This week, the Travel Guides packed their bags for Australia’s second oldest city, Newcastle, situated two hours north of Sydney!
Boasting beautiful beaches, a bustling food and arts scene, and an easy springboard to The Hunter Valleythe Fren family couldn’t wait to uncover the hidden gems of their hometown.
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Meeting the Fren family, plus Matt and Brett in Newcastle were Kevin and Janetta, best mates Kev, Dorian and Teng, plus newest besties Karly and Bri for the spook of a lifetime…
The Frens make friends with Maitland’s ghosts
Half an hour inland is the growing regional city of Maitland, home to the heritage listed – chillingly spooky – Maitland Gaol.
Maitland Gaol opened its gates back in 1848 and over the next 150 years, housed some of Australia’s most hardened criminals like Ivan Milat and Neddy Smith.
In Pictures
Behind the scenes snaps and moments from Travel Guides’ 2024 adventures
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While the prison is now a museum, some of the guards have hung around to offer personalised tours. But once the sun goes down, visitors can experience a more spooktacular tour, with Matiland Gaol’s Paranormal Investigations.
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Next door the Fren family held each other tight as they entered the pitch-black basement of the old Lieutenant-Governor’s house.
You can catch the Fren’s spooky gaol visit in the video below. Warning: it might make you jump!
“It’s very dark in here,” said Victoria cautiously. “This isn’t a Ouija board thing is it?”
Close, the Fren family were about to experience a spooky séance.
“We really didn’t what we were getting ourselves into,” said Victoria. “But I was actually frightened”.
“What the hell was happening?” said Mark, while Victoria jumped out of her seat.
“I’m getting out of here!” she screamed. “Believe it or don’t believe but I’ll never do a séance again.”
The boys set sail… and head straight for trouble
If there’s one stunning way to take in Newcastle’s harbour, it’s by sailing boats – which you can steer yourself thanks to the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club.
“Us three are in charge of the boat today?” Kev made clear.
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The boys however crumbled and it made quite the hilarious video fail. Keep watching, and you’ll see Kev is “rewarded” the ultimate honour:
And as if the Fren family weren’t put through enough from their ghost tour, as you can see in the video above, this was quite the wild ride.
“I think I’m going to projectile vomit,” warned Victoria.
Meanwhile, Cathy face-planted into the side of the boat. “It was just freaking chaos in there,” she laughed.
Kevin puts pedal to the metal in a Max Max drop
Only 30 minutes north of Newcastle, you’ll find the Stockton Bight sand dunes, the largest coastal sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere.
Over 30km long, and millions of years in the making, these epic dunes are the traditional lands of the Worimi people – it’s also nearby the location shot for one the original Mad Max movies!
Here, Sand Dune Adventures lead a turbo-charged tour, where you can take in the sights and hit high speeds.
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The highest peak sports a staggering 50 metre drop. Victoria was “scared s–tless”, but Kevin was ready to rumble:
“That was brilliant!” he grinned.
Can the next Ausse adventure top this trip? Don’t miss Monday’s epic special episode!
Travel Guides airs Monday July 15 at 7:30pm, and on Sundays at 7.00pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
Stream new episodes of Travel Guides on 9Now.
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