About Marybeth, National Geographic Author, Writer

Curious Explorer. Award-winning author.

Gutsy Traveler: A woman, like travel expert Marybeth Bond, stands among purple flowers, raising her arms and smiling in front of a wooden building in bright sunlight.
Polar bear tracking and snorkeling with beluga whales in the northern Canadian Arctic.

Marybeth knows travel. She has hiked, biked, dived, danced and trekked across all seven continents – from the depths of the Flores Sea near Komodo Island to the summit of Kilimanjaro.

More recently, she tracked polar bears and snorkeled with beluga whales in the Canadian Arctic, then kayaked among icebergs in Antarctica.

Somewhere in between, four years of studying in Paris earned her two degrees – and a taste for good wine and strong cheeses.

Twelve books (three with National Geographic), countless travel articles, and numerous TV and radio appearances have built her devoted fanbase. She won the esteemed Lowell Thomas, Gold Award for the Best Travel Book of the Year from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation.

Woman on cliff in front of a monastery in Bhutan
Yesterday’s Video below. A decade or more later. Is Marybeth still GUTSY? Here in Bhutan.
Marybeth in Antarctica with penguins, snowy mountains, and water—just the kind of moment travel expert Marybeth Bond would capture in a travel video.
Kayaking and camping near penguins in Antarctica.

Yesterday….

As you tour backstage you'll see ballet tutus, slippers and private dressing rooms.
As you tour backstage you’ll see ballet tutus, slippers and private dressing rooms.
Imagine standing at the conductor's podium and directing the orchestra.
Imagine standing at the conductor’s podium and directing the orchestra.
The best tour of the Sydney Opera House is backstage.
The best tour of the Sydney Opera House is backstage.

On my last trip to Australia my best tour of the Sydney Opera House was backstage.

No doubt you’ve laid eyes on an image of the Sydney Opera House – a waterfront theater topped by semi-circular domes that jut dramatically into the Sydney sky.

The opera house is a World Heritage Listed Building, for good reason. I waited too late to get tickets because, here’s the glitch: tickets to star performances here can be very hard to come by. Shows routinely sell out.

The Backstage Tour is a must for anyone interested in or associated with theater. At 7:00 am. I joined a small group and learned all the fascinating intricacies – like trap doors and scenery changes – of back stage logistics. I stood on the grand stage where Bocelli sang to a full house of 1,500 admirers who, all paid $800 a ticket. I visited the dressing rooms where stars from Joan Sutherland to Byonce prepared to go onstage.

As we meandered through the back hallways we passed dozens of hanging tutus, bags of ballet slipper and grand pianos. On a wooden panel next to the entrance to the stage we saw lipstick kiss marks – left for good luck– by stars such as Liza Minnelli as they awaited their cues to go on stage. And I waved the conductor’s baton and led an imaginary orchestra standing at the podium in the tiny orchestra pit. We finished the tour with breakfast in the Green Room as our former actor-guide entertained us with true stories about the stars and mishaps of the theaters.

To get tickets to the opera, ballet, jazz, and classical musical performances – all of which take place here – my best advice is to buy your tickets even before you book your flight to Australia (www.sydneyoperahouse.com).

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Marybeth Bond