Hostel No 14

A Quick little post for a short hostel stay.

Ever been on an impromptu road trip - they are the best!. My friend Peter and I decided we would hit a small car, and head up to the Blue Mountains (in Sydney's far west) on a Thursday afternoon. Its about a 2 hour drive from Sydney to the Blue Mountains. If you have grown up in Sydney at all, at some point during your schooling, you would have taken a day trip or weekend excision to The Blue Mountains. They hold major historical events and stories. The nostalgia and romance of the times of Explorers and Bush rangers still echoes through the haze of the blue Mountains.

The 'Mountains' are a popular weekend get-away spot at any-time of the year. In summer you can enjoy the nature, wildlife, bush walking  waterfalls, caves and shopping. While in Winter - you can enjoy all of the above - with a drop in temperature and if you're lucky some snow.

There are many places to stay and there are a few different towns to visit. Budgets range from camping all the way through to five star (say something like Lilianfels - OH some beautiful and a hit to the hip pocket).

As we were on a random road trip and hence on a budget, we did a night at Hostel No 14. I loved this place! It was warm, clean and had a beautiful charm about it. It looked to be an old (big) miners cottage that has been transformed into a guest house. It is more of a guest house than a hostel. You will not find any drunken you backpacker here. It is more for the budget concerned traveller. It is warm, there is heating through out. Breakfast comes for free and you can dabble away on you iPad or laptop with WiFi.

A twin room with share bathroom set us back $65 (that's $32.50 each) which isn't too bad for a warm bed, a cosie place to sit and read or browse the web and a bit of breakie and a cuppa of tea or coffee.

The manager of the hostel is very friendly and very accommodating  suggesting  things to see and do in the area and around the Mountains.

To book you can go straight to their website www.no14.com.au or I use hostelworld.com when booking hostels (its good for reviews)

Australian Rules

Its the sport of the nation - Well that actually depends on who you ask. If you ask a Victorian (someone from Victoria) tell will tell you that this statement is true... Ask anyone one else form Australia and you may get mixed responses.

Aussie Rules, as it is locally known is a fast paced ball spot - football. Its similar to Gaelic football in some terms, but really, it's a unique sport.

Spawning from the VFL (Victorian Football League) AFL is played throughout Australia. There is a Major team in every state (apart from TAS and the NT) that play in the 'AFL League'.

If you are coming to Australia during the Season (Winter season game) I urge you to get along to a match - You'll have more luck with frequent matches in Melbourne  but you can catch a lot of games in teams home grounds like Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

I personally LOVE AFL - Born and raised in Victoria, saw me support this sport before I could walk myself.

Even if your a local in Australia, and you haven't been to a match - GO! You will have the best time.

For match info and all the Aussie Rules teams check out this site - afl.com.au/