‘Very Hungry Nomads’ Cap Global Food Adventure In Samoa
The Very Hungry Nomads Rachel Davey and Martina Sebova in the Solomon Islands.
Photo: Very Hungry Nomads/Facebook
Coconut cream tops the list of things to eat for two women called the Very Hungry Nomads who will cap 20 years of traveling the world on a fascinating food adventure – in beautiful Samoa.
Rachel Davey, 42, of Australia and Martina Sebova, 41, of Slovakia are currently in Fiji, the 194th country on their list of a total 195 countries to visit.
Somewhere in between Fiji and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa (where they visited before heading to the Pacific) Ms. Davey and Ms. Sebova kindly squeezed in an interview for Eyespy Radio News.
The two women met in Europe in 2008 when they worked for the same Coach Tour Travel company operating trips around Europe. Ms. Sebova at the time worked as a Trip Leader and Ms. Davey worked as the On-Board Chef.
“We’ve both worked in the travel industry for almost 20 years now in several roles over the years. In fact, we met in Europe in 2008 as we worked for the same Coach Tour Travel company operating trips around Europe for 18 to 39 year-old travelers,” they told EyeSpy.
“We worked for the summer season on different trips and itineraries and showed people the highlights of Europe. We worked hard for six months of the year and chose to spend the remaining six months to travel the world together.”
At some point, they each reached a point of having visited 100 countries and during a random conversation over coffee one day back in their home city of Melbourne, they discussed how many countries there are in the world.
“Upon researching if it was possible to visit them all, we discovered that only a handful of people had done so, and they were all men,” they said.
“We decided then and there that we wanted to diversify this list. We wanted to show the world that women could do this too! We began to make a plan of logistics on how we could achieve this extraordinary goal.”
The women saved every dollar they had, sold most of their belongings and set off in April of 2018.
“The plan was to spend two years visiting the remaining 88 countries on our list – it averaged out at around five to seven days in each country. Of course we’d spend longer in some countries, and a shorter time in others, due to safety, the site of the country and how expensive it would be too,” the Nomads said.
“We set a budget of USD $50 per person per day. This must cover all flights, accommodations, transport, visas, food, sights, fun and disasters too.”
Ms. Davey and Ms. Sebova said “from the early planning stages of this massive journey, we wanted to finish in a country that was close to Australia, our home country.”
“We wanted to finish in a country where we could relax and enjoy beautiful surroundings, friendly people, culture and beaches. Samoa seems to tick all of these boxes,” they said.
“We’ve tried hard to plan our full circle of travelling around the entire world to finish in paradise. We guess you could say that it has taken us around 20 years to visit all the countries in the world.”
The COVID-19 pandemic altered their travel goals in 2020 so the women are ecstatic that Samoa is open again for tourism and they have their travel finale in Samoa.
They look forward to exploring Samoan culture, the sights and of course the Samoan food.
“Our initial goal to leave in 2018 with 88 countries left to complete 195 out of 195 was affected by the pandemic in early 2020. At that stage, we had just nine countries left to visit when the pandemic spread across the world,” the travelers said.
“We’ve waited patiently for the past few years for our final five countries to open borders again so we can complete our goal. We’re so happy that Samoa is open again for tourism and look forward to exploring some Samoan culture, beautiful sights and Samoan cuisine too.”
Ms. Sebova and Ms. Davey are scheduled to arrive in Samoa on Saturday, 19 November.
“We’re set to arrive in Samoa on the 19th November and we’re currently looking for somewhere relaxing to stay. Let us know if you have any outstanding recommendations,” they said.
Vanuatu is where Ms. Davey’s world travels began and Croatia was Ms. Sebova’s first.
Thailand, Mexico and Japan are among their ultimate favourite places but they point out that there are far too many to choose a top 10.
“We’ve got many favourites for different reasons. Some of the places we really love are Thailand, Mexico, Italy, Greece, Japan, Georgia, Ethiopia, Colombia. There are too many to choose from,” the women said.
As they are very hungry and nomads, two people who have no fixed residence and move from place to place, Ms. Davey and Ms. Sebova look forward to exploring the local cuisine.
A Sunday Church visit to hear Samoans in song is also on their list of things to do.
“Yes, we’re looking forward to tasting Samoan food. We love to explore the cuisine when we travel, whether it’s eating in restaurants, family-run cafes, and street food stalls, or home stays,” they said.
“We know that Samoan food incorporates coconut milk in recipes, one of our favourite cooking ingredients. Combined with fresh fish, meat, tropical fruit and root vegetables, this sounds like an exciting cuisine. We’re looking forward to trying Palusami and Oka. Yum! We’d LOVE to visit church on a Sunday, and we’ve heard that Samoans have beautiful singing voices. We can’t wait for that.”
A ride on one of the local buses, water activities and exploring the local markets are also a part of their Samoa plan.
“We love beaches and water activities, perhaps we’ll go snorkelling or even fishing. We’d like to visit a cultural village to learn more about Samoan traditions and culture and even exploring local markets,” said Ms. Sebova and Ms. Davey.
“A stop at Piula Cave Pool is on our list of things to do, plus riding on one of the colourful buses is a must! We’re looking forward to just enjoying the warmth of the people and your beautiful land, and finally relaxing after such a massive trip!”
Travelling the world requires a lot of patience, they said, to adapt to new languages, cultures, religions and time zones.
There is a lot of planning and logistics.
“It takes a lot of patience to constantly adapt to a new cultures, languages, religions, changing time zones, different food and general ways of life. Some countries require a lot of planning and logistics before visiting, so getting it right is important so we don’t miss the finer details,” Ms. Sebova and Ms. Davey said.
“If we make a mistake, it can mean that we miss a very expensive flight connection or have to stay longer in a country that we only planned a brief visit due to it being unsafe or outrageously expensive.”
While exploring the world is indeed exciting, there is a down side, they note.
“Of course, there is the other side of long term adventure travel too. We are away from our families and friends from long periods and we miss out on special occasions and celebrations for those we love at home. Australia is a long way from anywhere so it’s not so easy or affordable to return as regularly as we’d like,” the women said.
For the less travelled, Ms. Davey and Ms. Sebova offer heaps of travel tips for people who want to visit every country as they will have done when they reach their final destination – Samoa.
The first tip is to get creative when booking flights and the second is to always ask for the price before agreeing to do anything as simple as buying a meal or getting into a taxi cab.
Learn the local languages and eat the local food, they add.
“Get creative when booking your flights. There are some tricks of the trade for getting the best deals. Sometimes you need to think outside the box, be flexible and book separate legs of a journey rather than requesting a price for one through-fare to your destination,” said Ms. Davey and Ms. Sebova.
“ALWAYS ask the price before you agree to do anything (eg: buying meals, activities or taxi rides). This ensures there are no surprises. Learn some of the local languages – it will only enrich your experience. Eat the local food.”
As for spending, travelers should get a debit/credit card that zero international transaction and ATM fees, they said.
For connectivity, the women say: buy an eSIM “to stay connected! It’s so convenient and affordable and gets you connected instantly in 190+ countries!”
Ms. Davey and Ms. Sebova have published travel tips galore – from tips to find the best food when traveling to their top 15 “best ever travel tips” – on their website www.veryhungrynomads.com.
Read more about their fascinating world travels on the Very Hungry Nomads Instagram account and Facebook page.