TRAVELLER: Stefano Ferro of MEL365 travel & photography website
Globerovers Q&A with an incredible traveller and photographer from Australia. Stefano is a professional photographer with past experience in the cycling and film industry. Since 2015 Stefano has been working uniquely on MEL365, a travel & photography website made to enhance the travelling experience and improve the photography work.
Globerovers Q&A with an incredible traveller and photographer from Australia. Stefano is a professional photographer with past experience in the cycling and film industry. Since 2015 Stefano has been working uniquely on MEL365, a travel & photography website made to enhance the travelling experience and improve the photography work.
Globerovers (GR): How many countries have you been to?
Stef Ferro (SF): Probably around 70 but it could be less, or more, not really sure. I am more of a slow traveller. I am not really into the “tapas” trips, I prefer to visit a place and experience it, understand it, sometimes visiting it again and again.
GR: What are your top 5 most preferred countries for leisure travel?
SF: I’ve found something interesting and unique in every country I’ve visited. But, here’s a shot at the top 5:
Australia – my country. I love the bush and the desert.
Italy – I was born there and have been back extensively in the last 2 to 3 years. I love it.
Thailand – my second home. Avoid the usual suspects and it’s heaven on earth.
Indonesia – the variety of experiences is just outstanding, so unexplored, especially in Papua.
Cuba – my favourite, so many amazing places to trek, just unique. I love the people’s attitude towards life: “Live and enjoy the present”. Probably because the future is more unclear than ever.
GR: Which is your most preferred country for travel and why?
SF: Hard choice. Only one? I have a few. But probably Indonesia. Easy to travel around, amazing and unique places (more than just Bali). Beautiful sea. Lovely food. And cheap too.
GR: Where do you wish you were right now and why?
SF: Probably cycling in Mongolia. It has always been a dream of mine. Two years ago I cycled across Australia in the desert and I promised myself that Mongolia is next in my list..
GR: Among those countries you have not yet visited, which ones are at the top of your “must do” list?
SF: The Philippines, to experience the amazing seascape. Nepal, for the trekking and climbing. I am an active person, sometimes too much I am said. Ethiopia, for the unique landscape. Iceland, for photography.
GR: Please tell us about the most incredible and memorable experience you have ever had while travelling?
SF: It has to be the cycling through the Australian desert from Sydney to Uluru with a bunch of other crazy cyclists. I still remember how the villages and the stations in the most remote areas were welcoming us.
GR: Based on your travel experiences, if you were to recommend the one most amazing destination for intrepid travellers, which place would that be, and why?
SF: Cycling through the Australia desert is definitely something very intrepid, and very demanding, both physically and mentally. Another unique trip is canoeing through the Katherine Gorge in the Nitmiluk National Park, be aware of the freshwater crocs (although I was said they are not aggressive, not sure I can believe that). Australia is full of these kinds of experiences that push the body, and the brain, to the limits. You can travel for hours without meeting anyone, the unknown. I guess there is a bit of adrenaline and a bit of an endorphin rush.
GR: What is the single best lesson you have learned about the world during your travels around the world?
SF: Interesting question. Probably that I have a greater experience when I travel slowly, or even better if I reside in the place for a while. That helps me to understand the country or the city, more as someone living there than a spectator. We are all different of course but I am not able anymore to fly in/out in just a week or two. The drawback is of course that I travel less but I guess more extensively.
Follow Stefano
Facebook: @mel365
Instagram: @stef_travelphotography
Twitter: @Mel365dotCom
Website: mel365.com
THIS INTERVIEW APPEARS IN
Globerovers Magazine December 2018