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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Rockhampton for a Weekend: A Local’s Plan
A Rockhampton weekend built on its two landmarks: Quay Street heritage on the Fitzroy River, and Mount Archer’s boardwalk at sunrise.
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A Saturday in Paddington: Shops, Coffee and the Good Stuff
A walkable Paddington Saturday: laneway coffee, two bookshops, a sunken heritage garden, gallery-hopping and a basement cocktail to finish.
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A Merimbula Long Weekend: The Far South Coast, Sorted
Three days in Merimbula: the lake circuit, one good feed a day, whales off Tura Headland, and an honest note on what…
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The Tauranga Food Guide: A Local’s Shortlist
Seven places carry Tauranga’s eating, from a 7am Chapel Street coffee to an aged-meat locker at the Mount. The local shortlist, with…
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How to Spot a Good Chippy Before You Order
The queue, the oil smell and a minimum of chips tell you everything about a chippy before you order. Here is how…
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Springvale Food Guide: What’s Actually Good
Springvale eats like a world tour: bun bo hue and charcoal pork, Taiwanese fritters, Eritrean injera, Saudi fried chicken and more, block…
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Two Days in Mackay: What’s Actually Worth It
The Mackay weekend that earns its petrol money: the Bluewater Lagoon, soldier crabs at low tide, a 1932 pie dynasty and whales…
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A Saturday in Ponsonby: Shops, Coffee and the Good Stuff
A Ponsonby Saturday as a timetable: Allpress espresso, lunch at Ponsonby Central, a Thai massage reset, then degustation or 36-hour sourdough pizza.
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Ulladulla: The South Coast Stop Most People Drive Past
A working harbour, 270-million-year-old fossils and proper fish and chips. Three versions of the Ulladulla stop, sized to the time you have.
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Where Locals Eat in Nelson Bay
Nelson Bay’s reliable core: 6:30am cafes, honest fish and chips on Teramby Road, and the boathouse booking worth planning a night around.
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The Australian Bakery Order, Ranked: What to Get and When
Sausage roll first, pie before 10am, finger bun for the road. The definitive guide to ordering properly at an Australian bakery.
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Where to Eat in Cabramatta: A Local’s Shortlist
A day of eating in Cabramatta: pho and Vietnamese coffee at Cafe Nho, ube everything at Cafe 86, dry-ice theatre at Valet…