ABOUT YOU
What’s your name? We are Stephen and Jess, travel writers and YouTuber’s better known as Flying the Nest.
How old are you? We are both 26.
Which place do you consider home? Even though Stephen is from South Africa and Jess is from Sydney we both grew up and spent the majority of our life in a small Australian city called Perth. Whenever we come back from a trip, we always call Perth home.
What type of traveler are you? I would say we are adventurous and activity driven travellers. We are always down for zip lining in Angkor Wat or jumping into a helicopter to see Cape Town from the air. Whenever we return back home it’s the activities we go on that we always remember. I would way prefer to book cheaper accommodation if it means we have more spare change to go out on an adventure.
What is the first travel that you remember? Jess: One of the first moments that come to mind would be the time when we packed up our house into a giant trailer and car and spent 6 weeks driving from Sydney to our new home in Perth. Rather than doing the 1 week recommended time we decided to turn it into a family vacation. As I was quite young I have vague memories but I still remember loving the trip.
Stephen: One of the very first travel memories I have is actually quite funny. Back in the 90’s my mom used run a dating agency (before Tinder or any sort of online dating services you had to go through an in person or over the phone agency) and she planned a cruise up the east coast of Africa. There we were packed on a cruise with all these newly couples meeting each other but at the end of the day I was young and all I remember is seeing some incredible places such as Zanzibar and Mozambique.
QUICKLY QUESTIONS
What’s your favourite country? I think Canada would be our go to when everyone asks where they should go next on their holiday. Alongside having some of the friendliest people in the world they have some incredible landscapes to explore. The road trip you go on through the Canadian Rockies is one for everyone’s bucket list.
What’s your favourite city? It’s not everyone’s cup of tea but New York City wins it for us. We have been there twice and I would easily live abroad there if the opportunity arose. You are in this urban jungle where there’s so much to see and do. You can’t help but get caught up in the busy lives of everyone around you. We honestly prefer to explore the natural environment but there is something unique about giant cities.
What’s your favourite beach? Honestly, our local beach back here in Perth would have to be our favourite beach. We know we are being biased but Australia does have some of the best beaches in the world and Perth has some of the best in Australia. If you come here check out Cottesloe and Scarborough for those white sandy beaches.
WHERE WE CAN FOLLOW YOU?
What’s your Website url? flyingthenest.tv/
What’s your Twitter? twitter.com/flyingthenest
What’s your Facebook? facebook.com/flyingthenest
What’s your Pinterest? pinterest.com/flyingthenesttv/
What’s your Instagram? instagram.com/sparrystake & instagram.com/heyitsjessvalentine/
What’s your Youtube? youtube.com/flyingthenest
QUESTIONS
Have you ever had bad experiences during one of your journey? I almost feel that if you haven’t had a bad experience that stressed everyone bone your body then you haven’t gone out of your comfort zone. I would have to say the time we trusted someone to get us from Gweru, Zimbabwe to Victoria Falls. We were informed a private bus would pick us up and drive us there but instead, the morning of our trip we were informed that the local $18 10-hour bus ride would be the only way to get us to Vic Falls. So we had to flag the bus down from the side of the road with our giant bag and expensive camera gear and be seated with three people squished into a two-seater chair. Alongside multiple fights breaking out, hour delays to our arrival we finally get to our destination with no phone contact on who was to pick us up. We did finally make it in one piece but I can tell you now we were way to scared to even get out and go to the toilet.
Do you have a bucket list? Which is it? We always love to keep a bucket list for the year ahead. That way we have it in writing and I swear having a list drives some sort of passion to tick it off. Our bucket list for 2017 is Philippines, Japan and India.
Why would you suggest to our readers to follow online your adventures? Our pride and joy is our YouTube channel, here we do a daily vlog of our lives as we travel abroad. You can see that Victoria Falls bus ride as it happened and then you can see high moments like finally seeing the falls for the first time. We think YouTube is the best and most personal way to show off travel. There you can see our thoughts, feelings and travel tips in real time as we upload them during our trips. Also its just so much fun making videos.
What would you suggest to all the aspiring travelers? Make a bucket list, get a savings plan together and make it happen. Travel does not have to be expensive it just may seem pricey when you also have your $4 coffee and $100 shopping sprees taking up all your savings. If you make sacrifices by skipping that music festival to instead put towards plan tickets, you will be exploring the world sooner than you know.
Is there any person that you’ve met during your travels, to be so interesting that you still take with you? The most interesting person we met during our travels would have to be during our time volunteering in Africa. She was an incredible girl from Scandinavia who went on one of the craziest reality shows I have ever heard of. The contestants had to battle it out to win a cash prize (which I think wasn’t even that big at the end of the day) but they would be given insane tasks to move onto the next episode. For example, in one episode she had to get branded by those cow branders that farmers heat up and use and yes we totally saw the scar mark on her leg. However, at the end of the day she was the loveliest and funniest person we have ever met and would go explore the world with her any day. I think she went into the show wanting to push herself and at the end of the day she seems stronger from it.
How do you usually move? Airplane, train, boat, car? If you would add up all the hours by majority it would be Airplane because we live in the most isolated city in the world all the way down under.
Now, could you tell us why did you start? We started simply because we wanted to travel more. By having a platform (a blog and YouTube channel) where we could share our adventures and stories is amazing but having a platform which can be used to explore the world more will always blow my mind till im old and retired.
photo courtesy of flyingthenext.tv
