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Traveller team
September 19, 2025 — 5:00am
Traveller Awards: Change Makers
From a visionary South African safari lodge to a company championing accessible travel, we shine a spotlight on the people and organisations taking steps to make the travel experience a win-win for everyone. Read on for our Traveller Awards 2025 winners in the Change Makers category.
Liz and Phil Biden, The Royal Portfolio
In 1999, Liz and Phil Biden turned their holiday home in a private game reserve in the Greater Kruger National Park into Royal Malewane, a pioneering luxury safari lodge. Since then, they’ve added several properties to The Royal Portfolio collection, including the award-winning Silo Hotel in Cape Town, changing the face of South African hospitality. Former fashion executive, Liz, designs the interiors of all the properties with singular flair, while Phil, a former banker, sketches the concepts. The Biden family – son Matt is chief executive, middle daughter Ellie oversees the family’s charitable foundation – are significant collectors of contemporary African art, champions of local makers and craftspeople, and staunch supporters of sustainable tourism, conservation and community projects. See theroyalportfolio.com
Intrepid Travel
From its roots in 1980s Melbourne, Intrepid Travel is now a global player in the travel industry, and an agenda setter in changing how we travel. “We’re not ‘over’ tourism, but we are over tourism that harms communities and the planet,” says chief executive James Thornton. Each year, the carbon-neutral company distributes a “not hot” list of lesser-known destinations to consider instead of overrun hotspots, and its itineraries incorporate homestays and encounters with indigenous communities. It’s ruled out experiences detrimental to animal welfare and introduced successful women’s expeditions. The Intrepid Foundation has raised more than $18 million for projects, such as healing the Daintree Rainforest or helping women artisans in Turkey attain financial independence. In short, it’s a win-win for travellers and the destinations and people we love to visit. See intrepidtravel.com
Outback Spirit
A step towards bridging the gap in understanding about Indigenous Australia has never been more fun, or as enriching, than on an Outback Spirit tour of Arnhem Land or the Kimberley. The company employs Indigenous guides and locals steeped in culture to welcome travellers to their lands, talk about their beliefs and their ancient ways of life, and then, often, demonstrate their traditional arts, crafts and survival skills. It feels like an incredible privilege to be in the company of members of the oldest continuous civilisation on earth, and it helps ensure their communities will flourish for years to come. A life-changer for everyone. See outbackspirittours.com.au
Orania Berlin
Situated off the usual tourist trail in the Kreuzberg neighbourhood, Orania Berlin is a hotel designed for travellers who are more into feeling the vibe than seeing the sights. For decades the shadow of the Berlin Wall loomed over this gritty neighbourhood, and it remains one of the city’s edgiest, most multicultural districts. Orania is quintessential Berlin, evident in everything from the locally made vegan toiletries to the regular musical performances in the lounge. Check out the area’s highlights, such as the terrific Markthalle Neun food market and the Konig Galerie, housed in the former brutalist-style St Agnes church, and book a meal or two in the hotel restaurant, which offers fabulous dinners as well as hearty breakfasts. See orania.berlin
Julie Jones, Travel without Limits
Sydney publisher Julie Jones never travels without a tape measure. As a passionate advocate for better accessibility, she’s all about the practical stuff. Will a wheelchair fit through this door? What’s the distance between an airport toilet and roll-holder? How high is that hotel bed and is there space beneath for a hoist? Those centimetres make all the difference between a holiday that’s pleasurable and one that’s hell for families like hers. Jones has spent decades travelling with her son Braeden who lives with cerebral palsy and needs a wheelchair (in 2022, they were Australia’s joint ambassadors for International Day of People with Disabilities). She’s poured all her disability-specific travel knowledge into a blog Have Wheelchair Will Travel and, since 2019, her biannual magazine, Travel Without Limits. See travelwithoutlimits.com.au
Grant Wilckens, G’day Group
South Australian Grant Wilckens hit metaphorical potholes on the road to growing G’Day Group to become Australia’s largest regional accommodation provider. The former banker dived into the caravan-park sector in 2004, snapping up 40 parks over three years. The global financial crisis crunched the heavily geared business, prompting a partial sell-off and a commitment by Wilckens to learn more about the affordable holiday market (extending to cleaning toilets to understand day-to-day operations). Today the group, majority-owned by super fund Australian Retirement Trust, boasts a $2 billion portfolio encompassing 330-plus properties under the Discovery Parks and Resorts, G’Day Parks and El Questro banners, along with the Wikicamps app. In 2023, Wilckens led a landmark Indigenous Land Use Agreement at El Questro which returned 165,000 hectares to the Wilinggin Aboriginal Corporation. See gdaygroup.com.au
She Shapes History
For time immemorial, the stories from history we’ve chosen to celebrate have been dominated by straight white men. But what about the contributions of everyone else? In 2021, frustrated at the lack of recognition of women, Canberra-based researcher Sita Sargeant decided to change the conversation and launch She Shapes History. Her Badass Women of Canberra walking tour was a hit and one tour soon became three. In 2025 the company expanded to Sydney and Melbourne, launching Badass tours in each city. To make sure history buffs living in other cities didn’t miss out, Sergeant’s She Shapes History: Guided Walks and Stories About Great Australian Women features 18 fascinating self-guided walking tours in cities across Australia. See sheshapeshistory.com.au
Pangolin Conservation
Temminck’s ground pangolins, one of four African pangolin species and the only one found in Zimbabwe, are finding safe haven in Matusadona National Park, on the banks of Lake Kariba. Said to be the world’s most trafficked animal, these scaly ant-eaters are the focus of a conservation partnership between the Matusadona Conservation Trust (a collaboration between ZimParks and African Parks) and the Tikki Hywood Foundation. According to the latest tally of pangolins released into the park, nine have been recovered from the illegal wildlife trade and two handed over by local communities, a development that suggests community engagement is working. Their new home range – an emerging stronghold for elephant, leopard, lion, buffalo and more (black rhino are due to return in 2026) – is itself being given a new lease on life, with conservationists working to restore wildlife and revive tourism. See classicsafaricompany.com.au; visitmatusadona.org
Viking Cruises
Buzz words come and go in travel but occasionally a catchy one emerges that actually offers some meaning. The term “coolcations” essentially denotes, if not encourages, off-season travel at times of the year when temperatures are lower and crowds much smaller. One of the early adapters of this trend was Viking Cruises with its collection of Quiet Season Mediterranean cruises designed to appeal to travellers who’d rather eschew the well-documented summer temperature extremes in that otherwise desirable part of the world. These new cruises have also allowed for new exotic and heretofore largely overlooked ports to be added to the Viking portfolio with Tunis, Tunisia, and Algiers, Algeria, as part of the cruise line’s Malta, Morocco & the Mediterranean itinerary. See vikingcruises.com.au
Waymo
The world’s first autonomous ride-hailing service, Waymo’s driverless taxis now roam the streets of LA, San Francisco, Phoenix and Austin, offering a safe, reliable, fully electric alternative to some unscrupulous taxi drivers who take advantage of tourists’ lack of local knowledge. Like other rideshare services, cars are requested via a dedicated app and prices are normally comparable to Uber and Lyft. The big difference is the experience – getting into the back of a driverless car is genuinely surreal. And seeing it navigate busy city streets using a combination of radar and cameras is like watching a video game. One day, it’ll be as normal as jumping on a bus, but for now enjoy the novelty. See waymo.com
Traveller Awards contributors: Kate Allman, Kate Armstrong, Flip Byrnes, Justine Costigan, Jim Darby, Anthony Dennis, Ben Groundwater, Jenny Hewett, Belinda Jackson, Kerry van der Jagt, Julietta Jameson, Trudi Jenkins, Brian Johnston, Ute Junker, Katrina Lobley, Catherine Marshall, Chrissie McClatchie, Rob McFarland, Justin Meneguzzi, Julie Miller, Jane Reddy, Jane Richards, Katherine Scott, Craig Tansley, Lee Tulloch, Sue Williams, Riley Wilson.
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