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industry interview: Award Winning Blogger “Backpacker Banter “Talks Travel & Byron Bay

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The Wombats

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JUST FOR LAUGHS AUSTRALIA This year’s JUST FOR LAUGHS AUSTRALIA: LIVE lineup features Rove McManus · Dilruk Jayasinha · Peter Helliar · Gen Fricker · Ismo · Nazeem Hussain · Rhys Nicholson · Damien Power · Lizzy Hoo · Steph Tisdell · Al Del Bene · Simon Taylor · Sammy J · Ivan Aristeguieta · Nina Oyama · Troy Kinne · Nikki Osborne · Sam Campbell · Chanty Marostica · Justin Hamilton · Lehmo · Harley Breen · Nikki Britton · Ivan Decker AND MORE! A highlight on the show this year is Canadian comedian CHANTY MAROSTICA, who is the winner of the ninth annual SiriusXM Top Comic Competition. Along with receiving the coveted Top Comic title, Marostica won the opportunity to perform at the Sydney Opera House this year for AAMI Just for Laughs Sydney. The prize also included $25k and invitations to perform at all of the other Just for Laughs festivals in 2019; Just for Laughs (Montreal), JFL42 (Toronto), and Just for Laughs NorthWest (Vancouver). Chanty was the first ever trans comedian chosen to be one of the prestigious “42” at JFL42 Toronto in 2018, performing their solo show to sold out crowds and garnering critical and fan acclaim. Courtesy of the Canadian Consulate supporting Canadian artists in Australia, we are thrilled to have Vancouver comedian Ivan Decker join this amazing line up! It’s been a stellar year for Ivan – he won the 2018 Juno Award (Canadian Music Awards) for Best Comedy Album, filmed his first Netflix special at the Just for Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival this past summer, and will be returning to the Vancouver stage for a special appearance on Gad Elmaleh’s The Dream Tour. JUST FOR LAUGHS AUSTRALIA: LIVE has become a

favorite of the festival, giving audiences the opportunity of catching several top names in one night, over three nights. THURSDAY 22 NOVEMBER – 7.15pm Ismo, Nazeem Hussain, Damien Power, Lizzy Hoo and more THURSDAY 22 NOVEMBER – 9.30pm Steph Tisdell, Rhys Nicholson, Al Del Bene, Simon Taylor, Gen Fricker and more FRIDAY 23 NOVEMBER – 7.15pm Ivan Decker, Sammy J, Rove McManus, Ivan Decker and more

Comedy Clubs

“You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it” Robin Williams a mic in hand

When: 8 pm every Thursday Where: Friend in Hand Hotel Address: 58 Cowper Street, Glebe, Sydney Cost: $10 Full/ $8 conc amicinhand.com

The Comedy Lounge

SATURDAY 24 NOVEMBER – 7.15pm

When: 7.30 pm every Monday Where: Cafe Lounge Address: 277 Goulburn St, Surry Hills, Sydney Cost: $10 www.cafelounge.com.au

Dilruk Jayasinha, Peter Helliar, Nikki Osborne, Sam Campbell, Chanty Marostica

The Comedy Store Showcase

FRIDAY 23 NOVEMBER – 9.30PM Ivan Aristeguieta, Nina Oyama, Troy Kinne and more

SATURDAY 24 NOVEMBER – 9.30pm Justin Hamilton, Lehmo, Harley Breen, Nikki Britton, Sam Taunton and more *All lineups subject to change THE JUST FOR LAUGHS FESTIVAL PASS The Just for Laughs Festival Pass gives comedy fans the opportunity to experience the festival, see more comedy and save money! The pass is only for Just for Laughs Australia: Live Hosted by Tommy Little. Purchase either a 2-show or 3-show pass and choose between the SIX live shows featuring over 30 top international and local comedians. shortbread and Celtic T-shirts. Jings, crivens and help ma bob, we’re all doomed I tell ya, doomed! Is there anything you can do to cheer me up? There’s only so much of the Krankies one man can stomach. More from Crystal Balls on p4. Yours, Jock McTavish

Dear Jock, I’ll cheer you up alright. God the Scottish accent turns me on. There’s just something about a bloke wearing a skirt that gets my juices flowing. If you ever want me to toss your caber, get in touch and I’ll turn your “yes” into an “oh god yes, yes, yes!” This is one union you won’t want to break from.

When: 7:30 pm every Thursday, Friday and Saturday Where: Comedy Store Sydney Address: The Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park, Sydney Cost: from $16 www.comedystore.com.au

Happy Endings Comedy Club

When: 8.30 pm every Friday and Saturday Where: El Rocco Address:154 Brougham St, Kings Cross, Sydney Cost: $27.50 - $30 happyendingscomedyclub.com.au

Comedy @ Spleen

When: 8:30 pm every Monday Where: Spleen Bar Address: 41 Bourke Street, Melbourne Cost: Free Entry comedyatspleen.com

The Little Comedy Lounge

When: 8 pm every Saturday Where: Little Creatures, Fremantle Address: 40 Mews Road, Frematle, Perth Cost: $35 comedylounge.com.au

coogeebayhotel.com.au

CRYSTAL BALLS

ASK CRYSTAL

Our very own resident psychic, Crystal Balls, tells your fortune for the month in her very very special way… GEMINI *Horoscope not detected* Please check all devices are connected to the Zodiac then restart your crystal ball. If problem persists, please call a Microsoft technician, voodoo priest or Mystic Meg.

VIRGO You wake up one morning, check your face in the bathroom mirror and discover – horror of horrors – that you’ve turned into Mumm-Ra The Ever Living, the chief antagonist in the animated series Thundercats. You really should read the side-effects of that new shampoo you’ve been using, specifically the bit under side-effects which reads “warning: may cause hives, flakiness or turn user into immortal undead entity with a cat fixation”. Give it a few days and the effects should wear off - although I’d stop using that new moisturising cream too, unless you want to look like Krang from the Ninja Turtles.

TAURUS A routine shopping trip for a bedside table turns into a nightmare when you stray from the path in IKEA and get lost for eight months in the living room section.

You survive by foraging for dropped sweets and building a makeshift base out of settee cushions and spare bookcase parts. Occasionally, you’ll set fire to a stool in a bid to catch the attention of passers-by and staff, all to no avail. It’s only after a failed suicide attempt, when you try to hang yourself from an extendable lamp, that you realise you’re going to have to take matters into your own hands. Striking out to find the path with your imaginary friend “Pilson”, who is basically a light bulb with a face drawn on it, you spend days wading through low-priced sofa-beds and lumbar-supporting chairs before reaching the kitchen section and collapsing from weariness. By sheer chance, your prone body is spotted by a Chinese couple arguing about dishwashers and you are taken back to civilisation.

chased by hordes of deluded fans, who then viciously beat you when they realise they’ve been fooled.

AQUARIUS

As a result of you constantly missing social engagements because you’re obsessed with playing Words with Friends, you lose all your friends. Oh the irony.

Your attempt to shoplift from Coles, by shoving numerous items down the back of your extra-stretchy trousers until they’re full to burst, backfires spectacularly when you try to leave the store. From behind, you look like a dead ringer for fat-assed pop pixie Nicki Minaj and are promptly

LIBRA Your desperate need for cash reaches a new low this week when you agree to star in a “leaked” sex tape with Susan Boyle. Apparently the Hairy Angel is trying to reinvent herself as “Iggy Azalea for grannies”. The strap-on scene is particularly gruesome. I dreamed a dream? More like a bloody nightmare.

ARIES First Robbie Williams, now David Attenborough. Who will be next on your list of celebrities who you think have died but actually it was someone with a similar name?

LEO

SCORPIO Sorry Scorpio, my herpes are really flaring up today. So I’m trying to fashion a scratching device from

chopsticks. Meñana.

CANCER You start seeing the actress who plays the “new girl at Coles” in those annoying adverts. You wouldn’t think it to look at her, but she’s a right dirty minx. You should see what she can do with an aubergine and a bunch of grapes. No wonder it’s Woolworths who are the “fresh food people”. Egads!

CAPRICORN The first person you meet after reading this will be responsible for your death – unless you kill them before they get the chance. Do it! Do it now!

PISCES Aunt Crystal won’t be doing a horoscope for Pisces this month due to hangoverrelated reasons. BBM would like to apologise for any inconvenience.

SAGITTARIUS You’re walking down the street when you spot that annoyingly smug git who does the Youi car insurance adverts. Ten minutes later, you are in prison for GBH after beating him to a bloody pulp.

Crystal is always here (except when she’s being a cougar

about town, showing the young women of today how to grind up against the guys) to help answer your problems.

Our agony aunt-come-psychic knows best when it comes to problems… Dear Crystal,

When I was a young boy growing up in Britain during the 80s, our school was visited by a number of minor celebrities, including Rolf Harris, Gary Glitter and Jimmy Savile – yet not one of them attempted to interfere with, or molest, me in any way. Naturally, this has really knocked my confidence and made me depressed. Am I really that unattractive? Savile used to be into corpses for God’s sake! What’s wrong with me? Yours Roger

Dear Roger

People are quick to offer sympathy to the victims of these monsters, but they often forget the youngsters who were not directly affected or traumatised in any way by these heinous crimes. If you really want to be interfered with by a celebrity, I’m more than happy to come round your house and jam my fist up your nipsy. Then the healing can begin – both psychologically and internally.

Dear Crystal,

I could have sworn I just saw you on an old episode of Have I Got News For You. Have you ever been on TV? Yours Chris

Dear Chris,

You probably saw Boris Johnson,

people confuse us all the time. It’s the hair.

Dear Crystal, Och, as a proud Scotsman, I’m canny depressed by the vote against independence in the auld home country. I don’t mind telling ye, I’ve had it up tae here with the English. They take our oil, vote the Tories in, and think it’s oh-so funny to take the piss out of Scottish stereotypes. Well I’m nay impressed. As a professional haggis salesman, I’m sick of my taxes going to London when I barely have enough money to keep my family supplied with Irn-Bru, shortbread and Celtic T-shirts. Jings, crivens and help ma bob, we’re all doomed I tell ya, doomed! Is there anything you can do to cheer me up? There’s only so much of the Krankies one man can stomach. Yours, Jock McTavish

David Baddiel talks football and a bit about his Australia tour

“My Family, Not The Sitcom”

Hey David, how are you today? I’m good. Where about are you and how is it there? I’m in my house in London, where it is busy with people - I’m not sure who some of them are, but they may be my children’s friends. Or they may be burglars. So, we’re soon to see you take My Family - Not The Sitcom downunder... and this is your Australian debut... why’s it taken so long for you to make it to Oz? It’s not quite my Oz debut. About 20 years ago I did a corporate show for Fosters. They had had a competition whereby people who drunk enough Fosters and therefore collected enough labels would be entered into a draw. The prize was 2 weeks in Oz. I was their entertainment at their last night party. It was 200 alcoholic Brits, on their last night in Sydney. I didn’t really do any comedy: it was more an exercise in crowd control. I got out alive though. The show you’ll be performing is a deeply personal one... what led you to writing something that hits so close to home? The sort of stand-up I do now tends to be very story led and very based around telling truths, as I see them, truths about my life. I had done a show like this about fame in the UK and then thought about where else I could draw on a large bank of stories, and realised: my family.

I had quite a weird upbringing, and when my mum died I felt it was time to tell these stories. It was partly because at her funeral I noticed a lot of people telling me how wonderful she was. And the thing that bound all these people together was they didn’t really know her. I realised that when people die we talk about them like they were saints, and that does them a disservice: tell the truth about people, whatever it may be, and that will bring them back to life. The show is really about memory, about how you remember people, and then the flip side of it is about my dad, who has dementia, but again: the way I talk about him is not about pity or reverence, it’s about how hilarious it is because his dementia makes him very sweary and disinhibited and obscene which he always was... The Times said “you’re going to disrespect the dead and the incapacitated, do it like this” what do your family make of the show? Have they seen it? My brothers have seen it. Originally they were both very unkeen. I had to ask them to trust me, that even though I would be washing the family’s dirty linen in public, it would all be in a celebratory way. Now they both love it. My older brother said after the opening night “it felt like she (my mum) was in the room” which brought something of a tear to my eye. So, being an avid football fan, what are a couple of your predictions for the season?

I think it will probably be Man City’s Premiership again, but I think Chelsea could really challenge them - I think we’ve sorted out a few holes in the team and Sarri looks like a good old boy who isn’t going to make the team go into that bunker mentality they can sometimes get. Out of double digits of managers in the Abromovich era, who’s been your favourite and why? Hmm. The young Mourniho was amazing - by young I mean when he was first came in 2004 - people forget now that he played amazing football, and we were winning games 3 and 4 nil regularly. Because he became very defensive, and that’s how he’s thought of now. But I would still chose the Mourinho of that period. Who’s are your favourite 2 players - one old, one new? Favourite player of the old days would be Alan Hudson, who was a brilliant playmaker and midfielder in our early 70s side. Now I’d say Eden Hazard, who will be thought of as one of our greatest ever players. So, Instagram tells us that you are still thick as thieves with Frank Skinner. How did a Cambridge educated, Chelsea supporter end up being such big pals with a Brummie sounding West Brom fan? Well partly though football - we first met in

Jongleurs Comedy Club in 1990 whilst Egypt v The Republic of Ireland from that World Cup was on, and we ended up rowing about the game - I thought Ireland were too defensive, he didn’t - but we both went away thinking “he’s a good bloke”. We’re not really from that different backgrounds - Frank is older and from a very impoverished background - he tells stories about his childhood that makes you think “did you grow up in the 16th Century?” but my own childhood was just lower-middle class London in the 70s, which was rough enough, and I think we just share quite a blokey no-nonsense attitude to life. And sense of humour. What are you most looking forward to about your Australian tour? Anything on your bucket list in between shows? I’m madly busy whilst I’m there travelling between cities and doing radio and TV but I’m looking forward to your lovely looking cities, and to what I assume is Spring. Oh! And Tim Rice has invited me to the opening of Evita in Sydney on the 18th, a night I do have free, so that’ll be great... Thanks for your time! And we can’t wait to see the show...

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banter test

Is the slang saying Aussie or English? Fill in your answers below along with your name, take a photo and email your answer to competitions@bbmlive.com for the chance to win comedy tickets for you and a mate in Sydney, Melbs, Perth or Brisy

#Gutted .................................................. #Root Rat .................................................. #Knackered .................................................. #Smashed It .................................................. #Off Chops .................................................. #Bants .................................................. #Chuffed ..................................................

Sydney Sports Bars

#Devo ..................................................

Listed are some of the best venues in Sydney to indulge in your two favourite sports - watching the English Premier League and nursing a drink. For fans with no cable, and fans looking to hang out with equally enthusiastic fellow comrades, Sydney comes up trumps with a fine collection of sports bars to perch yourself, relax and watch the game uninterrupted.

#Straya ..................................................

The Light Brigade Hotel

#Stiffy ..................................................

Sports comes first at this bar, the hotel bordering PaddoWoollhara, posts its telly sports schedule online and has no qualms about turning every seat in the house to face the screen. No excuse for missing a single match at this bar, where the drinks are just as ambitious and vibrant as the football fans!

#Yeh But No .................................................. #Spittin Shit .................................................. #Durry .................................................. #Drongo .................................................. #Fag .................................................. #Cactus ..................................................

British Balls

Head to British Balls online for more banter, jokes, daily news and sports highlights. Visit bbmlive.com

#Yous .................................................. #Knob head .................................................. #Tucker .................................................. #Sanga ..................................................

Courthouse Hotel

#Swag .................................................. #Balls Deep .................................................. #Fuck Me Dead .................................................. #Pash .................................................. #Jimmy Hat .................................................. #Frangers .................................................. Your Full Name: .................................................. Winners must be over 18, have valid ID to claim the prize and will be selected by the 25th November 2018.

A jug of beer and the signature house burger is not the only reason for heading into the cosy comforts of this Sydney sports bar, located in Newton. Footy on the telly is pretty serious business here, with no one minding you snagging a bar stool and sitting pretty for endless hours enjoying the game and drinks.

24/7 Sports Bar The name alone is enough to have premier league fans lining up outside of this bar, although the fact the place

Premier League Round Up The British sporting media is a vicious animal the Aussies call its the ‘tall poppy syndrome, the art of cutting someone down to size when they feel they have become too big for their boots the British press, formerly known as Fleet Street, does exactly the same with football managers. But Mourinho looks increasingly isolated as United struggle to not just win. but to entertain. Defensively, they look vulnerable and when you get booed by you’re a own fans, then management usually sits up and takes notice. Mourinho may find the right formula, but everyone is expecting a change of management soon. with Zinedine Zidane’s name constantly mentioned as the ideal replacement.Can Zidane bring a new swagger to Old Trafford, in the way Jurgen Klopp has at Anfield? The management of 20-odd egos at one of the world’s best football club is no easy task.Could he get more out of Paul Pogba or reconstruct a team that - compared to its main rivals - look about five years behind modern tactics? Who knows. Some might say yes - former United player Gary Neville seems to think so, whereas others, like Wayne Rooney. don’t.Rooney, now enjoying an ‘indian summer’ in the USA, believes players need to step up to solve the problems, Neville thinks Mourinho is the problem.Others think its a board issue and money should have been spent back in the pre-season, but as we head into the pre-Christmas push, everyone will be watching for movement at Old Trafford - rather than managerial dismissals elsewhere.Mourinho recently refused to disclose whether he had met with United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward after a string of poor results. “That’s a private matter,” Mourinho said. “I’m not asking you who did you speak with this morning, who was your last phone call, that’s a private matter.”

But United are not a ‘private’ matter - they are public property in many eyes.Keep eyes peeled for developments if infield performances continue to be below par.Meanwhile at Arsenal the changing of the guard seems to be moving at pace with Arsene Wenger a name from the past.New Spanish coach Unai Emery has stamped his own mark on the Gunners on and off the field - with surprising results.New, more intense training routines - even banning sugary drinks from player’s diets - has seen them become a force again after two difficult final seasons under Wenger.It’s still a work in progress, but a new confidence is there in this side, with Uruguayan Lucas Torreira the lynchpin, alongside Granit Xhaka, who under Wenger always looked uncomfortable.The finishing of strikers Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been a joy for any Gooner and when playmaker Mesut Ozil, is fit, they will definitely be a challenge going int the festive season. Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea will all be there as well, but Arsenal, after some painful years under Wenger, seems to be a force once more.Portugal and Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo is among the first 10 nominees for the men’s Ballon d’Or trophy, awarded by France Football magazine to the best player in the world.The Portuguese has won the award for the past two years and five times in total, a record he shares with Argentine Lionel Messi. Others on the shortlist include Sergio Aguero (Argentina, Manchester City), Alisson Becker (Brazil, Liverpool), Gareth Bale (Wales, Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid), Edinson Cavani (Uruguay, Paris St Germain), Thibaut Courtois (Belgium, Real Madrid), Roberto Firmino (Brazil, Liverpool) and Diego Godin (Uruguay, Atletico Madrid).

boasts three mega screens and, get this, 50 LCD screens is a pretty big lure on its own. Happy hour from 5 to 7 pm will snag you $ 5 house beers, spirits and a wine. Pub classics are on the menu if you’ve got plans to put down roots, while the game is on.

The Sheaf A star in Double Bay, this place consists of a lush newly renovated garden bar, leaving the vintage public bar with shh…we won’t tell if you won’t, a fab view of the large screen - relatively free to hog. Football, drinks, grub, and no one to disturb you!

Churchill's Sports Bar This place is more than perfect! Glue yourself to the telly, and not miss a wink of the game, as you settle in to enjoy breakfast, lunch and late night snacks at this bar. Just about every favourite sport comes up on the screens, while the generous flow of drinks and bistro menu, keeps just about everyone in high spirits.

The Palace Hotel The Palce Hotel is the home to the Chelsea supporters club, Cyrstal Palace supporters club and the official All Blacks Rugby supporters club so we think it’s far to say these guys are pretty dediated to delivering the best in live international sport. They are in the dreaded lock out zone but if you;re in the bar on time, this shouldn’t effect you watching the live matches.

Aussie Sports News South Sydney rugby league club’s Damien Cook postponed his wedding to make his international debut in the Kangaroos’ end-of-season Tests against New Zealand and Tonga.Cook had organised his big day for October 19 but was forced to rejig plans after he was named in the Kangaroos squad for Auckland Tests against the Kiwis (October 13) and Tonga a week later. But it wasn’t Cook who put the nuptials back - it was his partner Courtney who made the call.

Cook said he was now focused on making the Test No.9 jersey his own after it had become synonymous with legendary rake Cameron Smith since his international debut in 2006.

“I wasn’t sure if I would make the Kangaroos squad,” Cook said.

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika wants his players to step up and ensure they are ready for the next 12 months of rugby after their miracle win over Argentina recently.Australia’s attention has now shifted to the 2019 World Cup in Japan. And the Wallabies next game is against New Zealand on October 27 in Yokohama, where the World Cup final will be played.

“My partner didn’t want to risk cancelling it. I let her make the decision because I didn’t want to get ahead of myself.

“There’s a season’s worth of learning in that (Argentina) game and now it’s up to them to take it,” he told the media.

“She wanted to move it so it’s a few weeks later. But she gave me a few jobs to do for the wedding and I made sure I did those before I came into camp.”

Cheika will also name his squad to tour Wales, Italy and England later this year once that All Blacks game is done and dusted.

Tennis legend Serena Williams will take her comeback in Australia later this year when she will be a star attraction at the Hopman Cup in Perth, along with another legend Roger Federer. Williams has not played since her stoush with umpire Carlos Ramos in the womens final of the US Open in New York.Her return will guarantee massive global publicity for the Perth event, starting December 30, but across on the east coast the potential last edition of the ATP Brisbane event will bar attempting to challenge that as they roll out several world stars ahead of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

Football-loving ex-pats looking for a live game to watch while on their travels Down Under should check out the A-League, which kicks off in October and runs until April.If you can get over the fact the standard is about English League One at best, the you might be in for a good night out.Clubs are based throughout Australia: Perth Glory, Adelaide Utd, Melbourne Victory, Melbourne City (owned by Manchester City), Western Sydney Wanderers (some fanatical supporters), Sydney FC, Central Coast Mariners (Usain Bolt has recently signed), Wellington Phoenix, Newcastle Jets and Brisbane Roar.

Brisbane is touting a trio of former champions as well as Rafael Nadal in its lineup. Joining the Spaniard in the Queensland field will be exwinners Andy Murray, defending champion Nick Kyrgios and Grigor Dimitrov. US Open winner Naomi Osaka will top the women’s field.

Other names to watch out for include Andy Keogh (Wolves and Millwall) at Glory, Adam La Fondre (Rotherham, Reading and others) at Sydney FC, Ritchie De Last (Villa) at Melbourne City, Ross McCormack (Villa) at Central Coast and Japan star Keisuke Honda at Victory.

Peter Rowe Sports Editor

Brit or Aussie Slang?

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Drink. Eat. Explore. Meet the locals.

PERTH:

Something For All

It’s time to find out what all the buzz is about in Perth. Grab yourself a drink and join the fun-loving locals of Perth at their fvaourite bars for mid week drinks.

Lalla Rook Wine Store Time Out gives this one 5 stars, and with good reason, the wine list is beyond impressive with a match for just about every north Italian meal listed on the fab menu. Definitely one of Perth’s best bars for mid-week drinks!

The Mustang Bar Take a load off, kick back and enjoy the game at this American style sports bar, is not short on quality live entertainment. Just the fix for taking a break from shopping or sightseeing, Mustang boasts over 50 varieties of draught and bottled beer including brands from the Americas and USA. Sweeten the deal by indulging from the fine stock of Cuban and Dominican cigars served.

Helvetica Bar Chic, modern and very laidback, this bar will make you feel right at home. Helvetica is a small bar, which packs quite a punch in mellowing your mood with the right drink and not so bad selection of grub. In fact, it’s pretty darn good.

Mechanics Institute Small Bar Looking for a friendly bar that won’t break the budget, Mechanics located at Northbridge is as cost effective as a watering hole gets. With an emphasis on great service and competitive prices, your mid-week drinks are paired with loads of sunshine when enjoyed at the fourtiered outdoor deck this bar is proud of.

The Classroom

Interested in going back to school, make a

The Bluewater

The Barber Shop

date with The Classroom. Folks the place is not called ‘The Classroom’ for kicks, step back in time as you sit under bicycle wheels made into light fixtures and order from menus stuck onto exercise books, while mixers such as Jameson whisky Sour perked with a dash of bourbon vanilla syrup will make you think twice about playing hookie!

This beer garden is situated in the northern beaches, and is accompanied by views of the marina. There are tables and chairs, or the more relaxed lounge chairs in the garden, so you can really chill out here. There are ten different beers on tap and daily meal specials which are definitely worth checking out.

Bud Burst Small Bar

Foxy’s Bar

Forest green walls, a mellow ambience and a well-stocked bar, makes this cosy little joint the perfect elixir for winding down, even before, the weekend makes an appearance. If you take your drinks very seriously, The Barbers Shop will impress with a fine selection of single malts, while a breezy gin and tonic is not far off, as is a relaxing shot of fine French calvados.

A sommelier influenced little bar, Bud Burst is

Located on Fitzroy Island (a 45-minute ferry ride from Cairns), this place has an abundance of indoor and outdoor seating, pool tables and a dance floor. The beer garden stretches all the way to the blue waters surrounding Fitzroy Island.

making big waves in terms of service, essence and a very savvy wine list. Coming up trumps in an era where small bars are expected to deliver in terms of excellent service, décor, food, wine and beer, this chic little bar is truly a wine connoisseur’s haven.

CAIRNS:

Beer Gardens

When the weather is nice and warm all year round, beer gardens are big business. There are so many in Cairns that you definitely need to visit at least one while you’re there. In case you have more time and want to visit a few, here’s a list of our favourite beer gardens in Cairns.

Gilligan’s Bar This backpacker hostel also doubles up as a nightclub and a couple of bars. One of these bars, the above named Gilligan’s Bar has a huge back deck and beer garden complete with lagoon style swimming pool.

Ellis Beach Bar and Grill This relaxed bar is famous for its ocean view and Ellis beach is only a few miles away. The menu consists of perfect pub food such as burgers, salads and tacos and the drinks menu is many Australian beers, as well as inventive cocktails.

Salt House Home to both a restaurant and bar, both of which have amazing ocean, mountain and marina views. This really is the place to come if you want to sit back with a pint and relish in the spectacular views that north Australia has to offer.

SYDNEY:

Midweek Favs

Take a break from your holiday schedule and dive into the incredible bar culture of Sydney. Whether you love being a wine connoisseur, chilling with a cool beer or sampling the latest in cocktail trends, these trendy bars will make your evening rendezvous brilliant!

The Baxter Inn Head over to Clarence Street once the sunsets and you will see streams of people coming out of a common lane, these queues folks are for The Baxter Inn; an underground little haven to kick back and nurse a couple of drinks, the food is pretty impressive too.

P J O Brien's Head over to the corner of King & Clarence Street and discover the delights of Sydney’s favourite Irish pub. Guinness posters adorn the walls while the dark wood decor adds to the cosy atmosphere. Spread across two floors this is one of Sydney’s best bars for midweek drinks, offering Irish beers and typical pub grub.

Coogee Pavilion Fancy a midweek sundowner to bird’s eye views of the city? Coogee Pavilion will not disappoint. Enjoy the chic surroundings, a stunner in summer, while cold-pressed juice highballs and meats grilled on open coal fires promise to make your afternoon fiesta one to remember; oh and the stunning view of Sydney’s coastline is an added bonus!

East Village Hotel Located in Darlinghurst, East Village Hotel is testimony to how much the city loves its rooftop bars. Perched on the top floor of the hotel, this classy bar is not the only draw, if you need a break en-route upstairs, stop for a drink and catch-up on the game at the Athletic Club; the hotels charming vintage themed sports bar, craftily lurking on the 2nd floor, where an old Brit aristocratic aura will turn out to be quite fascinating.

Discover the best of Australia’s bars at bbmlive.com

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The list of new openings in Sydney seems endless. From a Pyrmont bar that has undergone a facelift to a vintage whisky bar in a heritage building, to an underground watering hole serving lobster rolls - the newbies are diverse. With a plethora of new openings, we’ve taken the pleasure of chipping away at those that have set the standard in recent times with the following breakdown.

Poor Toms Gin Hall 6 Chalder Ave, Marrickville NSW 2204, Australia www.poortomsgin.com.au/poor-toms-gin-hall Poor Toms Gin Distillery in Marrickville, has been the source of the state´s best homemade gin since 2015. It´s been so unbelievably well received that they amassed more than $25000 in proceeds through crowdfunding to make the brew. After more than three years of working hard to perfect their splendid blend, owners Jesse Kennedy and Griffin Blumer have opened their doors at Chalder Avenue to the public. Their custom built bar with its marble top and furniture put -together from scratch create a nice inviting atmosphere for a casual evening. In terms of drinks, the selection of course centers around Poor Toms Gin and each cocktail served up here has its gin fix. As for edibles, the bar has joined up with Pizza Madre during the week and on Sunday some sausage sizzles are served at the Gin Hall.

The Duke of Clarence 152/156 Clarence St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia thedukeofclarence.com Named after the 18th century namesake who would go on to become King William IV, this cozy vintage tavern, offers literally an otherworldly feel. The very English atmosphere could have one believe that Charles Dickens penned a few chapters of a novel here, over some pork pie and ale. But in reality, its theme is quite ambitious and so is their menu to boot. With over 500 spirits to choose from diners are treated to local as well as imported wines and some exciting cocktails. The food is a salute to the offerings in Northern England, where the tavern´s owner grew up. We recommend the fish finger sandwich if you are a first timer. .

Solera Bar 36 Hickson Rd, Millers Point NSW 2000, Australia www.solera.bar Situated on the outskirts of Sydney´s Barangaroo, this little bar is an absolute gem that’s been tucked away within a historic sandstone cave like enclosure. Serving up some exotic drinks, that range from absinthe jelly enhanced cocktails, and rare champagne to lobster rolls, the vibe is definitely unique at Solero. For first timers, we recommend trying out the Reuben sandwiches that come with amazing Wagyu beef, sauerkraut pickles, swiss cheese and some Russian dressing.

Little Odessa, Fitzroy 274, Rear, Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC 3065, Australia www.littleodessa.com.au Modeled after the infamous Harry´s Bar in Venice, the Little Odessa in Fitzroy sports an impressive American -oak bar set up by the Soltys siblings - Sofia and Stefan. However, when you actually take a look around you will realize that Little Odessa, is filled with influencers further North of Europe. From in-house pickled veggies to a painting on the canvas of a World War II Army tent, the place is brimming with intriguing bits of history. Once you have settled down make sure to start with a Czech Budvar Pilsner also known by locals as the original Budweiser. The wines served at the Little Odessa are primarily Australian,

New bar & resturant openings

in Perth!

From posh urban breweries to wine bars and pubs, Perth is brimming with new establishments that are eager to attract customers. Whether it’s your first time to Perth or you are a returning visitor to the city, there’s something for everyone. Read on for our list of some exciting new openings.

New Melbourne Eats and Drinks Whether hidden down an abandoned lane, nestled along the Yarra or perched high on a rooftop, Melbourne’s bar scene is diverse, interesting, but always remains fun. Melburnians don´t need a weekend to hang down their hair, any day of the week is just perfect for some merry making. If you happen to be a returning visitor to Victoria, then you´ll be familiar with Melbourne´s constantly changing hospitality landscape. The best thing about these newbies is that they offer something for everyone. So after much deliberation we suggest visiting the following for your next night out.

must eats

Bars in Sydney! you’ll be visiting soon

however, you will find a pinot noir hailing from Romania to keep to its European flair.

Galah, Windsor 216 High St, Windsor VIC 3181, Australia galah.melbourne Located down the back roads of Windsor, Galah pub is named after a unique species of bird that is known to lead lost bushwalkers to the nearest water hole. These days in Windsor, the Galah also leads locals to sample some Australian spirits. Its rustic interior was once the home of a storage facility of a panel beater. Its industrial touches have created a space that is warm and cozy with high ceilings and upholstered booths and a running fireplace. Cocktails range from local classics to those with a twist including the Eucalyptus Oil Highball and the Bloody Galah.

Murmur Piano Bar, CBD

Wines of While 458 William St, Perth, Western Australia 6000 www.winesofwhile.com www.facebook.com/winesofwhile A newcomer to the William Street neighbourhood is Wines of While. This wine shop is growing in popularity as not only a bar but also as shop and eatery. From their scrumptious lemon tarts that are zesty, to their delicious range of bread made in-house by hand, to their simple Mediterranean dishes, Wines of While definitely deserves a visit. The best time would be to nip in after work and spend an evening sipping some wonderful wine complemented by some light and delectable low -key edibles.

Big Bopper Address: 26 Queen St, Perth WA 6000, Australia bigbopper.com.au From milkshakes doused with booze to burgers oozing with decadent cheese, the Big Bopper down Queen street, is Perth´s favourite burger bar. A highlight of the Bopper is its huge wall of sauce with over a hundred varieties. Diners at the Big Bopper should expect a burst of flavours and some great times ahead.

17 Warburton Ln, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Artem Coffee Rosters

murmur.com.au

Address: 52 Adelaide St, Fremantle WA 6160, Australia

Having evolved from being Melbourne´s foremost laneway bar, the Murmur has undergone a facelift and is now a unique proposition - a piano bar. Think Billy Joel and his hit song piano man, with crowds around the piano, drinks in hand and singing their cares away. At Murmur´s the piano is a baby grand, with veteran Matt Ganim coming in as the veteran piano man to tinkle the ivories. So if you’re up to showcase your pipes, the bar has enough liquid fortitude in the form of wine, beer and cocktails. Food at Murmur is courtesy its neighbour below - Portello Rosso, serving up a delectable array of tapas.

www.facebook.com/artemcoffee Having newly inhabited the ‘Many 2.0’ building in Fremantle, a store made popular by craftsmen, artists and foodies - Artem Coffee is the new sandwich competitor on the block. The interesting thing about this merry band of sandwich people is that there spreading their culture quietly. The secret ? Meat sandwiches that are smoked in-house. Apart from the delightful baked goods on offer here, as the name would imply they serve .up some super roast coffee to boot.

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@stokedfortravel

12 Photo courtesy of Return to Rio

festivals

Get ready to depart on a summer of phenomenal madness, dress up raves. and be prepared for epic experiences.

You could not be in a better place than Australia during summer; the island is teeming with activity, especially of the musical variety. Australian music festivals are in high demand during summer, so below are our recommendations for the upcoming summer festivals focusing on electronic music: You can’t go past a good old Aussie ‘doof’ (local term for outdoor camping festival) if you are after some fun!

The Grass Is Greener If you are looking to go to the Great Barrier Reef, then try and organise it around The Grass is Greener Festival in October. This one-day event in Cairns is quickly becoming one of Australia’s best: its very diverse lineup features a who’s who of what’s current in Australian music. This year they have included a couple of internationals including Darude (Yes, that Darude) and bass lord Herobust. It’s not all electronic sounds though, and there will be something for everyone. When: Saturday October 27th

Dragon Dreaming

Website: letthemeatcakenyd.com.au

If you are looking to get a proper taste fo the Australian bush festival scene, then look no further than Dragon Dreaming. About an hour and a half drive from Canberra, or just under 4 hours from Sydney, or a 6.5-hour drive from Melbourne’s northern suburbs, this three-day camping festival will feature dub, reggae, psy and whatever else invigorates those chakras.

Return to Rio

When: Friday 2nd November - Monday 5th November Where: Wee Jasper NSW (4 hours drive from Sydney) Website: www.dragondreaming.com.au

Strawberry Fields Strawberry is one of the crown jewels of the local scene and is unofficially the first of the big summer camping festivals. Strawberry caters to a younger crowd of adventure seekers who rates their house, techno and more: this year will feature everyone from Andhim to Jayda G to DJ Nobu. Be warned though, this festival is known for the heavy police presence entering and exiting the festival. Be responsible.

Where: Cairns Showgrounds, Cairns

When: Friday 16th November - Sunday 18th November

Website: thegrassisgreener.com.au

Where: Tocumwal NSW (3,5 hours drive for Melbourne)

Chi Wow Wah Town Out of all the selections here, this might be the most boutique but possibly the most loved. With an emphasis on creativity and art, this little festival feels way more significant than it’s around 1000 pax capacity. The last event was two years ago due to location issues, so their return this year got punters extremely frothed up. At the new location of Tallarook, this little superstar will feature house and techno stars like Steve Bug, Andreas Henneberg, Jimi Jules and local star (and CWWT founder) Uone. Woof. When: Friday 2nd November - Sunday 4th November

Website: www.originfields.com.au

Origin Fields NYD Origin might be Perths’ biggest festival; recent editions saw them host the likes of A$AP Rocky, Die Antwoord, Pendulum. This year they’ve announced a major overhaul and musical direction. The event will run across two days and feature large names such as Cardi B, Bonobo and Khalid. Located in Langley Park which is pretty much Perth’s CBS, this one is easily accessible and pretty much the hottest ticket in town if you are in Perth for NYD. When: Sunday 30th December - Monday 31st

Where: Tallaroook, Melbourne

December

Website: www.chiwowwahtown.com

Where: Langley Park, Perth

Harbourlife

Website: www.originfields.com.au

Mrs Macquaries Point in Sydney is known for its fantastic vantage point from where you can view the NYE fireworks display over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. For one day in November though it turns into a musical explosion of electronic music. Last year featured acts like Claptone, Jax Jones and Set Mo, and this year has invited the likes of MK, Green Velvet and Shiba San and more.

Let Them Eat Cake NYD

When: Saturday, 17th November Where: Mrs Macquaries Point, Sydney Website:www.fuzzy.com

Now in its 7th year, this boutique festival has quickly become one of Australia’s most well known one day NYD events. Located about 30 min outside of Melbourne on the beautifully manicured lawns of Werribee Mansion, LTEC always delivers a lineup that is to die for on a location fit for a king. With a strong emphasis on food, art and a lineup which in years gone past featured Daniel Avery, Dusky and Jon Hopkins, LTEC is a hot tip if you’re in Melbourne to start the new year. When: Tuesday, 1st January Where: Werribee Mansion, Melbourne

With music, magic and mayhem around every corner, Return to Rio is Australia’s largest fancy-dress party. Each year the three day affair features a line-up of the world’s best electronic artists, this November 9-11 catch Sasha, Lee Burridge, Roni Size, Skream, Greg Wilson, Late Night Tuff Guy and heaps of others on the banks of the Hawkesbury River just 90 mins from Sydney. With three stages of music, a tropical pool party, splash park and crazy golf course, it’s no wonder its touted as the ultimate weekend away. Cabin accommodation and luxury houseboats await, as do those infamous afterparties... When: November 9-11 Website: returntorio.com

Electric Gardens This inner-city dance festival, now in it’s fourth year always features a who’s who of electronic music on the bill. This January, Ibiza superclub Amnesia will be making its debut down under at the event, bringing its trademark hedonistic dancers, beaming lasers and industrial Co2 cannons to the gardeners. Visiting Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth get your rave on to Underworld (Live), Erick Morillo, Eats Everything and Patrick Topping as well as local favourites Bag Raiders and Set Mo. When: Touring Nationally in January 2019 Website: electricgardens.com.au

Hot Dub Wine Machine If you have ever wanted to combine your passion for wine with music, then look no further. Hot Dub Wine Machine is a national event seeking out amazing wineries to put up a stage and have a jolly good time. Also, there is music, live music. People get drunk; they dance, they have much fun. The lineup focus is on local acts with past performers including Pnau, The Presets and Sneaky Sound System. For now, they have announced a date for their Adelaide event which will be in December at the McLaren Valley winery, one of Oz’s most revered wineries. (Check their website for other dates as they happen) When: Saturday, 1st December Where: McLaren Vale Estate, Adelaide Website: https://wine-machine.com/

Pitch Music & Arts In only two years Pitch has gone from the new kid on the block to big daddy cool. Around 3 hours drive from Melbourne, this 3-day music festival is a half European festival, half Aussie bush doof, and a whole lot of awesome. This year’s lineup included Sven Vath, Motor City Drum Ensemble and DJ Tennis plus way

more. If Strawberry announce the start of the festival season, Pitch announces the end. Highly recommend. When: Friday, 8th — Monday, 11th March Where: Mafeking (3 hours drive outside of Melbourne) Website: pitchfestival.com.au

Output Festival 2018 As the festival continues to grow and evolve in our idyllic national park surroundings, this year’s adventure will take place on the Eastern Precinct of Goat Island, with stages hidden in the woods, a brand-new Rooftop Silent Disco and stunning unparalleled views of Sydney Harbour, the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Output features a carefully curated lineup of refreshing, crisp and flavourful house, disco and techno selectors from here, there and everywhere are at your service. When: Saturday, 24th November Where: Goat Island, Sydney Harbour Website: outputfestival.com.au

Elrow Life’s a carnival so you’ve got to get dressed up for the occasion and getting pimped up Brazilian style, isn’t like going to your office party. Just grab a few feathers, drag out your grandma’s old boa and start working those hips, Samba style. Crashed DJs, pulsating rhythms, wild animals, lost explorers and fun-loving jungle dwellers. What’s to go wrong? Pretty much everything, but a healthy dose of samba and carnival soon electrify this eccentric and assorted crowd. Lost in the foliage anything can happen and you’re right in the middle. So get dancing! elrow is very excited to bring the return of John Digweed after a hiatus from Australia. The legendary UK DJ returns alongside Canadian rising star B. Traits. She is joined on the bill by Elrow residents: Tini Gessler and Toni Varga and Hot Creations/Crosstown Rebels stalwart Kevin Knapp. Sydney and Melbourne will also be treated to local heroes. When: Saturday 15 December Where: Hordern Pavilion, Sydney When: Saturday 22 December 2018 Where: Melbourne Showgrounds, Melbourne Website: www.hardwaregroup.com.au

Check out our brand new website vibes.bbmlive.com

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all

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latest music, tech, travel news and artists interviews

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Music News Normay Jay’s coming back with GOOD TIMES After an unforgettable sold-out Good Times show in Sydney earlier this year, the legendary Norman Jay MBE will be returning to Sydney in February 2019 for an even bigger Good Times party. Taking over Sydney’s Greenwood Hotel on Saturday, February 16th, Norman Jay will be bringing reggae icon David Rodigan with him for his first ever Sydney show, plus Brazil’s DJ Marky who will be playing two sets on the day – a funk and soul set, plus a drum & bass set – making sure everyone’s dancefloor needs are completely covered! Norman Jay is unquestionably one of the most respected and popular DJs in the world today. Co-founder of the legendary Good Times Sound System and London dance music station KISS FM, Jay fostered the ‘Rare Groove’ scene pushing the boundaries of the UK’s emerging club culture. Awarded an MBE for services to DJing and music, in 2017 he released ‘Mister Good Times’, a compilation capturing the true spirit of Good Times, and is currently taking his legendary Good Times party to selected venues around the world, continuing to convert generations of clubbers to the cause, championing new sounds, yet never forgetting his musical roots, thus guaranteeing nothing but ‘Good Times’. Joining the Good Times is fellow legend and British music icon David Rodigan. For over 40 years David Rodigan has been the top dog in the ganja-scented, bass-heavy atmosphere of Britain’s reggae dance-halls. The key to his success has been an unsinkable passion for reggae music, which first took a hold of him as a schoolboy when he heard ska music in the early ’60s. He developed an obsession with the music of Jamaica that generated an encyclopaedic knowledge of the island’s every artist, every song and every rhythm track. Rodigan will be bringing his unique collection of customised dub plates and classic recordings to Sydney for the very first time in February, a once in a lifetime opportunity for his loyal reggae fans to see him play in Australia.

Photo courtesy of The Grass Is Greener

The Hills Are Alive Phone your friends and get ready to pack your camping kit and head for the Hills! Victoria’s favourite festival for music aficionados THE HILLS ARE ALIVE is back for it’s 11th edition with a bunch of Australia’s most exciting artists in tow. From Friday 29 to Sunday 31 March, The Farm in South Gippsland will once again become a home away from home to musicians and music lovers alike, creating the intimate festival magic that makes The Hills Are Alive so special. Hills is big enough to make new friends but small enough that you’ll bump into everyone you know!

Get ready to party with this bunch of legends…

Good Things Festival Sideshows

VERA BLUE · KINGSWOOD DIDIRRI · CERES · TIA GOSTELOW · KWAME · PRESS CLUB · ARNO FARAJI · GOOD Brazil’s DJ Marky will also be joining the Good Times party, playing not DOOGS · BUGS · RAAVE TAPES · PLANET · GENESIS OWUSU · SŸDE · IV LEAGUE · THE NORTHERN FOLK · one, but two very special sets on the day. Boss of the world famous label Innerground, DJ Marky has more than 20 years of experience, taking LOSER · COOL OUT SUN · STEVIE JEAN · HOUSEHATS Plus more bands and comedians still to be announced! the art of DJing and producing to another level. At Good Times Sydney, THE OFFSPRING DROPKICK MURPHYS SCARLXRD with special guests DJ Marky will be taking fans on a magical musical journey through the with special guests Horror My Friend best of funk and soul, then flipping the switch to play a drum & bass set. Who the Fxck is SCARLXRD? This After twenty years, Dropkick The Offspring are one of rock’s British artist is almost completely Murphys remain bigger than ever, Joining these legends of the international music scene on the day will be Iron most exciting and enduring unknown to DJs and MCs in having sold over 6 million albums Gate Sound, Dub Vader, DJ Gonz, Foreigndub, DJ Naiki and Jamrock Crew bands and are no strangers to the UK rap scene. SCARLXRD worldwide. The band continues to in the Reggae & Dub room, plus Royalston, Glocky, Capture and Open Eye Australian stages. In addition to has released mixtapes such as; sell out venues around the world. their headlining spot on Good Savixur, Annx Dxmini, Sxurce Xne, They’ve played Boston’s Fenway in the D&B room hosted by Bass Drop. Sydney clubbing legends Nick Law, Things Festival, The Offspring LXRD, Rxse, Chaxsthexry, Cabin Park and been personally invited Robin Knight and Trent Rackus will also be kicking off the day’s proceedings will be performing a headline Fever and LORDSZN. SCARLXRD to share the stage with everyone on the main stage. released his latest mixtape from Foo Fighters to Bruce sideshow at TheBarton Theatre. entitled ‘DXXM’ in May of 2018. Springsteen to Mumford & Sons. The Offspring have performed Tickets for Good Times Sydney will go on sale at 9:00am AEDT next His breakthrough track Heart over 1100 shows across the globe Wednesday, 17th October via Moshtix. For this event, Good Times will be Attack has had over 35m views Catch them in Adelaide at HQ on once again teaming up with the Charlie Teo Foundation, with donations being and and the night will see them - not bad for someone who has Monday 10 December. collected on the day to fund innovative brain cancer research. performing their greatest hits and only been rapping for just over a rock anthems spanning across year. Featuring Norman Jay MBE their incredible career. David Rodigan | DJ Marky TUES 11 DECEMBER - BRISBANE MONDAY 10 DECEMBER Saturday, 16th February 2019, 1pm – 10pm WEDNESDAY 5 DECEMBER HQ, ADELAIDE (18+) The Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney ADELAIDE (18+) WEDS 12 DECEMBER -HOWLER

Who to catch at The Grass is Greener Festival 2018: Following on from last year’s success, Northern Queensland’s much loved much loved festival returns this October with possibly their biggest line up to date. Located in the stunning Cairns Showground’s in tropical Northern Queensland, the festival will take place on Saturday October 27th. If you love home grown Australian music, tropical weather, and helping support The Great Barrier Reef, there is only one place to be this October.

This Brisbane four piece formed in 2011, with their first album ‘Learn to Exist’ released in August 2013. Since then they have been touring Australia constantly and released their critically acclaimed album ‘Speakerzoid’ in 2015. Rolling Stones even gave them a four out of five for the 2015 album. Being no strangers to the Australian festival circuit, expect a confident and commanding show at The Grass is Always Greener this year and be sure to keep a keen ear out for lead singer Sam Hales stunning vocals.

DREWBOY AND THE SAX ADDICTS

Sydney sider Hayden James is a singer/song writer who creates electronic pop music that has a heavy RnB influence. Synthesizers, intricate melodies and his own gushing vocals always heavily support his songs. James first came on the scene in 2013 with his single ‘Permissing to Love’, having since gone on to release a five track EP and even co writing and performing on Katy Perrys song ‘Deja Vu’. Except looping beats, sensual vocals and a lot of heart from this Australian talent in Cairns this October.

THE JUNGLE GIANTS

HAYDEN JAMES

DARUDE

Hailing from the icy shores of Finland, Darude is a world renowned DJ and producer. Darude is most famous for his platinum selling hit single ‘Sandstorm’, which earned him three Finnish Grammy’s for his efforts. His music is a mix of progressive and uplifting EDM and trance. His last album came out in 2015 and he has practically been touring ever since!

Local four-piece Drewboy and the Sax Addicts are a shining jewel in Cairns budding music scene. Their sound is a mixture of indie, acoustic, folk, and they even throw dash of hip hop thrown in to create something completely unique. Be sure to catch these local boys giving there all in front of the hometown crowd for their first ever The Grass is Greener festival. By Paraic Walker

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The Wombats talk Grapevine festival, Bali NYE, Rice Paper Scissors and scrambled eggs in Sydney Having last spoke to the band ahead of their two sell out shows at the Sydney Opera House in 2017, The Wombats are returning to Australian shores this December to play Grapevine Festival. The festival takes place in two wineries in Hunter Valley, New South Wales and Yarra Valley, Victoria. The Liverpudlian’s last album ‘Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life’ came out in 2017 and was a huge success both in the U.K. and Australia. BBM’s Paraic Walker catches up with Dan from the band to discuss his love affair with biodynamic wine, brunch, and, of course, Australia.

break on the beach and I actually went for a swim. I remember we were all just saying fuck this area is so lovely and it’s the same for Sydney or Melbourne. My cousin used to live in Melbourne and we always used to say if it weren’t twenty odd hours on a flight away we’d totally get a little place or something, or even consider moving there. It’s just so far away and as, you know, we are getting older and family members are having children and stuff it would have to be a real special reason for any of us to do it. But yeah we love going there and long may it continue!

Hello Dan, thank you so much for taking the time to chat again! How have you been?

Well you are coming back this December! You are scheduled in to play Grapevine festival this year, which takes place in two wineries in Victoria and New South Wales, are you big wine fans yourself?

No problem at all mate. I’ve been really well thanks, yourself? I’m doing great cheers. Last time you and me spoke was just before your huge Sydney Opera House shows. How did it feel to not only play, but also sell out such an iconic venue? Oh yeah it was unbelievable. When we first found out we had an opportunity to play there none of us really believed it. It was just crazy, it is such an iconic venue and we actually sold out two nights in a row. There was just seas of smiling faces and people standing up in there chairs. Because the venue is normally used for classical music we were actually a bit apprehensive before hand wondering how it was going to be. Everyone sitting in chairs is a bit unusual for a Wombats show, but, fortunately it was great and turned out to be a really special moment in our careers. That’s fantastic to hear. You guys really do have a love affair with Australia, don’t you? Can you remember when you first started to understand just how big a deal you are down here? I suppose like the first time we played in Australia back in 2007, I think our first show was in Melbourne; I’m not quite sure what the venue was called, but it was like a thousand capacity room. To put it into perspective when we first played in America we were playing in front of maybe forty of fifty people, maybe one hundred if we were lucky. When you travel all that way you just expect that you have to build it up from the ground. One time in Boston we actually played in front of seventeen people. The first show we ever did in Australia was sold out and people knew all the words. We were literally like ‘holy shit what is going on here’ and I think from that moment on we have just been so spoiled. It’s always been such a great place for us to come. I suppose also Australians have found going to the U.K. is an easy place to go and vice versa for British people, we get along quite well and aren’t too dissimilar culturally. Would any of you ever consider making the big move down under full time? It feels like you are here enough to at least merit buying a little holiday home of some sort! (Laughs) Yeah when we recently played Splendor In The Grass festival we went for a bike ride along the Gold Coast, took a little

Oh yes! I absolutely love wine. I’m going through a kind of natural wine faze at the moment, like biodynamic wine, with the least amount of interference in the wine making process as possible. They are amazing, I don’t know if you’ve tried any but you should totally do it. My dad when I was growing up was always a bit of a Francophile; he really loved France, so there would always be a bottle of wine on the table. It’s something that I associate with meals and just good times with friends and family. I’ve got a friend who works in the wine industry and another friend who’s got a vineyard in France, and I just love the whole process. I’ve been to Penfolds winery in Australia and I’ve been to another one in the Hunter Valley before. We actually took all of our crew on a wine tasting tour on one of our trips to Australia once, which was awesome. So when we found out we were being offer to play a festival in a Winery we were just like ‘woo party time’! It seems like a match made in heaven then. Your last album was called ‘Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life’; can you give us some backdrop to why you decided to call it this? Yeah, the titles of albums have always been important to us, we want them to sum up what is going on in the album to an extent, or, at least grab people’s attention. With the last album I suppose a lot of the songs were about the people that are closest to you. The people that you love the most are often the ones who can do the most damage to you, whether it’s your confidence or your emotions. So when we saw a lot of the titles that Murph sent over, that one sort of jumped out as being quite unusual can often affect a lot of that. It’s kind of weird because we thought well that’s not strictly true but at least it can make people question, you know, what’s going on here then? Apparently it was also a song idea to start with as well , but never finished, so that’s were it came from. Last time you and me spoke you were visiting Tom in Oslo and you explained how the band are based in different cities all over the world. How does that work when it comes to making an album then? Does it make it any more difficult or do you find the process to still run smoothly? Oh yeah, we are still kind of on and off in different cities. It’s been

similar to that over the last couple of albums. Murph spends a lot of time in L.A. as he was getting together with his girlfriend, now wife, during the making of Glitterbug. You just have to make it work. You have to be a little more organised in the diary and dedicate two weeks when we all have to get together. Then we have to treat everyday as a studio day and don’t stop until we have three of four songs. It actually worked out fine and with the Internet nowadays it’s so easy to sends ideas back and forth. It often good to actually have a bit of space from each other as you are forced by geography to actually spend time on your own, coming up with ideas that you can send around, or save until next to we work together again. Then when the time comes around you can say “Oh I’ve been working on this” and we all listen to a bunch of ideas and go yeah I like that one, or I don’t like that one. What are the plans beyond this tour? Can we expect another Wombats album to be conceived or do you guys have any other plans you want to pursue? So we get back from Australia in early December, then we are going to have Christmas off. We are playing in Bali actually, on New Year’s Day, so that should be fun. We still have some touring to do early next year but we are going to try to put aside some weeks to get some new songs written. It kind of hard to say really because Murph is doing a solo project thing, I’m doing by third album on my solo project and Tom is doing his solo thing as well! We’ve always written and done slightly different projects, but obviously The Wombats always takes priority for us. So as soon as we have any new songs are main focus will be to make another album. In the meantime, there are a few other things that we want to record that we feel maybe don’t fit in The Wombats world, but we want to put them out there anyway. We will definitely get cracking on album number five as soon as we can. Do you find you’ve all changed a bit over the years when you all meet up again and tour, or is it just like the boys back together the same as it was over a decade ago? (Laughs) It kind of depends really, I think for this album, yes. We know each other so well now we’ve said everything there is to say to each other, as in “I don’t like that idea” or whatever it may be. So it’s kind of just water of a ducks backs to work together and get things done. I think we all kind of know what we do in the band a bit more. We are pretty flexible in terms of how we go about recording and making songs. It’s definitely changed from the early days when I’d sit on the drums, Tom would be on bass and Murph on guitar and we’d just come up with a song idea. We had so much energy to like punk it up, change things and just fuck around with it until it was right. We wouldn’t record them until we had played them live a bunch of time. Whereas now it tends to be the other way around, where we spend more time in the studio and don’t finish a song until we record it, and

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18 then play it live. So, yeah, things have changed a bit audio side of things, but we are still all good friends. Its like any friendship or marriage it grows more over time.

the time to talk with us Dan; it’s been a pleasure, as always. Good luck with the shows and enjoy the wine at Grapevine festival!

That’s good to hear. Just a couple more to finish up. Do you have favourite places to go to for food or drinks when in Australia?

Interview by Paraic Walker

Oh yeah, for sure. We are spoiled for choice in Australia, aren’t we? The key one for us is the brunches over there, we absolutely love it. My favourite place in Melbourne is probably Rice Paper Scissors, I don’t know if you’ve been there before, its kind of Asian food. As for Sydney, I suppose Bills in Surrey Hills, which was one of the first places we went and the scrambled eggs in there are amazing! Oh and Deadman Espresso in Melbourne as well, you can get an awesome brunch in there.

The Wombats will be playing at the Grapevine Festival 2018 Saturday November 24th (SOLD OUT!) Rochford Winery, Yarra Valley, Victoria Featuring: The Wombats, The Jungle Giants, Tkay Maidza, MK, Miami Horror, Lovebirds, Dom Dolla, Joy and Arroyo Saturday December 1st

The festival will take place between November (VIC) and December (NSW) 2018. Headlining this years new and improved lineup are UK indie rock legends The Wombats, who will be playing in Australia again after their very successful Sydney Opera House Shows in 2017! Accompanying The Wombats on the lineup are mix of local and international talent. The Jungle Giants, Client Liason and Miami Horror lead the way for Australian artists this year. With the likes of American DJ/Producer MK and Germany’s Sebastian Doering AKA Lovebirds joining them for what is sure to be a stellar day. Revilers can expect to taste some of the finest wine Australia has to offer (obviously), as well as copious amounts of gourmet food made and sourced locally.

Grapevine 2018

There are so many places though and every city we go to we try to sample different things. It’s nice to keep it fresh.

Roche Estate, Hunter Valley, NSW

One last question to finish on; have you picked up any of the lingo on your countless trips down here?

Featuring: The Wombats, Client Liaison, Tkay Maidza, Miami Horror, Dom Dolla, Young Franco, Joy and Arroyo

Yeah I think I pretty much understand most Aussie phrases now. I’m trying to think of any. I like the abbreviations, which sometimes got me, like chopping a word in half and adding an O on the end. ‘Arvo’ for this afternoon is one that stands out in my mind. Like “Arvvvoooo” (in an attempted Aussie accent), when I first heard that I wasn’t sure if they meant avocado?

For information and tickets: www.grapevinegathering.com.au

Victorian Lineup The Wombats | The Jungle Giants / Tkay Maidza / MK / Miami Horror / Lovebirds / Dom Dolla / Joy / Arroyo Saturday, 24th November

Grapevine Festival expands to NSW & VIC

Rochford Winery, Yarra Valley, Victoria

After a stunning debut in Victoria’s Yarra Valley last November, Grapevine Music and Wine Festival has joined up with another winery in Hunter Valley, NSW, for Grapevine 2018!

Tickets: grapevinegatheing.com.au

That was actually a pretty good accent! Thank you for taking

emme

days have their roots in these sounds (Major Lazer – Lean On is a prime example). I think my exposure to them came through a lot of travelling as well as the bands I used to play in. The rhythms and melodies really speak to me and, if I ever have the platform, I would certainly love to put more stuff out along these lines. There might be a few ËMMË releases coming up in the future that are closer to a reggaetonpop sound though…! Your recent release with singer Ayelle, ‘Pass Me By’ absolutely killed it, was the collaboration process quite a smooth one?

What would be the soundtrack to your life right now? I think it would be some moody, vibey electronic stuff from Odesza mixed in with some happy reggaeton-pop tunes (think Major Lazer – Particula). I can listen to that kind of stuff anywhere, anytime. You’ve just resettled in Sydney after living in the USA, Italy, and Canada in recent years, is it good to be back? What did you miss the most about Australia? Yeah it’s great to be back, although there are a lot of things that I miss about living overseas too. But being in Australia comes with a lot of benefits for my career – I have just signed to Onelove Records and am so excited to be starting a new journey as part of that family with the first single coming out at the end of September! I also get to play my music in front of hometown fans and friends on my tour in October and November, which is a huge moment for me personally. In general though, Australia has this really warm sense of homeliness and so many memories for me that I love being here. Not to mention the beaches! Goddamn I missed the beaches.. Any tracks in particular that get you in the mood to write music? It really depends on what I’m writing because such a wide range of ‘genres’ inspire me. As long as it has a strong melody and something that makes it memorable, it will usually inspire me to create. Something like “Seven Lions – Freesol” is a great example and was actually the inspiration behind Pass Me By. To some, it may appear that you’re an overnight success, having amassed over 1 million Spotify plays, reaching the top #15 in the Australian music charts, and receiving praise from some of the biggest artists in the

scene in the last 6 months alone. Do you see your success as having happened quite rapidly, or was it a long and arduous process? Yeah it has been a pretty crazy last 6 months, the releases of Good Love and Pass Me By went really well and it’s been refreshing to start thinking about how I can bring this to a live audience through my upcoming tour. But no, it has definitely been quite a long road to get here with a number of years plugging away creating and not seeing too much success. Being supported by some amazing platforms like Spotify has definitely helped accelerate this though. I had quite a long instrumental musical background outside of electronic production as well, which may have helped when I think back on things. You also have a history playing various musical instruments and playing in bands of differing genres. How is your music theory, is that an important skill to have as a producer? My music theory certainly isn’t as good as it once was! But having a background in technical theory and a variety of instruments certainly helps and adds to my production. I think what’s more important is my background in a wide range of music scenes, from classical to jazz to funk and rock. This really helps me to draw on other sounds and not get stuck in a single sound space, as I feel can be prone to happen in electronic music. Moombahton and Reggaeton are both styles that aren’t often mentioned in modern electronic dance music in Australia, but nevertheless genres that you credit to a lot of your inspiration and influence, where did that love come from? To be honest I really hate how small these genres are in the Aussie scene because so many popular songs these

I’ve found every collaboration to be quite a smooth process really, and this was no exception – no horror stories yet! I actually found her through some Taska Black releases and loved the tone of her voice; so I sent over an instrumental demo that was still quite short and rough and she very quickly sent back a vocal take that is basically what you hear today on Pass Me By! It was amazing how she smashed it straight away!

Bri Clark Bri Clark’s voice has the ability to both shatter and heal. Since gifting the local scene with her seemingly unassuming debut single ‘Never Far Enough’ in 2015 and WAM nominated follow up ‘Shiver’, the rising Perth singer songwriter has garnered industry attention and a legion of dedicated fans alike, each captivated by her haunting melodies and arresting vocals. Now, the destined talent is thrilled to finally revealed her anticipated new single ‘Giving Up’ – a brooding pop ballad that has already piqued interest after been shortlisted for the 2018 Vanda & Young Songwriting competition.

You recently had your debut live performance as Ëmmë, how did you go with that? Do you think you prefer being alone in the studio writing music or do you crave the energy that comes with a live show?

Hi Bri, Can you some up the sound of your music in three words?

Yeah it was great to get out and play a mixture of my stuff and songs I love in some amazing venues on the Who Said tour. There’s going to be a whole lot more of this very soon including a brand new live show, which I am probably most excited about! I’ve got a new record coming out at the end of September and will be touring this around Australia through October and November with a live show going back to my roots as a drummer – the stop at the Grass is Greener festival in Cairns is going to be incredible! Come and say hi if you can make a show.

Perth, WA

Snacks that you absolutely must have when on tour? Corn chips and salsa… hands down. What country and why would you most like to travel to for a holiday vs a gig? This is such a hard question... I absolutely love going to Vanuatu for holidays just to chill and get away from reality, but Mediterranean Europe is a big draw for me too with its culture, food and atmosphere. I think the dream for this new live show, and a big goal for me personally, is to be able to take it over to somewhere like Coachella in the US or Tomorrowland in Europe.

Cinematic alt-pop Where’s your hometown?

When was the last time you went to a gig you weren’t playing and who did you see?

I went to a gig on Saturday night and saw Camarano and The Peppermint Club play at The Aardvark in Fremantle. What’s your favourite music venue to perform in, and attend a show at?

I love really small, intimate venues. My favourite gigs I’ve done recently have been at Beaufort Street Songwriter’s Lounge in a venue called Defector’s Bar. Favourite venue to attend a show at: can’t go past Mojo’s in WA. What would be your dream festival line up to perform as part of?

My dream festival line up to perform as part of would include YEBBA, The Staves, Phoebe Bridgers, Bon Iver, Ainslie Wills, Laura Marling, Sara Bareilles, Haim, Dustin Tebbutt, Gotye and Ben Abraham. So huge, so many feelings. What travel items can’t Bri Clark live without on tour/the road? My headphones, my laptop, and a good book or two.

Where was the most surprising place you discovered a big musical influence?

Probably in high school when I jokingly joined the school choir with some friends, and it turned out to be the most fun ever. It gave me an unwavering love for vocal harmonies and big moments in songs. Name 3 artists we need to check out?

Come to Perth and make sure you get to see Cecilia Brandolini - she melts my face off, I know all the words and all the harmonies to all her songs and I am waiting patiently for my official band invitation. Dulcie is also a great up and coming fourpiece alt-pop band full of talented women with beautiful harmonies and some great songs. And I can never go past CAMARANO definitely my favourite local songwriter, he is incredible and his live band is incredible, and again - I’m patiently waiting for my official band invitation so I can do all of the harmonies. Your favourite local bar, place for a relaxing drink or restaurant and why?

I love the Ellington because there’s always a gig on, and they have great wine. You’ve just released a new single ‘Giving Up’ what location/city did you record it in?

This song has travelled almost as much as I have! I wrote the song across three locations in Perth: my parent’s house at the piano, my bestie’s studio mid jam, and then back to the piano at my parent’s house to finish lyrics. Then I travelled to Castlemaine in Victoria to work with Jono Steer, legendary producer and kombucha drinker, and we fleshed it into its pre-production phase, then drove it to Melbourne and recorded drums and guitar and piano at Head Gap Studio. Then back to Castlemaine to track vocals and put the final touches. And then it went to Joe Carra at Crystal Mastering in Melbourne to be mastered! Read the rest of the interview at bbmlive.com

www.bbmlive.com 19

Backpacker Banter

What’s your name and what do you do?

surf, barefoot vibes and is super creative. Perfect for being inspired!

RTWBackpackers.comhris - the guy being award winning travel blog and owner of online travel agency RTWBackpackers.com

Where’s your favorite place to hangout out at the weekend or after work?

Where’s your business?

Where’s the best place to get a breakfast? And what do you order?

Where are you originally from?

What’s pub should we visit?

Devon in the UK

The Rails - they have some incredible live music and it’s full off friendly locals and travellers alike.

What’s your favorite thing about what you do? Just the stoke people get from their trips. After all I’m not selling house insurance or double glazing, I’m helping people have the trip of their lives! It’s great to be a part of that journey and pass on my travel knowledge so everything goes to plan for them Why do you love the region? Well I’m based in Byron Bay at the moment and always find myself back here - it’s a beautiful place with pumping

Anything else you would like to add?

The surf - when I’m not working you’ll find me in the waves with my buddies!

We’re solely based online at the moment - with agents working from Melbourne, London and the Canary Islands...I’m actually working from Byron Bay at the moment after spending the last few weeks in New Zealand!

creativity. There are buskers everywhere, artists selling all kinds of paintings and crafts and it’s just jam packed with good energy! You’ll come for a few nights and then extend...everyone does!

In Byron is has to be the Rocks next to AQ Hostel - their smashed avocado with feta is epic.

Guys if you’re thinking of travelling, DO IT! I know everyone says its the. best thing you’ll ever do but honestly it is - it’ll teach you so many amazing life skills and you’ll meet a whole heap of new best friends from all corners of the globe. And travel your way. If you want to go do yoga for 6 months do it. If you want to surf or dive, get involved. There’s no reason forcing yourself to go somewhere or do something just because ‘everyone is doing it’. It’s your money, your time, do it with your rules!

What’s your favorite local wine and meal? I’ll skip the wine in favour of a cold glass of proper cider please!haha! Favourite meal...hmmm...it’s got to be either a good curry or a burrito.

What’s your facebook/Instagram page:

Why should we come to the?

You can follow my personal adventures over at @stokedfortravel or the company Insta is full of amazing shots too @RTWBackpackers

Byron should definitely be on your bucket list - it’s just such an amazing places surrounded by incredible beaches, pumping surf and lots of

My personal travel blog is BackpackerBanter.com or hit up RTWBackpackers.com for help planning your next adventure

Ratpack Travel Talk Working Holidays Do you work first or holiday first? Easy Q, save up enough money to at least travel for a few weeks when you first arrive hit either the East or West Coast - road trip around and see some sights... it’s so common for people to arrive in Sydney or Brisbane, find work and before they know it you are living for the weekends and are living a very similar lifestyle to what they left behind in their home country. If you road trip first you can then search for a job in the place you like the most. Is Agricultural work worth it? 100% - don’t get me wrong it is DAMN hard and certainly ticks the ‘character building’ list. I think it’s vital to appreciate where your food comes from and completing 90 plus days farm work for your 2nd year visa will certainly teach you that. TOP TIP - just be savvy about choosing the right farm and the right location. Avoid places that are notorious for under paying BackPacker’s. Like for example Bundaberg. I completed my farm work on the Sunshine Coast. The hostel set up was great and we got paid an hourly wage of $19 (2012). If you’re travelling first would you

recommend booking with an agent before arriving? Yes, BUT pick the right agent that is best suited to you. I’ve saved some people over $1000 on the information I was giving them on what not to book, rather than what to book. There are some companies out there that charge hundreds of dollars to open you a bank account when you arrive and put you up in a hostel for a few nights at the start of your trip! Don’t be fooled... anything you can easily do on your own we will tell you about - for FREE. We sometimes send 4 or 5 draft travel plans to get the ball rolling. It’s also important to know that it’s not necessary to book everything in advance, some things like hostels you can book as you go.

YES, YES, YES - On my roadie I stayed in a quirky town called Fremantle. It’s just outside Perth and has an amazing laid back vibe. Perth it’s self has a small CBD but plenty of places to go and discover. Rottnest Island off the coast is a MUST. You can jump on a short ferry, hire bikes for the day and visit some BEAUT coves it’s a snorkeler’s paradise. Tour wise, if you want to be in a group then there are organised trips like the ‘West Coast Cruiser’ among others that are GREAT. The West Coast for me though is all about doing it by camper van! There are HEAPS (Aussie SLANG) of Freedom Camping spots which make it affordable and the coastline is EPIC. Securing jobs. How easy is it to find work? What quick tips can you offer?

However, often the better rated and cheaper BackPacker tours for the main activities like Fraser Island / The Whitsunday’s don’t depart everyday so it’s great to see how you can best utilise your travel dates.

Don’t bother sending emails months before you arrive. Aussie is a little old school in that way. Print out 20 + CV’s and go from bar to bar looking for work! Having lived in Oz/NZ for the last 7 years having a face to face personal approach has always worked best for me.

The East Coast is usually the ‘route of choice’ but now Qantas fly direct to Perth. Is Perth and WA worth it? Which tours to do you recommend in WA?

What are your thoughts on an extended stopover before your working holiday? Which destinations or tours do you recommend?

This is a still a relatively unknown little gem ... fly into Bali and then take a domestic Indonesian flight across to Lombok. Rent a scooter and do the southern coast it is amazing... it’s nowhere near as ‘touristy’ as Bali and it’s up there on my all time favourite destinations. And finally what’s your top 5 Aussie Bucket List Destinations or must do activities? The East Coast is on the tip of everyone’s tongue - for good reason as it is EPIC but that is a given destination to hit. So in no particular order... 1) Kakadu & Litchfield National Park (WOW) 2) Rottnest Island, WA (as mentioned above a snorkel dream) 3) Uluru & Kings Canyon (the Red Centre) 4) Kangaroo Island (ps time has stood still on this island - it’s like going back 50 years) 5) The back streets and laneways of Melbourne & the Great Ocean Rd (in the summer - winter is COLD) Thanks for reading … Sammy - Owner & Operator of RatPack Travel

#RATPACKRODIE

RATPACKTRAVEL.COM @ratpack_travel | Photo Credits @lydiaxcollins

HIT UP RATPACK TRAVEL FOR YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE

www.bbmlive.com 21

Top money saving tips for travelling around Western Australia With so much to see and experience, you could easily spend weeks or months travelling around Western Australia and still not see everything this spectacular state has to offer. From the Pinnacles to the Bungle Bungles, Cable Beach and beyond, Western Australia is packed full of natural wonders and awesome landscapes all waiting to be explored. So, if you’re travelling on a budget how can you see it all without breaking the bank?

Camping in Western Australia Camping is a fantastic way to save cash on accommodation. National parks all over Australia cater well for campers and provide the facilities you’ll need for a comfortable stay, from camp kitchens to flushing toilets. Camping permit costs vary, but if you want to enjoy those star lit skies for free, check out the hundreds of free camping sites available throughout the country.

Check out social media for second hand gear If you’re considering camping and hiking for any length of time, and are worried about the cost of the equipment, check out Facebook for pages dedicated to backpacker gear - you could easily pick up a second hand tent for half the price of a new one. Freecycle is another excellent way of obtaining any gear you need, and anything you find won’t cost you a cent. RESULT!

Buy a hop on hop off bus coach pass Travelling by coach is often the cheapest option when heading out over long distances, and a hop on hop off pass with Integrity Coach Lines is the best way of securing the lowest fares - and the most freedom. Covering major destinations between Perth and Broome (weather depending), these flexible passes which you can purchase in packages of miles will allow you to explore a variety of towns across Western Australia and as you’re not driving, you’ll be able to soak up the scenery. After all spontaneity is a vital part of adventure travel. They have a variety of packages and it’s a super easy way to get to most of the key destinations between Perth and Broome.

Get cooking Buying and preparing your own food will save you endless amounts of money if you do it full time. Eating out in Australia isn’t cheap and can easily eat away at your hard earned cash (pun intended). Make a point of stocking up at markets and local grocery stores and seek out accommodation that includes kitchen facilities. Save your cash and enjoy a slap up feast on special occasions.

www.bbmlive.com 23 Where’s your favorite place to hangout out at the weekend or after work?

Wine for Dudes

Ahh that’s a hard one! …we have so many awesome places in Margaret River! I’m going to go with, ‘Morries’, which is a very stylish venue with fabulous cocktails and tapas, and impeccable service – definitely right up there with my favs! ‘Yonder’ is new on the scene, and is this grungy little social garage bar, that’s just super cool! Where’s the best place to get a breakfast? And what do you order? Margaret River Bakery (aka ‘the bottom bakery’), it’s a quirky little venue with lots of vintage décor and food to cater for every dietary requirement under the sun – it’s a hive of activity, and a real local hangout! I love their Turkish breads, with so many amazing fillings! I’m not a vegetarian, but their vego one is insane! Oh, and the coffee’s good! What’s pub should we visit? The Settlers Tavern is our main pub in town, and you’ll always run into someone you know there! They have some pretty epic bands come through which is awesome; It’s quite big venue, so depending on the vibe you’re after there’s a hangout zone for everyone! And they’ve actually got one of the best wine lists in town! What’s your favorite local wine and meal?

Where’s your business?

Man, these questions are hard! Is it possible to have just one favourite? I’m going to say the Ossobuco from La Scarpetta Trattoria – it’s this gorgeous little Italian restaurant at the bottom of town. It’s run by the most gorgeous couple, and has a beautiful ambience inside the restored heritage-listed building. The service is like you’re part of their big extended Italian familia! It’s so lovely. I work with Margaret River wines, and they have some top drops on their list, but they also have a sensational Italian wine list which they know so well, and usually we have a chat about what will work with our dishes, and what we enjoy and they’ll find the perfect bottle for your price point!

Margaret River, Western Australia

Why should we come to the (YOUR AREA)?

Where are you originally from?

Margaret River is this remote little town in the South West corner of Australia; but it produces a massive impact to visitor experiences! We have so many talented people in our little region who are so interesting, and genuinely froth on the excitement people get when they discover what an amazing place this is, so you’re always made to feel welcome! Regardless of what you’re into there’s something for everyone… and not just something ‘okay’, there’s something extraordinary for everyone!

What’s your name and what do you do? My name is Kirsty Drummond, and I’m the Marketing and Accounts Manager at Wine for Dudes wine tours in Margaret River. I also like to throw my tour guiding and admin hat on from time-totime

Originally from New Zealand, I crossed the ditch 12 years ago. I love NZ, but Margaret River is home for me! What’s your favorite thing about what you do? Interacting with people in a fun industry. Wine has so many different corks… there’s the fun and quirky, right through to the sophisticated and pretentious. Each is exciting in its own way! The tourism side is all about people enjoying our beautiful region, and living life to the fullest. It’s very inspirational, and I love seeing people get their froth on when they’re out on tour with us, or just out exploring Margaret River! Why do you love the Margaret River region? For me Margaret River is one of the most incredible places on the planet! The natural environment is nothing short of majestic! There’s epic surf, crystal clear water, dreamy beaches, an abundance of outdoor activities (diving, hiking, mountain biking, caves etc), towering Karri forests (we call Boranup Forest “The Enchanted Forest”), talented local artists and musicians, and countless rugged 4WD tracks to amazing secluded places. We also have wine region which produces an abundance of world-class and highly awarded wines at our fingertips; with over 100 cellar doors to explore! The Margaret River social scene is definitely one to be enjoyed also, with plenty of top restaurants and cafes, and a fast-growing micro-brewery industry punching out some awesome craft beers!

Anything else you would like to add? Make sure you explore the region with Wine for Dudes wine tours! Wine for Dudes tours are for dudes and dudettes of any age with an inquisitive mind and thirsty palate! Our tours are designed to present wine in a fun, relaxed and informative way; and allow you to embrace your inner-winemaker with our hands-on wine blending experience – it’s heaps of fun! We have a team of absolute legends taking our tours, all with an abundance of wine and regional knowledge, and epic playlists! Our tours give you the opportunity to get personalised and behind-the-scenes experiences of some of Margaret River’s most incredible award-winning boutique wineries, whilst you’ll also indulge in a mouth-watering lunch at the renowned Rustico at Hay Shed Hill restaurant, tastings at gourmet food producers, and relaxed vibes of a local micro-brewery.

Take a look at what the Wine Dudes are up to at

www.facebook.com/winefordudes | www.instagram.com/ winefordudes | winefordudes.com

Riding The West Side Welcome to the wild side of Australia… of course we’re talking about Western Australia! Australia’s wild, wild west is one epic journey for anyone looking for the ultimate in overland adventure. From the pristine white sandy beaches, to the searing heat of the north-west, craggy gorges plunging hundreds of feet down into crystal clear pools - you can literally see it all in Australia’s largest state. Western Australia covers an epic 2.646 million km²! And when you compare that to the measly 243,610 km² the entire UK covers,

that’s a whole lot of ground to cover. To truly make the most of this vast and varied state, a great route to take is from WA’s capital city of Perth right up to the furthermost city of Broome. Along the way you can encounter your fair share of national parks. How does swimming with Whale Sharks (March - July) and snorkelling one of the largest reefs in the world sound to you? Unlike the Great Barrier Reef, WA’s Ningaloo Reef is relatively unspoilt and is where you can see a kaleidoscope of coral and marine life in the tropical warm waters of the Indian Ocean.

Perhaps you might even fancy abseiling down some of the steepest rock faces you ever did see at Kalbarri National Park. Or maybe you just want to strip off and cool down in one of the many soothing rock pools of Karajini National Park. When you get to northern WA, you’ll find yourself amongst some real cowboys as you reach some fully functioning modern day cattle stations, (yes, this is your moment to shout in your head Mrs Boss, Mrs Boss for all you ‘Australia’ and Hugh Jackman fans).

The advantage the journey between Perth to Broome has over other well-trodden overland trails in Australia has is that you can literally experience the huge variety that Australia has to offer in one fell swoop in as little as 10 days!

Explore Western Australia with Adventure Tours on their epic 10 Day Perth to Broome Tour.

We catch up with Laura from The Rock Tour for a quick insight to being a tour guide and

she tips us on her must visit sights in Central Australia!

What’s your name and what do you do? Laura and I’m a tour guide out in central Australia.

Where are you originally from? Perth Western Australia How did you end up working in Central Australia/being a tour guide? I wanted a career change.

What’s the best thing about it? The people you meet and working outdoors.

What are your top 3 (personal) must visit sights in NT/Central Aus? Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park, Kings Canyon and the West MacDonald Ranges.

What’s your top animal encounter? Rescuing wedge tail Eagle from the side of the road.

Is there anything you still haven’t seen? The East MacDonald Ranges.

What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to a passenger / on a tour? A women lying down in her swag holding up an umbrella as it started to rain at 3am in the morning.

What’s the most magical moment of a tour? Watching the sunrise at the top of Kings Canyon and listening to all my passengers go wow

therocktour.com.au

this is amazing!

Travel Tip TRAVEL FROM DARWIN TO ALICE SPRINGS FROM $299AUD WITH mulgasadventures.com.au

Tour group photo courtesy of Mulgas Adventures Uluru has become the unofficial symbol of Australia and the Outback, and deservedly so. A trip to this sacred and spiritual place tops the list of almost all itineraries to this part of the country. Backpackers make up a good portion of the visitors to the beautiful big red rock, and here are just a few reasons why.

A stargazer’s dream

Uluru is one of the most important Aboriginal sites in Australia

Keen hikers love the amazing hike around the base of Uluru. Get to see the beautiful colours up close, as well as wildlife and hidden caves. The hike here is one of the best in the Outback.

Uluru carries enormous cultural and spiritual significance to local indigenous tribes, and is said to have been formed by ancestral beings during Dreamtime. The many caves around the rock also hold deep meanings and learning about the site’s cultural significance is one of the most rewarding aspects of any visit.

Uluru is a photographer’s dream

Uluru is beautiful Huge and imposing with colours that change throughout the day, gazing at the beauty of Uluru can take hours. But what a view.

Uluru is an Australian icon With so much history and cultural significance, Uluru really is an icon of Australia. Getting a snap of yourself at Uluru means there’s no disputing where you are.

Uluru is an Outback ‘must-see’ There are a tonne of amazing sights to see in the Outback, but Uluru remains at the top of the list.

Choose to see Uluru from sky or land Whether it be a helicopter ride high above or a camel trek around the base, there are lots of ways to see the great rock in all its glory.

The remoteness of Uluru means there is very little light pollution, and that means epic starry skies every night. Choosing to camp out in the open rather than staying in a hotel means lots of opportunities to witness the stars of the southern hemisphere nights..

Uluru Base Hike

This huge red rock rising out of the barren landscape makes for amazing pictures and the changing colours of the earth mean amazing shots from dawn to dusk. It’s difficult to take a bad picture of Uluru, which also helps.

You’ll meet new friends As Uluru is such a major draw for tour groups, it’s easy to find new mates while staying in the camps around the site.

It’s a once in a lifetime experience There is nowhere else like Uluru in Australia, or indeed the world. A visit here is a once in a lifetime experience. No wonder so many backpackers make a stop here.

Book a place on our grand 5 day, 4 night Alice Springs to Uluru to

Darwin Ultimate Toura nd spend a whole day and night at Uluru. We’ll even thrown in a glass of bubbly at sunset!

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Ship your belongings from the UK to Australia from GBP 423.00 So you’ve decided to stay in Australia and it’s time to make your nest and get settled. The thought of having to rebuy all the things that make your home your home is a painful and with the cost of certain items in Australia being fairly on the steep side, you may be better off to actually ship your items to Australia from the UK. The good news is that there’s now a super simple and cost effective way to do this. Aaand you may even be able to get your family to help as this solution is so simple literally anyone can do it.

How does it work you ask? You make a list of the things you want to move to Australia.

You work out how much space this might take up. You head to the Seven Seas Worldwide Website and look for the awesome invention known as the MoveCube®. Next select the size of your MoveCube® and before you book, give them a call. Their team will be on hand to answer any questions you might have about sizes and what you can and can’t pack. The best part about the MoveCube® is the price. Read on to hear more from the brains behind this awesome invention.... Small MoveCube® from GBP 423.00*, Medium MoveCube® from GBP 523.00* and Large MoveCube® from GBP 893.00* - Don’t miss out, CALL NOW 0333 733 7337.

Moving to Australia with the MoveCube® The MoveCube® can fit all size of home. For example, if you live in a 2 bedroom house then 3 Large MoveCubes® should fit the bill. Prices start from GBP 423.00

for a Small MoveCube®, GBP 523.00 for a Medium MoveCube® and GBP 893.00 for a Large MoveCube®*. Here’s what our prices include: • Full customs and quarantine clearance. This guarantees that there will be no hidden charges because Seven Seas Worldwide operates in both countries and consequently has first-hand knowledge as to the processes and costs of the procedures involved. (As with all shipments to Australia, there may be duty, taxes and cleaning charges to pay as a result of inspections by the authorities.) • Pre-notified time slot for deliveries and collections. This includes the delivery of your starter pack, the site inspection and the transferring of your MoveCube® to and from the designated locations. • Free starter pack. This is delivered to your address to help you move: It consists of a measuring tape (3m), a tape dispenser, one roll of parcel tape,

a knife, and a black marker pen. • Free storage. Yes, you can store your items in our secure storage facilities in either the UK or Australia, free of charge for two weeks, if required. Alternatively if you choose our Large MoveCube® you can enjoy up to six weeks free storage. • Free assisted loading and unloading of MoveCubes. Our driver will assist you with loading and unloading of your MoveCube. • 10% discount for returning customers. Should you decide to return to us to transfer more items via the MoveCube® you can take advantage of our 10% discount off your transport and shipping costs. Talk to a member of our team for details. We offer a three-part payment to help you budget: We will not demand one full payment in advance of collection. The charges will be staggered to help you find your feet when you arrive. Visit sevenseasworldwide.com.au

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Claim back your superannuation from Australia Ok. Declaring itself as super is a tad outlandish as superannuation is basically a pension arrangement. Yup. That’s not even barely stirring is it, let alone super. However, in Australia this is government-supported which also means that minimum provisions are enforced for employees, which is kinda nice. From July 1st 2013 employers were required by law to contribute a minimum of 9.25% of an employee’s ordinary time earning into a superannuation fund, which is called a ‘Superannuation Guarantee’. The detail that is really super is that this is an additional payment borne by your employer; it is not deducted from your gross pay. There are also plans to increase the proportion to 12% by 2019, which is nice.

The payment is based on your pre-tax earnings so if you earned $500 before tax for the month you should be entitled to an additional $46.25. However, do not be alarmed if your superannuation balance looks a little skinny as 15% is taxed by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) and funds constantly charge administration and insurance fees which can amount to $5-10 per week. To be eligible the employee must be over 18, working over 30 hours a week and earning over $450 per month from one employer, so it would be beneficial to hold a single job instead of several. As far as assurances go the Australian Government have that covered too as from 1st January 2014 employers were obligated to pay default contributions to an authorised MySuper product, with the most well known being AustralianSuper and AustSafe Super. This means that losing your payment due to a suspect provider is now far less a risk. That all sounds grand and all for Australian citizens yet for short-term visitors such as those on Working Holiday Visas the reality is a little different. Of course, if you meet the

criteria then you can expect the contribution. Remember, as long as you earn over $450 a month from one employer you will be entitled. The arrangement is for any worker; whether permanent or casual, resident or non-resident for tax purposes (that would be you by the way). Arranging your superannuation is relatively straightforward. You can set up your own super account, which is the simpler choice if you intend of taking on temporary work or travelling while in Australia. You could also ask the bank to set up your super when you open an account with them or you can join the super account set up by the employer. If you do opt for the company’s super account and lose the paperwork do not fret, simply contact the ATO and they can help locate your super. For anyone being paid in cash it may seem great to have your wages in your hands to hold and then spend but you will be missing out on superannuation. You read that correctly. For all those lovely, crisp banknotes in your pocket you will be losing out on FREE MONEY. Working holiday makers are allowed to withdraw their superannuation either when their visa expires or whenever they leave permanently. This is known as the Departing Australia Superannuation Payment or DASP. A point to note is that you must have left Australia before this can be paid; the application includes checking that any temporary visa has been cancelled by the Department of Immigration. Indeed, The Australian government must get really irked with these departures as they then take out a further 35%

when you apply for the withdrawal. Bit harsh. Another point to note is that you are much better off claiming it sooner rather than later. In fact, if you do not claim your super within six months of leaving Australia, or within six months of the cancellation or expiry of your visa, the ATO will claim the money and it could be a while to organise its release from their tight grasp, especially from abroad. Still, the money is yours but if you are having trouble working out how to claim it then do not worry. If you have already claimed your taxback then the same company, and even the very same tax professional, should be able to assist you in claiming your superannuation. All you need to do is provide your membership details, fill in some forms and the tax professionals will do the hard work while you wait for the payment to arrive. Most charge a flat fee of around 15% for the service and you should receive your super within 28 days of the Australian Tax Office receiving your application. Superannuation may not exactly be super but it is free money that you should be entitled to when working in Australia. Setting up your account is simple and claiming it back once your visa has expired is not that hard either. Just do not forget about it, it is free money after all.

For the Fastest Track To Receive Your Super, Visit backpay.com

jobs. visas. shipping. mortgages. fx. health insurance. bbmlive.com TAX WISE Tel : 08 9248 8124 Fax : 08 9463 6208 mairead@taxwiseaustralia.com.au PO Box 1874, Malaga 6944 www.taxwiseaustralia.com.au www.taxwise-australia.com

CARPENTERS. ELECTRICIANS. CHEFS RECRUITERS. NURSES. SKILLED JOBS. BBMLIVE.COM/JOBS

EXPRESS TAX

Level 6, 155 Castlereagh St Sydney, NSW, 2000 1800 739 739 +61 (0) 2 9267 3200 www.expresstaxback.com.au GREEN MIGRATION

Registered Migration Agent – 1464351 Little City Studio 118 Prospect Road, PROSPECT SA 5082 +61 8 417 837 973 zoe@greenmigration.com.au www.greenmigration.com.au

OPTIMA MIGRATION

Registered Migration Agent - 0532045 Subiaco Business Centre/ Suite 5, 531 Hay St Subiaco WA 6008 + 61 8 93808397 | M: 0409130865 lidia@optimamigration.com.au www.optimamigration.com.au

IMMIGRATION HELP CORPORATE OFFICE (AUSTRALIA)

181 Marion Road Richmond, Adelaide, SA 5033, Australia Phone: +61 8 8123 6039 | Fax: +61 8 7200 7536 Mobile No: + 61 0433303774 Email:contact@myimmigrationhelp.com www.myimmigrationhelp.com

MOVE MIGRATION PTY LTD

Registered Migration Agent MARN: 1382250 104/3 Eden Street North Sydney NSW 2060 Email: Eugene.Liu@movemigration.com.au Web: movemigration.com.au

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TAXBACK.CO.UK

Claim back your uk tax refund info@taxback.co.uk www.taxback.co.uk

BACKPACKER TAX REFUNDS

First Floor, 1A Morts Road Mortdale NSW 2223 +61 (0) 2 8065 5668 info@backpackertaxrefunds.com.au www.backpackertaxrefunds.com.au

CONTACT marketing@ what-media.com to advertise your services.

Our clients are seeking professionals from overseas to fill a range of jobs across Australia. If you’re serious about staying in Australia and are seeking permanent employment or looking at skilled visas options, we want to hear from you. If you’re coming to the end of your first or second year working holiday visa, or if you’re already in employment and are looking for a new sponsor please get in touch with our team asap. Our clients are looking for top talent and willing to sponsor for the right candidates. Call 02 8005 8162 or email your CV to

jobs@bbmlive.com

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Nursing on the road

For anyone wanting to take on travel nurse jobs in Australia, getting to see different places and meeting new people are part of the charm. After all, who wouldn’t be left enchanted after seeing photos of road trips on the 150-mile long Great Ocean Road. Stunning views greet you at every turn, and you also get to help people while you travel.

personal adventure associated with the job. A nurse travelling Australia on a working holiday nurse doesn’t stay for long in one place. You might be travel nursing in Sydney for a couple of months then move on to another place in the country. The shortage of nurses led to the development of this kind of arrangement, and it’s a great opportunity for you to see Australia and fund your travels around the country. Afterall, you’re on a ‘working holiday’. If you enjoy transferring between hospitals and gaining new experiences then you might like the lifestyle of a working holiday nurse. The chance to see different locations while also doing a job you love is clearly one of the draws of nurse jobs like this.

A road trip allows you to see beautiful places

There are many reasons to want to be a travel nurse. Some cite the higher pay, while others favour it for professional growth and development. Others also enjoy the

Going on a road trip is definitely one of the best ways to see Australia. Those who are taking nurse jobs in Sydney can take the

Grand Pacific Drive and marvel at the many lovely scenes. While the beaches are surely an attraction, Australia is also home to incredible wildlife. Whale and dolphin watching are popular activities, as is seeing the beloved koala. The country is also home to many national parks and historical sites that ensures you’ll never be bored during your stay.

Australians and expatriates. Australians are pretty laid-back, even when things aren’t going right. This demeanour helps especially since the nursing profession can get really stressful at times. It also helps that Australians are one of the funniest people in the world.

A road trip allows you to meet different people

And if you enjoy the simple life, you’ll feel right at home in Australia. Sure, there are “nice” things but Australians like simple pleasures. Going out with Australian friends can mean heading to a barbecue, hitting the beach, or enjoying a cricket match. Being a travel nurse is no different from being a hospital nurse. You still have to do the same job, but there are bonus perks since you get to be assigned in different places. It is a chance to see the incredible diversity of the country and at the same time mesmerised by the different sights and sounds.

Australians are fun-loving people and they are one of the nicest on the planet as well. And traveling around the country gives you the opportunity to meet and mingle with

For more tips on living life as a travelling nurse head over to bowerhealthcare.com.au

Restaurants are also aplenty, and there are many libraries and bookshops should you want something to read. There’s something for everyone in Australia whether you enjoy the outdoors or are interested in culture.

www.bowerhealthcare.com.au info@bowerhealthcare.com.au the above requirements but still apply, you will not receive a return response.

Nursing Under-Grads (Assistants in Nursing)

Registered Nurse Dementia Specific Care Home (North Sydney)

Bower Healthcare is selectively seeking experienced nursing students (year 2 +) for work as Assistants in Nursing in acute general and specialty areas in hospitals around Sydney’ north. As a preferred supplier to NSW Health Local Health Districts, we are recruiting in preparation for an expected upturn in requests.

Set in its own grounds in a leafy northern Sydney suburb, this brand new unit opens next month and Bower Healthcare has been provided the opportunity to assist with staffing shortfalls. The 57 bed residence provides care for residents with low to high range dementia, living in shared units serviced by a regular team of support staff.

Essential Requirements: Must have a current work visa, or work rights in Australia, 100% compliance with the NSW Health Department’s immunisation policy, Must be nursing undergraduates, 2nd year onwards (no Cert III applicants will be considered), NSW Working with Children Check (paid employee version) and National Police Check. Need to live within easy travelling distance of the hospitals (to fulfil last minute booking requests).

Got a question?

The Registered Nurse oversees the support and care provided to residents, assisting with clinical needs where needed but mainly coaching and encouraging the staff to utilise their skills to the best of their abilities.

The Unit manager is on site during office hours between Monday to Friday. Shifts range across mornings, PM’s and night duties. Because of the specialist nature of the work and the autonomy afforded to the RN in charge, only those that have regular availability and can attend an on-site induction can be considered.

Hospital Orderlies Salary: $24 to $40 Hourly Rate We are seeking a number of experienced staff to work as orderlies in various general (surgical, medical, aged care) and specialty (mental health, OT, ED, ICU, etc) areas in public hospitals in Sydney’s east and southwest. We can offer an immediate start with shifts booked 2-3 weeks in advance, as well as on an ad hoc basis. Essential Requirements: Regular, on-going work for reliable performers Many shifts available, including weekends Advanced roster, in addition to day-to-day bookings Essential requirements: Must have current work rights in Australia Preference given to those with full-time equivalent availability 100% compliance with the NSW Health Department’s immunisation policy Must posses more than 6 months relevant experience from here or overseas (as an orderly, AIN or PCA) Recent, professional local references Current criminal record and working with children checks Please note that if you do not satisfy all of

Do you qualify for our Australian Working Holiday Visa Package? To qualify for a Bower Healthcare working holiday package you must either be eligible for an Australian Working Holiday Visa and meet the following employment requirements: • You must qualify for an Australian Working Holiday Visa or other relevant work visa for Australia. • You must either be a registered nurse and possess a minimum 12 months postgraduate clinical experience • Or be an experienced healthcare worker, eligible for work as an Assistant in Nursing or Community Support Worker Registered Nurses must possess provisional approval for registration with AHPRA • Click here for full details on our candidate requirements and working for us Our Working Holiday Packages combine everything you need to get started in Australia including accommodation and your all-important Tax File Number as well as some great tours to get you in the mood for your working holiday in Australia.

To advertise on this page or online at bbmlive.com email simon@bbmlive.com

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