The Scoop — Blog
Local guides, news & tips
Where to eat, stay, shop and play across Australia & New Zealand — from people who actually live here.
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A Weekend in Taupo, Done Properly
New Zealand’s great inland sea, a $10,000 golf shot and espresso martinis on tap: a Taupo weekend that earns the word properly.
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Queenstown, Tasmania, for a Weekend: A Local’s Plan
Book the train first. A weekend plan for Queenstown on Tasmania’s west coast: the Wilderness Railway, the Galley Museum and the gravel…
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Two Days in Hamilton VIC: What’s Actually Worth It
Waterfalls over lava country, an endangered bandicoot with its own walk, and a Guilfoyle garden: two days in Hamilton, Victoria, sorted honestly.
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A Weekend in Wellington NSW, Done Properly
Wellington NSW: the valley Oxley called “a very fine river”, a Japanese garden at a caves complex, and a lake that once…
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Merimbula for a Weekend: A Local’s Plan
Merimbula asks one question all weekend: lake or ocean? A local’s plan for alternating between the two, with the walks and cafés…
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Two Days in Ulladulla: What’s Actually Worth It
A working fishing harbour on 270-million-year-old rocks. Here’s what to book, what to turn up for, and where to eat across two…
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A Weekend in Yamba, Done Properly
Yamba’s beaches hang off the town in a walkable chain. Park the car on Friday and work through them, with the museum…
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Kiama for a Weekend: A Local’s Plan
Kiama means “where the sea makes a noise”. Base yourself at Blowhole Point and let the coast run your weekend: pool, basalt,…
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Two Days in Batemans Bay: What’s Actually Worth It
The Clyde River is the whole show in Batemans Bay. Here’s how to spend two days on it, beside it and eating…
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Where to Eat in Marrickville: A Local’s Shortlist
Almost everything worth eating in Marrickville sits on one long street or just off it. Here’s the local shortlist, from the strip…
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A Weekend in Shepparton, Done Properly
Shepparton’s weekend runs along one street: a 43-hectare lake, a landmark ceramics gallery, Albanian grills, wood-fired Italian and lakeside cabins.
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Eating Surry Hills: The Places Locals Queue For
Surry Hills by the clock: the 7am sourdough queue, negroni hour on Riley Street, Lennox Hastie’s embers and a sneaker bar that…