Back in August I made a long-awaited trip to visit my family in the UK. While over there I stayed for a couple of days in Northumberland, one of my fave counties in England. There are so many beautiful places to explore in Northumberland it’s difficult to pick a highlight. However this time, it was undoubtedly a themed tour of Bamburgh Castle. If you’ve ever wanted to follow in the footsteps of Uhtred the Bold of Bebbanburg from Netflix’s ‘The Last Kingdom’, this is the post for you.
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My favourite way to beat the winter blues is a cozy countryside escape, so in late May JJ and I headed out to Oberon on the western edge of the Blue Mountains. Beautiful rolling hills, World Heritage national parks, wildlife and Australia’s most spectacular caves are just some of the reasons to visit this rural town.
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It’s been a minute! In post-peak-pandemic 2022 I still haven’t left Australia, but have been out and about having the odd adventure. To get into the swing of blogging again, here’s a post about my first travel outside of New South Wales in 2½ years.
Back in April, JJ and I got on a flight to spend a full-on 24 hours in Victoria’s capital. Our Melbourne trip mostly revolved around sessions at the URBNSURF wave park, but we also squeezed in a gallery visit and of course some foodie times.
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As I write this, Greater Sydney is in lockdown again. The surrounding areas of Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour are also included in restrictions. Sooo being housebound for a while, I thought I’d share some of the lovely spots around Sydney where we’ve enjoyed a scenic lunch (in between 3 lockdowns) this past year. These would all make great places to head to for a bit of a treat out in the fresh air, whenever things start to reopen.
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Ahhh Yamba. The final stop on our summer New South Wales coastal road trip was a beaut. Hailed as “the next Byron Bay” Yamba is the ideal beach escape for those who like a destination with buzz, that isn’t overdeveloped. Since we spent the most time in this northern NSW town, I figured it deserved a dedicated post.
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In early December 2020, after many months of COVID-related travel restrictions, things started to feel somewhat “normal” again in my home state. Knowing that overseas travel would remain off the menu for some time, JJ and I decided to take a summer road trip up the north coast of New South Wales. These are all the lovely places that we stopped to explore between Sydney and Yamba.
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Like most people in these wild pandemic times, JJ and I haven’t left our Sydney suburb for months. We made a last minute decision to escape to the country 2 weekends ago. Natural beauty, heritage buildings and some of the best food and wine in the state made Mudgee our top choice. Plus, we’d never been before and exploring somewhere new is always revitalising.
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For my Birthday treat this year JJ booked us a night in one of the Jungle Bungalows at Jamala Wildlife Lodge. Jamala is part of the National Zoo & Aquarium in Canberra and offers a truly unique all-inclusive luxury hotel experience. Five-star African-inspired rooms and suites adjoin various animal enclosures. Our bungalow animal was kept a secret until check-in so my pre-trip excitement level was off the scale.
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In late December JJ and I packed the camping gear and drove south of Sydney to one of our fave parts of New South Wales. Now, I know what you’re thinking….. Yes, the south coast of NSW has been impacted by bushfires. However, now more than ever these small communities need our tourism $$$ so that they can recover quickly. Hopefully, I’ll convince you that the Eurobodalla region, is worth visiting ASAP.
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2019 Has been an epic period of overseas adventures for me, so there’ve been plenty of travel diaries to write-up here. As this year draws to a close, I thought I’d pull together a final post with my stand out experiences from 12 months of just day-to-day living in Sydney.
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