The Mount Kembla Village Hotel welcomes everyone with genuine warmth and country charm. With 16 beers on tap, a thoughtfully curated wine list, a wide range of spirits, and a menu crafted by a talented chef, there’s something for every taste. The wood fired pizzas are a local favourite, and the morning buzz of our…
Category: NSW
Lunch On Board The Emerald Princess
“We’ve booked an inside cabin, but with a non-obstructed view” I overheard at the check in area, Um OK, you’re going to be disappointed, I thought to myself. My love of travel extends to all forms transport and I was recently invited to take a look around the Emerald Princess, the largest of the Princess fleet…
HARS (Historical Aircraft Restoration Society) and the Famous QANTAS 747-438, VH-OJA – Oh and Connie, VH-EAG
HARS – Historical Aircraft Restoration Society – is located at The Illawarra Regional Airport in Wollongong and just over a year ago it gained another major attraction with a retired Qantas Boeing 747-400 arriving at the museum. Back in March of 2015, I was invited with several media and bloggers to visit Qantas Headquarters in…
Golden Princess – The Food, Oh The Food.
“How come you got a Gold Cruise Card? Mine’s blue?” Said my friend Nova as we checked in for the Golden Princess. “Yeah mines blue too” Bert pipped in looking slightly confused. “‘Cause I’m a Gold member!” I replied. After my previous short cruise on the Sea Princess I was hooked. I was hooked like a…
Emirates, Auckland to Sydney Business Class
“Welcome on board this Emirates flight to Brisbane” Brisbane? Am I on the right plane? “Ladies and Gentlemen, please disregard the menu stating Auckland to Melbourne, we are in fact off to Sydney” Melbourne now? “Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Dubai” Either Dubai now has a harbour with replica bridge and Opera House or I’m…
QANTASLINK Sydney to Dubbo Bombadier Dash 8 – Q400
It was to be a sequin and glitter free weekend when my friend Bert and I decided to get out of Sydney over the Mardi Gras weekend. Yes, we were heading to Dubbo in Regional New South Wales and we flew on one of the Qantas group of companies smallest aircraft a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, operated…
Wandering Through Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney Australia
“Dog must not steal from dog” – Convict saying. Recently, I decided to become a tourist in my own city of Sydney and visit one of Australia’s oldest European buildings, The Hyde Park Barracks Museum. Listed on the New South Wales and Australian National Heritage registers and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site…
A Little Taste / Piece of GERMANY in WOLLONGONG at the A.G.A GERMANIA Club
Pork Knuckles, Schnitzels and Sauerkraut, Wheat beer and Riesling wine. Like my Dad, I love German, Japanese, and Seafood, my Mum and brother love Indian, Mexican and Italian so when it comes to family birthdays or get togethers at restaurants, it’s usually the person celebrating that makes the decision of where to go and we are…
An Aircraft fit for a Duke, a Duchess & a Baby Prince
“This is it! This is them! WAVE!!!” A couple of work colleagues and I went to the best viewing point of the airport, the 8th level of the International Airport Car Park, to witness today’s arrival of the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, and baby Prince George to Sydney. Us three loyal subjects…
Air India returns to Sydney with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner
After years of speculation, the return of Air India after a 16 year hiatus AND the first scheduled, commercial service of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner happened recently. I’d only ever seen the Boeing 787 Dreamliner once, that was in 2009 at the Boeing factory near Seattle when the first few had just rolled off the…
Monorail! Monorail! Monorail! – Farewell Sydney Monorail
“There’s nothing on this earth like a genuine, bona-fide, electrified, six car monorail!” “What’d I say?” “Monorail” “What’s it called?” “Monorail” “That’s right, monorail!” “Monorail! Monorail! Monorail!” Marge vs The Monorail. Episode 71 of The Simpsons, 1993 It would have to be my favourite Simpsons episode, Marge Vs The Monorail, it centres around a crook…
Sydney to Wollongong via The Royal National Park and Sea Cliff Bridge
From central Sydney to the south coast city of Wollongong, approximately 85 kilometres south of the CBD, there are two main routes you could drive. The most direct being the F6 freeway taking around an hour and a half or there is the picturesque slower route via The Royal National Park (the second oldest in…
REVIEW: Virgin Australia VA543 Sydney to Gold Coast
Dashing straight from work, I arrived at Sydney Domestic Airports Terminal 2 for my 19:10 flight, with self printed boarding pass in hand, at 17:40 exactly an hour and a half prior to departure, half an hour earlier than the standard recommended time. With a silent sigh and roll of my eyes I could see the bag drop line for those…
Review: CountryLink – Sydney to Nyngan (via Dubbo) First Class
International first class air travel can sometimes be up to 15 times the price of a discounted economy class ticket and so is commonly reserved for the elite, heads of state, those with very deep pockets or the frequent traveller being savvy with their reward points. With limousine transfers, discreet check in areas (even exclusive…
Welcome to Nyngan – Bogan Shire – Central New South Wales
When I said to friends I was going to Nyngan for the long weekend, most said “you’re going all that way to smoke weed?”… “No, thats Nimbin on the NSW North Coast” I stated with a sigh. Nyngan is located in outback NSW on the Bogan River in the Bogan Shire. I was off to…
Sydney Harbour & Manly by Manly Ferry (Part I)
A few years ago, I worked in a backpacker travel agency with a girl who was on an overseas working holiday/gap year from Ireland. Chiara (pronounced ‘Kee-ra’ – I always got it wrong) had a slightly warped sense of humour… we got on well 🙂 Whenever students, backpackers or visitors to Sydney would come in…
Happy New Year from freakyflier.com
What an interesting year 2012 was. From the 1st January till 31 December, I flew on 12 flights (lower than some years) on 5 airlines including Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air, Jetstar and Vietnam Airlines which I reviewed on freakyflier.com. I flew Business Class and Economy Class and visited two overseas destinations, Indonesia and Vietnam. There were…
Merry Christmas 2012. How Does Santa Claus Find His Way Around Australia?
With the help of Airservices Australia, of course! A few day ago I was talking to my friend Johl whom I’ve known for around 12 years. He is an Air Traffic Controller based at Sydney Airport and he excitingly mentioned how this time of year always get so busy. I, surprised at his excitement of such busyness, reluctantly agreed and…
A Tale Of Two Lighthouses, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
I grew up in Wollongong and during the school holidays or on a long weekend, my dad would sometimes take my brother and I fishing, much to our delight, and I think my mum’s as she had a few hours respite from her noisy and sometimes over-energetic boys! The very first time, when we were…
A Royal Tour of Sydney
When I was a kid, my primary school would charter a bus and we’d go on an excursion to the Sydney Royal Easter Show. In 1983 we were on the bus and almost at the showgrounds when all traffic on South Dowling Street came to a halt. On the opposite side of the road were…
Review: CountryLink Xplorer – Sydney to Bundanoon Economy Class
What: CountryLink Xplorer Where: Sydney – Bundanoon, NSW Southern Highlands Service: Southern Xplorer CLK635 A train with wine 🙂 . I was going away for the weekend to visit some good friends who live in Bundanoon, a few hours south of Sydney in the New South Wales Southern Highlands. Leaving after work on a Friday…
Matty Somewhere 