Picture: Adam McLean
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Philip Van Herden (left) and Jamie Andrews after lining up at 4.30am for the release of the new iPhone 5 at the Telstra shop in Wollongong Central. Picture: ADAM McLEAN
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Kiama residents, we've got some bad news - it's time to pack your bags.
According to Apple, that is, after an update to the mapping software loaded on to millions of iPhones, iPads and iPods shifted the once seaside locale some 20km inland.
But that embarrassing geographical gaffe is just the tip of the iceberg.
iCrazy: Crowds gather in Gong for iPhone 5
An update to the software that runs iDevices, released to owners of previous Apple devices this week and preloaded on to the iPhone 5, removes Google Maps and replaces it with Apple's offering, which has been widely panned as half-baked.
For Illawarra residents, the results will range from comical to downright frustrating.
Still in Kiama, searching for the famous blowhole turns up a caravan park located well away from the actual attraction, while in Lake Illawarra, Bevans Island has disappeared completely.
Things only get worse further north, with Penrose now renamed "Penrosen".
Also a mysterious airstrip has appeared just north of Windang Bridge.
Feeling a bit confused?
A trip along Sea Cliff Bridge and a touch of sea air could be just the thing - if you can find it, that is.
Searches for the internationally famous bridge now direct users to the shores of the United Kingdom.
Other parts of the Illawarra have undergone a trip back in time in Apple's new maps, with central Wollongong now packed with businesses long since closed.
Worse, the University of Wollongong's multimillion-dollar Innovation Campus no longer exists, with the clock wound back to the days of Brandon Park.
Even for those businesses that have managed to escape eradication under the new mapping application, there's likely to be some frustrating times ahead, with dozens of businesses being instantly relocated.
In Wollongong, Diggies Cafe is sporting a new - and totally incorrect - location, while the Mercury itself has been rebranded "Advertiser Newspaper".
Apple told Fairfax that its Maps app was "a major initiative and we are just getting started with it".
