From the Editor

How do you create a magazine in a time like this? A time when things are moving so quickly – light-speed faster than printing schedules – and changing so dramatically? A time when travel is off limits?

We are continuing to publish because there will always be a place – a desire, even – for inspiration. I believe very strongly that when this harrowing time has passed and life settles into some kind of new normal, we’ll want to live. Feel the sand beneath our feet on an island escape; throw ourselves into the chaos of a big city again.

Until then, my hope is that this magazine will be a brief respite from the daily news cycle. We’re still forging ahead with our 100 Most Inspiring Australians series, which seems more relevant than ever. I suspect that over the next few months, we’ll be heartened by the actions of those who put the needs of others first. As Di Webster, Qantas magazine’s Editor-at-Large, said to me, “I think we’re going to emerge, blinking, into a nicer world.”

And there will be a world to rediscover. A world that gave birth to the neon spectacle of the Northern Lights (page 54) and where the pockmarked desert of Namibia (page 44) reigns in sandy splendour.

This month, we’re taking you to some of the world’s greatest natural wonders – and explaining the science behind these phenomena. It’s a little bit of education to go with your inspiration.

But no scientific journal can describe how travel makes us feel. How thrilling it is to stand before a landmark we have only seen online or in books. How magical it is to immerse ourselves in a culture that’s so different to everything we hold true.

A dream?

For the moment, yes.

But not forever.