Norfolk Island Fun Facts – Cows.

Welcome to Norfolk Island, a small island that lies some 1700 kilometres or so off the east coast of mainland Australia, almost midway between New Caledonia and New Zealand. I’ve just spent a week here… Get ready for an interesting island ride…and some fun facts. Cow /kaʊ/ Noun: 1. A fully grown female animal of…

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City Park – Launceston, Tasmania.

If you know me personally, I can be a bit of a monkey, all over the place but I also like things in order, symmetrical, a crooked picture will annoy me. Matty: “Could you give me directions to the closest supermarket please?” Hotel Concierge: “Sure, at the end of the street, it’s just a diagonal…

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Central West NSW – Mudgee.

We’re off on a road trip around the Central West of NSW. First stop, Mudgee, a winery town. It’s a great place for wine lovers – or a New South Welshmen tired of constant state border closures at the hint of a sniffle. The first stop on this trip was Moothi Estate Winery just outside…

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Tik Tok Pasta – Uunifetapasta.

I caved in, I signed up, I joined the squad, I got excited and made the Tik Tok / Uunifetapasta dish. I’ve always been a fan of anything from Finland – Marimekko designs are fun, Finnair is a great airline – and this is a dish that may just make you excited as well. I…

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My Top 3 Lookouts in The Blue Mountains.

The stunning Blue Mountains, a World Heritage Listed Area since 2000, is a mere 2.5 hours by train from Central Station in Sydney. The Blue Mountains brings you to not only to cooler climes – wonderful in the height of a Sydney summer – but also to some magnificent views. While there are a number…

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Balcony Bar & Oyster Co. Byron Bay.

With a booking required and it being the beginning of the holiday season, we were lucky to get a table at Balcony Bar, in Byron Bay, one of the hippest joints in town. While it’s not during the lunch or dinner service, our booking is for 3:30pm, which is fine as we’re also on holidays!…

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“Best Poo’s Ever” – Bix Mix – I LOVE THIS STUFF!

“Best Poo’s Ever!” With our hands over our mouth, Ciaran and I giggled. We took a peak and what it was, but we kept giggling till we passed the stall. We continued on through the Byron Bay Sunday Markets. I am a big kid, so of course this toilet humour amused me. *Wanna hear a…

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Auschwitz – Birkenau. A Day Trip From Krakow Everyone Should Take.

EDIT: I first posted this almost two years ago, as it is the 76th anniversary of the camps liberation and during these COVID-19 times, I find it befitting to repost.  “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it” – George Santayana.  I could never call Auschwitz-Birkenau a travel ‘highlight’ of Europe….

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Middle Pub – Mullumbimby.

We took the ‘Jellybean’, the nickname we’d given the Mustard coloured Fiat 500 we’d hired, to Mullumbimby, about a 30 minute drive northwest of Byron Bay, and had lunch at The Middle Pub. It was a great little car, but we never quite worked out how to open the boot! I googled it but no…

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Taverna Greek Restaurant – Kingscliff, NSW.

I simply cannot get over how lovely this meal was. On every trip I like to go and try a few restaurants that have had good reviews, suggested by locals or by friends from home. The winner and top restaurant for this trip to Northern NSW was by far, Taverna in Kingscliff. I could not…

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QANTAS Flight QF1161, Ballina (Byron) to Sydney.

What a wet day! Quite a bit of rain had come to Northern NSW/Southern QLD! “We need it though” said one lady as we splashed across the tarmac to our waiting aircraft. Northern New South Wales and Southern Queensland were in for a drenching over the next few days, so we were kind of glad…

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Happy New Year! FreakyFlier Is Now Matty Somewhere.

What a year 2020 was! It certainly directed me to somewhere different from where I thought I would be at the beginning of this year. I’ve worked in the Travel Industry for 20 years, so when 2020 threw a spanner in the works, I took this as an opportunity to study at TAFE NSW –…

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Air Asia Sydney to Phuket. Part 2, Kuala Lumper to Phuket.

I’ve been at KLIA2 (Kuala Lumper International Airport Terminal 2)  for about an hour and a half and now it’s time to board my connecting flight to Phuket, Thailand. While KLIA2 is a modern airport and much better than the shacks Air Asia used to depart from, I find it a bit of a maze…

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Camping in Kananaskis Country, Canada

I loathe it when people say I am so lucky to travel, I usually respond with: “It’s not luck! I’ve worked hard and saved my money – lived off pot noodles – I didn’t win this trip!” But I tell you what is travel luck, knowing someone where you are travelling to, they show you…

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Thai Airways – Paris to Bangkok – Airbus a380 – Economy Class.

I’m excited to be flying on a Thai Airways super jumbo Airbus a380. Since I had flown Thai Airways a few months earlier, domestically within Thailand, I’m expecting great things, although maybe I shouldn’t get too excited too quickly…. Read my Thai Airways Chiang Mai to Bangkok review here. Get up to date FreakyFlier posts…

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