, with the opposition.' United have looked fitter and sharper in pre-season too. Slicker in their passing, more intense in their pressing, quicker to the tackle. Sir Alex Ferguson's teams knew they had to earn the right to play by matching the effort of opponents who always raised their game, and you couldn't say that about many United teams since he retired. Amorim is determined to hit the ground running ahead of the opening game against Arsenal at Old Trafford on August 17. The players were sent specific fitness programmes to follow on their holidays, and it was clear from the data recorded by United's sports science staff on their return that they had done as they were told. A lot of the hard running in pre-season has been made to be more fun, for instance sprinting between two shooting drill stations. It has contributed to a genuinely more upbeat mood in camp after the disappointment of finishing 15th in the Premier League last season and losing the Europa League final to Tottenham. 'Everyone is positive,' says Patrick Dorgu. 'I feel like everyone left last season to last season and is just looking forward to the new season. 'I think we will hopefully see a United team that is attacking more, that's on the front foot, that's trying to dominate games, every game. We can just take the rest of the pre-season to get even better.' Another reason for the more positive mood is Amorim's decision to offload the players he either doesn't want or doesn't feel are committed to the cause – hence the 'bomb squad' being left at home while United are on tour. It has prevented the cloud that hung over Carrington following United to the US. Luke Shaw spoke earlier this week about how Amorim has improved an environment that was 'toxic' at times in recent years has improved, even it meant given his players an ultimatum. 'He's very clear in his messages that you want to be a part of the team or you cannot be here,' says Dalot. 'If you want to be in Manchester United, you need to match some standards. If you're not able to match it, it's not a place for you. 'I think we are creating now a group that fights for each other. I think you can see straightaway some signs of the team fighting a bit more and having more intensity. 'Obviously, there's still a long way to go. I'm not going to say perfect because that's difficult, but that's where we want to go, towards perfection.' It's also hard to over-estimate the importance of Bruno Fernandes turning down a hugely lucrative move to Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal this summer. The United captain is a key figure on and off the pitch, and his decision to stay at Old Trafford has been warmly welcomed by the rest of the squad. 'I think it's a clear message that he still believes that this club can go to the places that it should be,' adds Dalot. 'I don't think there's a better way of starting a season than your captain staying and believing that this can go in the right direction. 'It's a clear message for the other teammates, for everybody, that we have to believe. We have to work really hard to put Manchester back in the place that it deserves.' Of course, we have been here before to the point that it has almost become a running joke. New season, new hope. Smiles on faces and cultural resets, only for the season to start and the roof to cave in. In 2022, Ten Hag beat Liverpool 4-0 in the first game in Bangkok and went unbeaten for the rest of the tour, only to have his pants pulled down by Brighton and Brentford when it really mattered. We will see, but perhaps this time Amorim really is onto something. After the win over Bournemouth, he said United look 'like a different team'. Cherries boss Andoni Iraola called them 'a hell of a team'. Next stop is Atlanta for Saturday's final tour game against Everton and another opportunity for Amorim's side to show they are heading in the right direction.
