A Gold Coast getaway often means sun-soaked beaches, surf breaks and seaside cocktails. But just a short drive inland lies an entirely different world, one of ancient rainforests, misty waterfalls, boutique wineries and luxurious accommodation that will reshape how you holiday. If the Hinterland's on your radar, now's the time to Get Up and Gold Coast, with exclusive accommodation and experience deals to help you plan your trip. Waterfalls and Walks Worth the Drive If your idea of a holiday is getting out into nature and stretching your legs, the Gold Coast Hinterland has a number of UNESCO-listed rainforests and parks for you to enjoy. Twin Falls and Purlingbrook Falls in Springbrook National Park are must-do walks, offering dramatic waterfalls and shaded paths that feel worlds away from the coast. For those craving grand scenery, Lamington National Park delivers on all fronts. Think ancient trees, panoramic lookouts and natural beauty that make this Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area a must-do. [caption id="attachment_1069322" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Purlingbrook Falls[/caption] If you'd rather leave the logistics to someone else, Paradise Tours offers 10% off its Springbrook day tour, complete with free professional photos, when you book with the code GOLDCOAST2026. Southern Cross Tours also sweetens the deal, with $50 off a Scenic Rainforest & Vineyard Escape for Two using the code GETUP. Adventure Time The Hinterland caters just as well to thrill-seekers as it does to slow travellers. Soar through the rainforest canopy on Australia's largest guided zipline tour at Canyon Flyer in Mount Tamborine, or tackle the aerial challenges at Happitat, a world-first cliff park where high ropes and ziplines are set against jaw-dropping scenery. Both adventure tours will get your heart pumping whilst you enjoy the stunning scenery of the Scenic Rim surrounds. Meanwhile, the Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk offers an elevated perspective of the forest, with steel bridges suspended high above the canopy. Perfect for those who like a little adventure without the need to abseil. [caption id="attachment_1066281" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Happitat[/caption] If you're planning a romantic adventure, the Historic Rivermill's private, scenic horse ride for two lets you slow down and take in the Hinterland's scenery. Book the Historic Rivermill private scenic horse ride with the code FREEPICNIC, and you'll receive a complimentary riverside picnic. Or use code GETUPGC to enjoy 10% off at Happitat. Where to Stay While the Gold Coast's beaches have holiday apartments and five-star hotels, luxury in the Hinterland means quiet mornings surrounded by nature. There are a number of boutique accommodation options for you to indulge in. The Beechmont Estate is a boutique country retreat with five-star luxury accommodation and a hatted on-site restaurant, The Paddock, while The Tamborine offers a boutique hotel experience perched above the escarpment of Tamborine Mountain. If you love to glamp in style, Tamborine Mountain Glades is a five-star glamping experience that's set within the surrounds of Thunderbird Park, offering you a chance to rest and reconnect among the greenery. [caption id="attachment_1066289" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tamborine Mountain Glades[/caption] For a luxe stay, Verandah House Country Estate lets you create your very own wellness retreat on Mount Tamborine. Relax among the trees in a barrel steam sauna and magnesium hot baths. And for a truly immersive nature stay, O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat features views overlooking the western McPherson Ranges, architecturally designed villas, walks (both guided and solo), and waterfalls on your doorstep. Book Tamborine Mountain Glades with the code EGC2026, and you can receive a late checkout and breakfast for two included. O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat's Best of O'Reilly's package includes two nights' accommodation, daily breakfast, dinner and afternoon tea. Where to Eat Food is a major drawcard in the Hinterland thanks to paddock-to-plate dining, boutique distilleries and cellar doors dotted throughout the region. Start your day at Franquette Bakery, where flaky pastries and excellent coffee are king. From there, head deeper into the Hinterland to Cauldron Distillery and try their award-winning gin range that's inspired by the Gold Coast's native botanicals. Bring along a picnic rug or camp chairs and sprawl amongst the vineyards with friends. [caption id="attachment_1066288" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cauldron Distillery[/caption] For lunch, Canungra Valley Vineyards delivers the full slow-afternoon experience. It's perfect for a long lunch featuring wine tastings and strolls through the cellar door to try local produce. Canungra Valley's Homestead Picnic Basket experience is a great option for a romantic date in the Hinterland. [caption id="attachment_1066282" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Peddly Picnics[/caption] For laidback afternoons, Peddly Picnics (where your electric bike hire is paired with a bespoke hamper) creates curated picnic experiences that turn any scenic spot into a long lunch. There's even the option to bring your dog along for the ride with Peddly Picnics' dog carrier. Enjoy the perfect day at O'Reilly's Canungra Valley Vineyards with a Homestead Picnic Basket for two with any bottle of wine for only $120. So jump in the car and enjoy a short drive away from the coastline to experience the Gold Coast unlike ever before. Whether you're chasing waterfalls, sipping wine among rolling hills or unwinding in a rainforest retreat, these hinterland experiences are waiting for you to experience them. Image credit: Supplied
The inner west suburb of Newtown may be hipster heaven, but underneath those skinny jeans and almond milk lattes lies a grungy urban core. No need for a walking tour — simply make your way down King Street. You'll pass an eclectic mix of boutiques, colourful local characters and vibrant street art, which turn the grand Victorian facades into a living, breathing gallery. Combine that with trend-setting eateries, good times pubs and funky small bars and it's no wonder that this is the suburb where everyone wants to be.
A Dowling Street stalwart, Woolloomooloo's Old Fitz has undergone many a transformation over the past decade, but it's still an old pub at heart. The one thing that remains consistent is the familiar yet elusive je ne sais quoi of any great pub: You always feel like you've made a good choice as soon as you step your feet on that carpet, perch your elbows on the bar and have a tap beer mid-pour. This beloved Sydney pub has really stepped it up when it comes to the food offerings as well. The menu at Bistro Fitz overseen by Head Chef John Hockey (under the direction of the Odd Culture Group's executive chef James MacDonald) sees classic French bistro and Old English pub influences seamlessly combine. Whether you're just after a lengthy session of beers on the sunny sidewalk or pursuing a more elevated pub dining experience, you can find it at the Old Fitz. Images: Tanya Saint James. Appears in: The Best Pubs in Sydney
Stay tuned. More info coming soon. Image: Trent Van der jagt.
Sydney's world-class food scene is built on discovery, from neighbourhood gems to waterfront icons. And right now, thanks to Dine Out with Uber Eats, you can explore more of it for less. Running until Sunday, November 9, this global-first feature lets you unlock exclusive in-venue dining discounts, including 50 percent off your bill at hundreds of Sydney restaurants — just open the Uber Eats app, pick your spot, claim the offer and redeem it in-venue right before you pay. To help you get started, we've asked our CP colleagues to share their favourite spots around town where, this month, you can pair your meal with an excellent deal. Tuga Pastries While Tuga might be best known for its faithful rendition of the classic pastel de nata, it's another of the cafe and bakery's creations that's caught the attention of Jack Castles, Head of Commercial: "Nothing says Sunday like a sunrise swim in Clovelly, followed by Tuga's coffee and their legendary Nutella croissant — flaky, buttery, and oozing with gooey perfection that's truly second to none." Jack Castles, Head Of Commercial Partnerships, ANZ [caption id="attachment_989811" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Steven Woodburn[/caption] Island Radio Vibey Redfern spot Island Radio has quickly made its mark on Sydney's dining scene since opening in Wunderlich Lane at the tail end of 2024 — and right now, you can score 50 percent off your bill there thanks to Dine Out with Uber Eats. One person who'll be there is our own Anan Salvarinas: "Island Radio nails it. Great food, great drinks, and a DJ that keeps the place buzzing. The sinangag fried rice is the clincher — those brown butter crumbs are on another level." Anan Salvarinas, Head of Strategic Solutions Raw Bar Fresh seafood by the beach is as Sydney as sunrise over Bondi with a flat white in hand. This quintessential Harbour City ritual is a favourite of Projects Director Rojan Khastoui, who'll be taking full advantage of the Dine Out with Uber Eats promotion this month to get her fix at one of her neighbourhood faves: "I'll definitely be hitting up Raw Bar in Bondi — it's around the corner from me, perfect for soaking up the sunshine, and the bento boxes are next-level. Think: fresh sashimi, inside-out rolls, tempura, teriyaki chicken and all the good stuff. I always roll out of there happy and seriously satisfied." Rojan Khastoui, Projects Director [caption id="attachment_776052" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cacio e pepe[/caption] Chester White Cured Diner Potts Point stalwart Chester White is one of the city's premier spots for a sundowner — and it's the kind of spot you could easily settle into for the night. "I'll be heading to Chester White for a cheeky Thursday night dinner date with the girls," says Partnerships Director Cinzia Giacchi. "The truffle cacio e pepe (served out of a truffled, pecorino cheese wheel), paired with a glass of Italian chianti, is what dreams are made of." Cinzia Giacchi, Partnerships Director Muum Maam Barangaroo's Muum Maam has been drawing steady crowds for a decade, thanks to its produce-driven twists on classic Thai dishes. It's long been a go-to for our own Batoul Peters: "Nothing beats Thai food made for sharing, especially with that iconic waterfront backdrop. The whole fried snapper is a must-order and hands-down one of my favourite dishes in Sydney." Batoul Peters, Chief Business Officer [caption id="attachment_747999" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kitti Gould[/caption] Mary's "Mary's has been my go-to spot since it opened up over a decade ago," shares Partnerships Manager Anita Tran. "It's a classic spot for all cravings — lunchtime comfort food done exceptionally well, dinner with mates in a place with fab vibes and character, or even a spot for when you just want to keep the good times rolling and hit those late-night cravings. Don't skip the buttermilk fried chook with a side of mash and gravy to dip that juicy bird in." Anita Tran, Partnerships Manager To discover more great dining deals around town, explore Dine Out with Uber Eats in the Uber Eats app. T&Cs apply. Top image: Island Radio, Steven Woodburn.
There is nothing like a pun-tastic name to show the world you're serious about fun, and kil.n.it packs as much playtime with clay as it does wordplay. For all your ceramic needs, you can book studio space, time in the glaze kitchen, a firing service or check out a range of classes depending on your skill level. Kil.n.it run classes for kids, as well as a monthly date night event for you and your partner, date, sibling or friend. From Greco-Egyptian vases to unglazed terracotta, pottery is a cool way of connecting to a traditional medium that runs through ancient human history and for igniting your creative side in a tactile way. There are two locations for you to mould your ideal ceramics day or night out – the kil.n.it studios are located at The Nurses' Quarters, 184 Glebe Point Rd, and the kil.n.it classroom is located in the basement of Glebe Town Hall, 160 St John's Road.
Ten years ago, chef and restaurateur duo Josh and Julie Niland opened a celebration of Australian seafood in Paddington, Saint Peter. The focus was responsibly sourced, quality bounty of Australian waters — used in a nose-to-tail fashion that's been at the heart of all of the Niland's ventures thus far. In 2024, it moved to the Grand National Hotel and was named 98th in the World's Best Restaurants longlist, before placing 66th in 2025. Now, a decade has passed, and the Nilands are planning one hell of a party to mark it. Over the course of ten exclusive dinners, Josh will collaborate with ten chefs who have helped shape their journey through the culinary world, each collaboration resulting in a one-night-only menu available at Saint Peter. First on the list is Rasmus Munk, the multi-award-winning head chef of Alchemist in Denmark. Munk and Niland collaborated in Denmark earlier this year, now they'll reunite for another standout evening on Wednesday, April 15. And to follow, the Niland's have confirmed that Virgilio Martínez, Central (Peru), Wylie Dufresne, Stretch Pizza (New York), Peter Doyle, Est. (Sydney), Joan Roca, El Celler de Can Roca (Spain), Pascal Barbot, Astrance (France), Kylie Kwong, Lucky Kwong (Sydney) and Stephen Hodges, Fish Face (Sydney) will all take part. More names will be confirmed later in the year. [caption id="attachment_1083987" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Rasmus Munk, Head Chef and co-owner of Alchemist in Copenhagen.[/caption] "This series of dinners is our way of celebrating and thanking the exceptionally talented team at Saint Peter that contributes tirelessly to making it the special place that it is. We want to provide them the opportunity to stand alongside the chefs we all admire most - to cook, learn and be inspired by them," said Josh Niland, adding, "We are all very excited to cook with these incredible chefs. I really couldn't think of a better way to celebrate ten years." Bookings for Rasmus Munk's dinner will be available from 4pm today, Wednesday, March 18 via OpenTable. Otherwise, visit the Saint Peter website for more information. Like what you see? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories just like these straight to your inbox. Images: supplied.
It's difficult to imagine that it's been ten years since two young lovers-to-be strapped on their tap shoes to dance in the light of the LA sunset, before falling into one of the most beloved love stories in modern cinematic history. But swallow the pill, even if it makes you feel old, La La Land was released a decade ago. Here's the good news though — the live screening-in-concert show you might have seen on TikTok is officially coming to Australia. If you haven't yet had the pleasure of watching, or need a quick refresher, La La Land is a love story that's also two parts musical and one part love letter to Los Angeles, both common ingredients in the filmography of director Damien Chazelle (Babylon). It follows aspiring actor and LA newcomer Mia (Emma Stone) and local small-time musician Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), who, upon a chance meeting, discover they share a passion for their respective crafts. Eventually, coincidental encounters blossom into a bittersweet fling, strained by the demands of their individual dreams. It was a smash hit upon release, grossing millions and winning seven Golden Globes and six Academy Awards — including a legendary Oscars error that saw it mistakenly announced as that year's Best Picture over the real winner: Barry Jenkin's Moonlight. But the brightest star of La La Land is its score, composed by Damien Chazelle's longtime collaborator Justin Hurwitz, which won both Best Original Score and Best Original Song. That score is also front and centre now, ten years later, when it's touching down in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on its global live-in-concert tour. Conducted by Justin Hurwitz himself, a full jazz ensemble will perform along with a screening of the film, bringing iconic ballads like "Another Day of Sun", "City of Stars" and "A Lovely Night" to life — plus the film's soaring orchestral score throughout. It's coming to Sydney first, with two shows at the TikTok Entertainment Centre on Saturday, May 30 and Sunday, May 31. Next up is Brisbane's BCEC for a lone show on Wednesday, June 3, then the grand finale split across two shows at Melbourne's Hamer Hall on Saturday, June 6 and Monday, June 8. Tickets to all shows are on sale now. Visit the tour website for more information. Images: Lionsgate Films Like what you see? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories just like these straight to your inbox.
Owner and operator Adelle Ly quit the corporate world and decided to create delicious and healthy food. The aptly titled Mschief is known for serving up all manner of tasty treats that are both lower in sugar and extremely decadent. This is evident in the arrangement of the glass counter, which showcases a number of beautiful cakes, tarts and pastries fulfilling both categories. Housed in a bright, modern space, with a mixture of indoor and outdoor seating, Mschief has a relaxed atmosphere that lets the food do the talking. One of the highlights is the Bacon and Oats, which is a congee cooked in bone broth served with a sous vide egg and topped with back bacon (check its Instagram if this doesn't already have you drooling).
The Office of the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner has announced that 39 venues across NSW will be the shared recipients of a $2.89 million grant — the second round of the NSW Government Live Performance Venue Grant Program. The venues in question are each designated as small or medium-sized venues and are spread across 35 suburbs across the state. This was the first time that this grant allowed venues from across the state to apply, with amounts per venue ranging between $15,000 and $80,000. The qualifier? The venues are intending to use the grant to stage live performances or increase their current offering as performance spaces. The funding can be allocated to costs such as staging and sound equipment, performer fees, and marketing and promotion for events. This program is meant to make live performances of all kinds, including live music, theatre, musical theatre, cabaret, dance, spoken word, First Nations storytelling and comedy, for more local communities across NSW. By increasing the sheer number of available venues, the program also hopes to increase the number and diversity of performances and employment opportunities for artists, performers and hospitality workers in NSW. 24-Hour Economy Commissioner John Rodrigues said, "We know that people are seeking out nightlife experiences closer to home, and this program helps venues diversify their offering to meet this demand whilst creating opportunities for local performers to access the stage, hone their craft and build their audiences. I'm excited to see the program expand across the State." The venues included in this round cover a lot of ground. Regional additions include Badlands Brewery and Mortimer's Wines in Orange, Byron Bay Spirits Co, Oyster Cove Cocktail Bar in Batemans Bay, The Thirsty Devil Brewery in South Albury and Trojans Bistro & Bar in Terrigal. Meanwhile, Sydney metro spots in the grant include Brookvale's Manly Spirit Co and Freshwater Brewing Company, Cammeray Golf Club, Newtown local favourite Earl's Juke Joint, and Alexandria haunts The Mitch and Blackwattle Bar + Brewery. To read the full recipient list, visit the Live Performance Venue Grant website. Like what you see? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories just like these straight to your inbox.
Rozelle has landed a big and bold new space that is part viennoiserie, part cafe, and part bakery, drawing locals and visitors alike with the smell of fresh-baked goods. Lode has expanded its already loved viennoiserie to now include a 60-seat cafe and bakery. While Lode has existing shopfronts in Surry Hills, North Sydney and Circular Quay, this flagship store in Rozelle is set to deliver a whole new experience. Founder Federico Zanellato will showcase his signature craft at the Rozelle outpost, where you can now even enjoy a daytime brunch offering. Of course, Federico will be serving his beloved pies, and an all-new bread program will see blistered loaves and specialised sourdough flying off the shelves. The all-star lineup of pastries and breads includes the likes of pistachio croissants, lemon meringue bombolone, roasted tomato and olive fougasse and a passionfruit yuzu chiffon cake. More substantial offerings include a chicken jalapeño egg sandwich and a Lode burger. "The Rozelle flagship is the next step for us," says Federico. "We've always cared about the details, and now we get to show that across everything we bake, from our pies to breads, viennoiserie, and morning plates. It's a chance to bring the full LoDe experience to Sydney." Images: Supplied.
Sydney's inner west is known for its shop local mentality; it has heaps of independently owned and family-run businesses to choose from, and this is especially true in Marrickville where different cultural heritages have combined to proudly offer cuisines from the homeland. If you consider yourself a foodie, it's a suburb you should get to know better if only for its award-winning coffee beans, Greek-style souvlaki shops and locally made craft brews. However, it's not all about what you can eat. In Marrickville, you'll also discover vintage homewares, speciality florists and many other gems besides. We've teamed up with American Express to bring you a hit list of the stores you should make time to explore, so whether you're here for meat, cheese, coffee or fresh buds, you can shop small with your Amex Card.
Searching for the best Sydney hair salon or barbershop is a harrowing journey. We've all had bad haircuts. Some of us have even tried (and likely failed) to do it ourselves. But once you find the perfect fit, you're life is forever changed. And you'll likely hold onto them for many years to come. But how many bad haircuts or beard shaping mishaps must we go through before we find the one? To make sure that time comes sooner rather than later, we have created this definitive list of the best places to get a haircut in Sydney. These local barbers and hair salons are staffed by total pros — no students learning to cut real human hair for the first time. So, read on to find your future hairdresser or barber who will help you look as fabulous as you feel.
The steaks are high, as the list of the World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants for 2026 is revealed. Building on last year's already impressive stats, we can now reveal that 22 Australian restaurants have featured on the globally renowned list. Now that's something to celebrate. So did your favourite steak restaurant make the cut? While many Australian eateries across several states made the 2026 ranking, it was a Sydney favourite that made it (almost) all the way to the top. Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few years and have somehow missed the remarkable success of Neil Perry's Margaret, it likely won't come as a surprise that it took out the coveted second spot on the list this year. Most of the Australian restaurants that made the cut last year did so this year — and, incredibly, Margaret has secured its second-place ranking for the second year in a row. Yes, the Double Bay venue has proved again that it is not only the best steak restaurant in Australia, but almost the best in the entire world. [caption id="attachment_1001992" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Petrina Tinslay.[/caption] "We're absolutely thrilled that Margaret continues to be recognised as one of the world's best steak restaurants, and to see Gran Torino make the list in its debut year is very exciting for us," says Neil Perry. "This recognition is a true reflection of the dedication behind our family-run restaurants - from sourcing outstanding beef from outstanding producers like Blackmore Wagyu and CopperTree Farms, to ensuring every cut served is meticulously dry-aged and perfectly cooked. It's also fantastic to see 22 Australian restaurants represented on the list this year, which highlights the exceptional quality and reputation of Australian beef on the world stage," says Perry. Taking out the number one spot was La Cúpula de El Capricho in Jiménez De Jamuz, Spain, and after Margaret comes another Spanish hotspot, Laia Erretegia in Hondarribia, Spain. London's Ibai came in at number seven, and Singapore's Burnt Ends came in at number nine. Remarkably, two more Sydney restaurants cracked the top 15, with Firedoor ranking 11th and Aalia 14th. Don't fret, it wasn't just Sydney who made headlines this year, with other Australian capital cities holding their own on the list. "Australia has firmly confirmed its position as a leading power in the global steak scene. With 22 restaurants featured in the World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants 2026, Australia shines brighter than ever and demonstrates remarkable strength across the ranking. This achievement speaks not only to the exceptional quality and provenance of Australian beef, but also to the expertise, consistency and cultural confidence with which the country's leading steak restaurants operate. Australia is no longer simply setting benchmarks domestically — it is helping define excellence on a global stage." The list is the result of a meticulous evaluation of 1200 restaurants, judged against 29 detailed criteria including meat quality, cooking technique, sourcing, ageing, authenticity, ambience, service and wine list. Making the cut for Melbourne were the likes of Steer Dining Room at 29th, Victor Churchill at 31st, Gimlet at 62nd and Grill Americano at 95th. Brisbane impressively had two inclusions on the list, with Agnes coming in at number 20 and SK Steak & Oyster at 77th. Adelaide's fire-driven diner Arkhé must have made a striking impression, coming in at sweet 16t. Several other Sydney and Melbourne restaurants rounded out the 22 Australian restaurants that made the 2026 list. [caption id="attachment_1001993" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Petrina Tinslay.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_699842" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Nikki To[/caption] [caption id="attachment_844448" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Christopher Pearce[/caption] [caption id="attachment_956587" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dominic Loneragan[/caption] [caption id="attachment_675814" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dominic Loneragan[/caption] [caption id="attachment_860199" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Earl Carter[/caption] For the full rundown of the World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants for 2026, head to the list's website. Like what you see? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories just like these straight to your inbox. Feature image: Petrina Tinslay.
Navigating the monstrous Barangaroo House is not an easy feat. Should you head straight to the ground floor or climb to level one? Or two? What occasion befits what level? Where can you eat, drink and find the chicken salt martini? Stress not. We've done the hard yards for you — we've reviewed all three levels. So read below, then negotiate the building with ease. [caption id="attachment_651160" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Kitti Smallbone[/caption] GROUND FLOOR: HOUSE BAR On the bottom floor is House Bar. Set just above street level and in prime waterfront position, it's the most approachable of the three outlets. Serving tap beer, cocktails and wine, it's all bar service and can get four- or five-deep on a busy night. It's aimed at, and well suited to, after-work drinkers with a mix of high communal tables, stools, and some lower tables, though the design is fairly neutral. The menu hero here is Japanese-stye pub food, well suited to a late lunch on a sunny Friday. Start light with steamed edamame or Sydney rock oysters, or get hot and heavy with chicken wings and miso hot sauce. Choose your main adventure with a rice bowl (pick the protein and sauce, the rest is universal) or step it up with some supremely delish burgers (crispy chicken cheeseburger or pumpkin and coriander katsu) served with chips. Wash it down with a sip from the wine list or any classic cocktail you can remember the name of. What's the deal? The most approachable level. Bar service. Japanese pub food and classic cocktails. When is it open? Monday–Tuesday, 12—10pm, Wednesday–Saturday 12pm–12am, Sunday 12–10pm. LEVEL 1: REKŌDO The next floor up is Rekōdo (Japanese for record). On the menu, expect more stylised Japanese cuisine and signature cocktails. A collaboration between leading hospitality architects H&E and interior design firm Studio Etic, Barangaroo House has lots of successful aesthetic elements, but Rekōdo is an ode to Japanese listening rooms — an intimate, dimly lit space with efficiently spaced seating and space to kick back. The food is equally considered in terms of design. Head chef Michael Dabbs has set up a Japanese-style share menu that caters to large crews and a relaxed dining experience. The style is seasonal, the produce is fresh, and the experience can be traditional or omakase-style. Ease into it with pork belly bao with tonkatsu or Moreton Bay bug with mentai mayo and nori. Keep things light with market sashimi and house soy or charred calamari with anchovy, or go all out with flame tail snapper with koji butter or swordfish skewers with yuzu. The drinks only improve as you ascend Barangaroo House, and Rekōdo goes all in on its Japanese inspiration with wine, sake and an impressive list of specialty cocktails. From the flavoursome Sawayaka (grapefruit infused Bombay Sapphire, honeydew and watermelon Campari, Martini Rosso) to the zesty Yuzu Be Crazy (Four Pillars Yuzu Gin, yellow chartreuse, yuzu, bergamot, pistachio), there's a drink for everyone. And finally, there's the origin of the name. You see, Rekōdo is a vinyl bar in more than just aesthetic. The playlists are curated, the beats are eternal, and the artists are some of the most talented disc jockeys in the game. What's the deal? Vinyl and vibes. Make a reservation. Enjoy the drinks and tunes with company. When is it open? Monday closed, Tuesday–Saturday, 12pm–12am, Sunday 12–10pm. [caption id="attachment_651143" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Kitti Smallbone[/caption] LEVEL 2: SMOKE Smoke is at the top of the building. Sydney is fairly low in this sector for a waterside city with our climate, so a great rooftop can never go astray. Although word has definitely got around, and most nights there won't be many spare seats among the well-heeled crowd. The most pleasing element is the dominance of a great big timber deck, with a good amount of indoor and outdoor greenery. The view is beautiful and an ideal time to come is as the sun is setting (just remember your sunnies) – to watch the sky turn from dusk to dark, dotted with city lights. The food direction here is in the menu of Japanese share-style plates. The wines by the glass are impressive, like an excellent Falmet champagne or an Australian Inkwell Primitvo from McLaren Vale. Snacks like sweet and spicy popcorn, yuzu steak tartare with cured yolk, devon and tomato sauce jaffle or crumpets with spanner crab and citrus tell an oddly familiar story. The story's plot becomes apparent when looking at the cocktail menu: nostalgia. At least that's the theme of the spring 2023 menu, with drinks inspired by fresh-cut lawns, hot chips coated in chicken salt and refreshing half-time orange wedges. One thing is clear: the whole development can be summarised in one word: ambitious. It has all the elements of talented designers, sommeliers and chefs, plus an enormous patronage capacity and towering futuristic structural dominance. What's the deal? Head in early. Order one of the custom martinis. And snacks. When is it open? Monday closed, Tuesday 3–10pm, Wednesday–Saturday 3pm–midnight, Sunday 2–10pm.
One of Melbourne's most celebrated restaurants has arrived in Sydney. Grill Americano — the opulent Venetian-inspired steakhouse by zeitgeist-defining restaurateur Chris Lucas — has brought its white-jacket service and famed bistecca program to the heritage-listed former Qantas House building at 1 Chifley Square. Much like when Lucas brought Chin Chin to Surry Hills in 2017, Grill Americano Sydney isn't a straight copy-paste job. Yes, the Flinders Lane hallmarks are here — blue velvet banquettes, a dramatic 30-metre-long marble bar and an open kitchen anchored by a Josper grill and woodfired oven — but now, they sit alongside Sydney-only additions: a daily espresso bar selection, two private dining rooms and the mid-century bones of one of the city's first high-rise towers, complete with soaring ceilings and full-height windows. [caption id="attachment_1051293" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Myles Kalus[/caption] The menu — by Executive Chef Vincenzo Ursini (Ristorante Reale, Le Calandre, Mugaritz) in close collaboration with Lucas Collective's Head of Culinary Damian Snell and Lucas himself — has been thoughtfully reworked for its new postcode. A run of Sydney-exclusive plates leans into the Harbour City's access to top-shelf seafood, with newcomers like prawn panzerotto crowned with Oscietra caviar; tuna, 'nduja and anchovy crostini; and a saffron- and chilli-laced Sicilian-style seafood risotto. A dedicated raw seafood bar further expands the brief, featuring oysters, crustacea and a daily-changing crudo di pesce. These sit alongside dishes that have fuelled Grill Americano Melbourne's devoted following, including seasonally evolving pasta made in-house daily, a 15-strong bistecca lineup spanning premium cuts and specialty preparations — like a 700g New York strip of grappa-infused, dry-aged Chauvel beef — and the show-stopping Tiramisù Americano, theatrically served tableside. [caption id="attachment_1051291" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jason Loucas[/caption] To drink, Master Sommelier Paolo Saccone oversees a sweeping, globetrotting wine program, while the cocktail list stays classic and Italian. For Lucas, the Sydney opening marks a moment he's been building toward since opening Grill Americano Melbourne in 2022. "From the very early days of Grill Americano, I've had requests to open the concept in Sydney," he says. "Three years later, I'm thrilled to be bringing that idea to life...in a way that honours the original but also captures Sydney's unique energy and appetite for dining." [caption id="attachment_1051296" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jason Loucas[/caption] Images: Jason Loucas, Myles Kalus.
If you've locked in your pass to see teams battle it out at the Melbourne stop of the International esport tournament, Intel Extreme Masters, you're probably gearing up for a weekend of pro-level gameplay. But Melbourne doesn't power down after the final match. This is a 24-hour city that lives for the afterparty. Where dinner starts at 10pm, cocktails come with a side of performance art, and themed bars invite late-night play. If you're making the trip to Melbourne, consider this your ultimate cheat code for everything happening off-screen. From cool late-night bars to Viking banquets and kart racing, here's how to unleash your wild side and make the most of everything Australia's cultural capital has to offer. Fortress Melbourne Let's be honest, if you're into gaming, you've probably already heard about Fortress. It's a multi-level gaming venue complete with esports arenas, retro arcades, themed cocktails and a tavern that feels like it belongs inside a fantasy RPG. It's basically your digital playground brought to life. For some late-night fun, grab a drink, smash some rounds on the console setups or join in on one of the many live tournaments. [caption id="attachment_1000007" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Jesse Hisco[/caption] Bodega Underground If you're looking for the best mezcal in town with low lighting and tacos, this is your spot. Bodega Underground on Little Bourke Street stays open until the early hours slinging margaritas, spicy bar snacks and some of the best micheladas in the city. It's underground in every sense of the word: location, attitude and energy. BattleKart Just over the bridge in West Footscray, BattleKart is what happens when go-karting meets video games. You're racing around a real track, but instead of just cutting corners, you're picking up power-ups and dodging digital obstacles projected onto the floor. It's part arcade, part real-world chaos and perfect for anyone who's ever dreamed of playing Mario Kart in real life. Better yet, on Friday and Saturday nights, you can kart until 11pm. [caption id="attachment_794216" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Michael Gazzola[/caption] Ballers Clubhouse This isn't your average sports bar. With locations in both the CBD and Carlton, Ballers Clubhouse brings the energy of a game night house party, if that house had neon lights, a disco ball and a cocktail list. You've got ping pong, darts, shuffleboard, karaoke and VR experiences all under one roof. It's built for banter, rematches and yes, some very Instagrammable moments. If you're with a group of mates, book out a table and settle in for an arvo of drinks and friendly competition. Flight Club If you've only ever played darts at a sticky-floored pub, prepare to be impressed. In the heart of the city, the newly opened Flight Club has flipped the game on its head, turning it into a social, high-tech experience with automatic scoring, neon-lit booths and cocktails you'd actually want to drink. It's a great after-hours hang or a cheeky way to warm up before your next IEM session. St Andrews Beach Brewery, Melbourne Park Just a short stroll from the IEM action at Rod Laver Arena, you'll find St Andrews Beach Brewery Melbourne Park, which is the inner city sibling to the Mornington Peninsula favourite. It offers a refreshing reset when you need to step away from the screens. Expect craft beers, wood-fired pizza, and a beautifully landscaped outdoor space to breathe before heading back to the chaos. It's lowkey, laidback and exactly what you want in the middle of an action-packed day. Bar Clara Tucked in Chinatown with pink neon lights and green velvet seats, Bar Clara is all about adventurous cocktails, low-lit vibes and romantic charm. Their drinks are weird and wonderful and the service always comes with a wink. Think Japanese whisky, smoke guns and unexpected ingredients you can't pronounce but will absolutely want a second round of. Mjølner For something a little more special, head to Mjølner to channel your inner warrior with a feast worthy of Valhalla. Mjølner is an underground Viking and Norse-themed bar and restaurant in Melbourne CBD where the cutlery is literal weaponry, the whisky menu is longer than your most-played Steam library, and the vibes are unbeatable. Whether you're tearing into slow-roasted meats or sipping beer from a horn, it's unapologetically theatrical and, yes, absolutely delicious. [caption id="attachment_684812" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Julia Kingma[/caption] Heartbreaker When the final match wraps and the adrenaline's still pumping, Heartbreaker is where you head next. This late-night haunt is dimly lit, loud in all the right ways and fuelled by a rock 'n' roll jukebox, whisky cocktails and slices of Connie's pizza that taste better after midnight. Whether you're dancing with strangers or dissecting game highlights with your mates, it's the kind of place where the night tends to stretch into the early hours. StoryVille This fairy tale-themed cocktail bar is anything but tame. As the clock strikes 11pm, StoryVille turns into a literal wonderland of music, drinks and entertainment. Hidden in a multi-level building with mushroom lamps, twisted bookshelves and glowing potions, Storyville's drinks menu reads like a sci-fi novel, and its crowd loves an excuse to cosplay. Naked for Satan Naked for Satan is Fitzroy's worst-kept secret: a multi-level bar dishing up infused vodkas, punchy pintxos and panoramic rooftop views of the city. Go early for golden hour, stay late when the mood shifts and the skyline becomes your backdrop for a night you probably won't be home early from. Whether you're chasing a nightcap with a twist, a hidden wine bar with a cult following, or just want to battle your mates on the kart track, Melbourne has all your nocturnal cravings sorted. For more of what makes Melbourne every bit different, visit the website. Images courtesy of Melbourne. Every bit different. By Jacque Kennedy
Perched on the fifth level of the newly renovated Sofitel Sydney Wentworth is one of the most impressive additions to Sydney's rooftop bar scene in recent years — a lush terrace watering hole that looks fated to become a popular go-to for an inner-city sundowner. Designed by Fender Katsalidis, who also delivered the interiors of Wentworth Bar's sister venues Delta Rue, tilda and bar tilda, the space is sophisticated yet relaxed, combining leafy planting, natural finishes and soft lighting. Conceived to cater to punters throughout the day, there are a variety of seating options, from low-slung chairs for sun-basking, cocktail in hand, to high tables with stools for those looking to perch for a quick drink and generous seating areas intended for group gatherings. Terrazzo tables and verdant planting centred around an impressive focal point — a mature tree — transport guests far from the urban hustle just five storeys below while DJ sets keep the good times rolling. The cocktail menu amps up the fun with playful mixes that are easy to drink. A signature will be Wentworth Bar's party cocktails. Priced at $220, they come served in a showstopping glass fountain that holds 12 standard drinks. Get the party started with the Tai Chi Mumma, a refreshing mix of Ketel One vodka, rosé, and prosecco, rounded out with raspberry, lemon, and lychee or the Strawberry Yuzu Spritz - a bright blend of white wine, herbal aperitif, yuzu, and a fruity hit of mango, passionfruit, and grapefruit.
When you want a stay that feels unique and personal, sometimes an Airbnb offers something that hotels often don't. Now you'll know which stays offer the best of the best experience, as the short-term stay giant has revealed the winners of its 2025 Host Awards — its annual accolades that celebrate "the creativity, care and community impact of local hosts." With six awards up for grabs, these honours cover everything from the best family-friendly stay to the best design experience. Spanning heritage-listed Hobart bakeries, bold coastal escapes on the Sunny Coast and serene Kangaroo Valley retreats, the winners come from far and wide, meaning an award-winning stay might be closer than you think. Host of the Year: Braithwaite (Hobart, TAS) There's no shortage of deserving hosts, but there can only be one Host of the Year. In 2025, that's Alix and John from Braithwaite — a heritage-listed former bakery in Sandy Bay. Wonderfully restored, this courtyard apartment is the perfect base to explore the cultural hub of Salamanca Place, with its restaurants and art galleries just two kilometres away. According to judge Sarah Huang: "[Alix and John] don't just provide a stay, they create a moment in time that's deeply meaningful." Best Family-Friendly Stay: Sassafras (Southern Highlands, NSW) You don't have to trek hours into the wilderness to discover a country retreat when it comes to Sassafras. Set on 98 acres in Kangaroo Valley, this five-bedroom farmhouse carefully balances rustic charm with modern features, offering all the creature comforts you desire alongside a sandstone fireplace and unbeatable valley views. And at just a two-hour drive from Sydney, this peaceful stay is primed for weekend escapes. Best New Host: The Nook (Adelaide, SA) Some Airbnbs have become synonymous with luxury stays over numerous years. Yet others have just begun to earn their reputation. The Nook is the latter, with owners Erin and Rory taking home the Best New Host award in 2025. Set on their family property, guests encounter a modern cottage featuring an airy open-plan design made for easygoing entertaining. Plus, the outdoor terrace is the ideal spot to admire the cottage's surrounding greenery. Best Nature Stay: Ligo (Wolgan Valley, NSW) While living in a tiny house forever might not appeal, Ligo in the Wolgan Valley might convince you it's more than possible. Hosted by Eddie and Ange, this award-winning retreat in the shadow of the Blue Mountains National Park is built from materials reclaimed from bushfires, offering an off-grid stay rich in warm interiors, passive sustainability and bushland views. Take a bath beneath the stars and roam the nearby walking trails when you need to reconnect. Best Room Stay: Short Stay Made Simple (Sydney, NSW) The best Airbnb experiences don't have to be exclusive. In fact, sometimes the warm hospitality of the host can make the mutual enjoyment of a space that much more special. Short Stay Made Simple's Caroline and Daniel received the award for Best Room Stay, with the peaceful upstairs retreat of their Sydney home celebrated for its spotless presentation, full kitchen access and generous touches, like late-night train station pickups and welcoming shared meals. Best Design Stay: Banksia House (Sunshine Coast, QLD) The interiors are impressive enough at Banksia House, but the winner of the Best Design Stay really comes into its own when you consider its outdoor features. Designed by hosts Toni and Kirsti, the latter brought her experience as a landscape architect to conceive the magnesium pool, bocce court, fireplaces and al fresco bathrooms immersed in lush gardens. "Guests highlight its Scandinavian simplicity, earth tones, and calming energy. This is a masterclass in 'rugged luxury,'" says Huang. Looking for more information on the winners? Head to the website to get all the details. Images: Rachel Tagg.
Back in 2017, a new kind of glamping experience arrived on the scene about 2.5 hours from Sydney. That'd be Bubbletent Australia: three off-grid, inflatable and transparent domes overlooking the picture-perfect Capertee Valley by day and offering boundless stargazing by night. Now the company has returned, adding two new celestial-inspired tents, Pisces and Ophiuchus. Set on a ridge opposite the original trio, this slightly more remote expansion faces east, meaning unbeatable sunrise views. Beyond your bubble retreat, Pisces and Ophiuchus both come with extra hideaways, with the former featuring a netted bed strung between trees and the latter an elevated treehouse that captures the last sunrays of the day. After the light is long gone, it's the perfect time to peer through the provided telescopes to see what kind of interstellar formations you recognise. However, there are plenty more surprises in store. While Pisces and Ophiuchus are noticeably larger than their predecessors, both are equipped with rotating queen-size beds that make for the ultimate star-gazing experience. With two speeds available, you can drift off to sleep with a gentle spin or send the sky into a swirl as you ramp up the tempo. Once you wake up, you can convert your bed into a ping-pong table (yes, really) or even open up a hidden nook to reveal a pull-out dining table and a built-in wine cellar. What will they think of next? Outside, you've got a separate rain shower and eco-friendly Japanese toilet, set in recycled concrete pipes. But don't think you have to miss a second of the sky-show – each features a transparent roof so you can stargaze on the loo. Though this remote parcel of countryside can get a little chilly at night, a Swedish-style wood-fired hot tub surrounded by native trees ensures you keep the cold at bay. Plus, cosying up on your outdoor sofa won't hurt either. When it's time to hit the hay, your room is adorned with organic cotton linens, woollen blankets and natural bathroom amenities, as well as cosy slippers, outdoor shoes, lanterns, speakers and even an in-room iPad to set the soundtrack. As for dining, the facilities don't miss a beat. Both tents are equipped with all-weather outdoor Bushbuck kitchen stations, with bar fridges, gas burners, pizza stones and a rotisserie. Then you've got a popcorn maker, a sandwich press, and marshmallows for roasting on the fire. This being such a pristine spot, you'll be happy to know that sustainability is factored into just about every aspect of Bubbletent's setup. From solar power and cutting-edge geothermal-powered air conditioning to the elimination of single-use plastics, admiring the night sky and – surprise, surprise – the world's second-largest canyon is made possible without harming the earth. Bubbletent Australia is located in the Capertee Valley. Head to the website for more information.
There are two types of travellers: the ones sprinting to the gate with a busted wheel, and the ones gliding easily through duty-free. The latter probably invested in a very good suitcase. After its co-founders sat at Proud Mary in Collingwood and decided to rethink suitcases in 2019, July hit the travel world with a suite of colourful cases that are more than just chic and durable. Equipped with crush-proof shells, built-in chargers, and more recently, the world's first trackable luggage, July's travel gear is now frequently spotted in airport terminals internationally. On the last weekend of February, July is hosting a massive two-day warehouse sale featuring over 150 styles from its warehouses and archives — it's worth a visit even if you're not planning a trip. From chic book totes and darling crescent crossbodys to handy toiletry and camera bags, the luggage label designs pieces that pull double duty on everyday commutes as well. Online shoppers can get up to 50% off travel essentials, too — you can access the sale via July's website, or hop on the mailing list to get first dibs when the sale goes live — but in-store discounts are slated to be juicier. From 9am to 5pm, Melburnians can browse the collection at the Collingwood store, while Sydneysiders should make a beeline for Rosebery. Images: supplied
If you're unable to resist the charms of Lightning Ridge and need to take a piece home with you, head to the more traditional — but no less colourful — John Murray Art Gallery. Here you'll find the exclusive home for works by the celebrated eponymous artist. Murray's works showcase the beauty and the character of the Australian outback with wit and whimsy. Stop into the gallery to see Murray's photorealistic works up close, and exit via the gift shop where you can pick up original paintings, prints, cards and souvenirs. Murray is also the creative mind behind Lightning Ridge's newest mascot, Stanley the Emu. Unveiled in 2013, Stanley is an 18-metre-tall steel emu made primarily from VW Beetle bonnets and doors, and is an unmissable sight that greets visitors just 10 kilometres out of town. [caption id="attachment_843122" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Vance Bagwell (Flickr)[/caption] Top image: John, Flickr
In news that won't surprise Melburnians, the city has been ranked Australia's number one night-time economy hotspot. From Fitzroy's buzzing bars to the fine dining restaurants in the CBD, Melbourne is doing its part for the economy by enjoying life after dark. This is according to the Visa Australia Night-time Economy Index 2025, a new in-depth analysis measuring data such as spending, vibrancy, venues open and even the amount of nightworkers boosting the economy after dark. Trailing just behind Melbourne is Sydney's CBD, which came in with a night-time Vibe Score of 74.3. So close. [caption id="attachment_1029745" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Martin Vlnas[/caption] The Visa Vibe Economy report, commissioned by Visa and conducted by McCrindle, reveals that the Victorian capital is dining out at restaurants more frequently than other cities after dark. The report surveyed 2,009 Australians to learn how we spend our evenings (and how much cash we splash on a night out). [caption id="attachment_912072" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Nick & Nora's[/caption] Who's going out after dark? While Australians may be proponents of morning run clubs and coffee catch-ups pre-work, it turns out that there are a few of us who still make the most of the evenings. According to the report, nearly half of Australians are going out at night at least once a week, with an average of 5.8 night-time outings per month. Not bad. Gen Z is at the head of the pack, with 73 per cent of the demographic making it out at least once a week. Millennials are right behind their younger siblings with an average of 7.2 nights out per month. Melbourne and Sydney may be leading the night-time charge, but other cities aren't glued to their couches all week. People in Wollongong and the Gold Coast are keeping the night alive, with an average of 6.3 nights out per month, followed closely by Brisbane at 6.1 nights a month. [caption id="attachment_868653" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kate Shanasy[/caption] What are we up to on a night out? In good news for business owners, the majority of nights out are spent in our world-class restaurants. While most Australians prefer to keep their dining local, Gen Z is maintaining its adventurous reputation by being the demographic more likely to try cuisine in a new suburb. Outside of restaurants, 46 per cent of Australians are heading to the cinema to watch a movie after dark, with night markets and bars and pubs also ranking high on our evening activities. How much are we spending? With so many Aussies enjoying a night out with friends, the report finds that the majority of us are factoring evening activities into our spending. More than half of Gen Z actually consider spending after dark an essential part of their budgets. According to the report, the average we're forking out for an evening on the town is $120 or less per person. On the other hand, 66 per cent of respondents reported that cost is one of the main barriers to heading out for the evening. Feeling safe is also a major factor in shaping how, when and where Australians go out. [caption id="attachment_1026041" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Ennui[/caption] The future of the evening economy Sadly, many Australians feel their local nightlife isn't as vibrant as it could be—and want to see councils and businesses invest in making it better. Whether it's the after-effects and behavioural changes post-pandemic or the cost of living crisis, the report shows that nearly half of Australians believe their local nightlife needs investment to feel more vibrant. The report notes that Australians are asking for more night markets and festivals, affordable night-time options, and safer public spaces over the next two to five years. Despite Australians' reputation for being morning people, it's clear we're doing our bit for the economy by seeing our friends for a meal out, sipping on a pet nat in a Collingwood wine bar and enjoying the night markets in Sydney. So, consider this your sign to do your part and book an after-dark experience this weekend. Discover the vibe near you. Lead image: Getty/ Prasit Photo
Not every film that wins an Oscar, earns a nomination for Hollywood's night of nights or gets selected by its country to go in the running for the coveted accolades makes it to cinemas Down Under beyond festivals. A movie can have international fests buzzing as well, yet still bypass a big-screen release in Australia. That's the fate for plenty of features; however, gone are the days when skipping a date with picture palaces was a sign of a bad movie. The streaming era means that a new flick is always dropping on one of the many platforms that are available to Aussie audiences. While they can't all be excellent, that's no different to what does make it to the silver screen. The gems that go straight to home viewing are up there with the gems that do get the movie-theatre treatment — as the highlights from January–June 2024 make clear. There are indeed Academy Award-winners on this list, as well as nominees. Films that'll compete next year, festival favourites, movies with big-name stars or from high-profile directors: they all feature as well. If you haven't caught them on the couch already alongside fellow straight-to-streaming standouts from 2024's first six months, take this as your motivation, whether you're after shattering documentaries, truth-is-stranger-than-fiction comedies, affecting dramas, gorgeous animation or plenty of horror. 20 Days in Mariupol Incompatible with life. No one should ever want to hear those three devastating words. No one who is told one of the most distressing phrases there is ever has them uttered their way in positive circumstances, either. Accordingly, when they're spoken by a doctor in 2024 Oscar-winner 20 Days in Mariupol, they're deeply shattering. So is everything in this on-the-ground portrait of the first 20 days in the Ukrainian port city as Russia began its invasion, with the bleak reality of living in a war zone documented in harrowing detail. Located less than 60 kilometres from the border, Mariupol quickly segues from ordinary life to an apocalyptic scene — and this film refuses to look away. Much of its time is spent in and around hospitals, which see an influx of patients injured and killed by the combat, and also become targets as well. Many of in 20 Days in Mariupol's faces are the afflicted, the medics tending to them in horrendous circumstances, and the loves ones that are understandably inconsolable. Too many of the carnage's victims are children and babies, with their parents crushed and heartbroken in the aftermath; sometimes, they're pregnant women. Directed by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mstyslav Chernov, and narrated by him with the grimness and soberness that can be this movie's only tone, 20 Days in Mariupol even existing is an achievement. What it depicts — what it immerses viewers in with urgency, from shelled hospitals, basements-turned-bomb shelters and more of the city destroyed day after day to families torn apart, looting, struggling to find food and bodies of the dead taken to mass graves — needs to be viewed as widely as possible, and constantly. His footage has also featured in news reports, but it can and must never be forgotten. Doctors mid-surgery demand that Chernov's camera is pointed their way, and that he shows the world the travesties taking place. The Ukrainian reporter, who has also covered Donbas, flight MH17, Syria and the Battle of Mosul for the Associated Press, does exactly that. He's doing more than ensuring that everyone bears witness, though; he makes certain that there's no way to watch 20 Days in Mariupol, which shows the vast civilian impact and casualties, and see anything but ordinary people suffering, or to feel anything other than shock, anger and horror. 20 Days in Mariupol streams via DocPlay. Society of the Snow It was meant to be a fun trip to Chile with friends and family for a game. When the Old Christians Club rugby union team boarded Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in Montevideo on October 13, 1972, destination Santiago, no one among them knew what would happen next. The plane didn't make it to its destination, as 1976 Mexican film Survive!, 1993 American movie Alive and now Spanish-US co-production Society of the Snow each cover. All three features boast apt titles, but only the latest sums up the grim reality and existential dilemma of crashing in the Andes, being stranded for 72 days in snowy climes with little resources against the weather — or for sustenance — and attempting to endure. Taken from the memoir by Pablo Vierci, aka La sociedad de la nieve in Spanish, only this phrase adorning JA Bayona's (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) picture encapsulates the tremendous effort that it took to find a way to persist, as well as the fact that trying to remain alive long enough to be rescued meant adapting everything about how the survivors approached each second, minute, hour, day, week and month — and also links in with how a catastrophe like this banded them together, doing whatever it took to find a way off the mountains, while reshaping how they contemplated what it meant to be human. Society of the Snow isn't just a disaster film detailing the specifics of the flight's failed trip, the immediate deaths and those that came afterwards, the lengthy wait to be found — including after authorities called the search off — and the crushing decisions made to get through. Bayona, who also helmed the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami-focused The Impossible, has made a weighty feature that reckons with the emotional, psychological and spiritual toll, and doesn't think of shying away from the most difficult aspects of this real-life situation (including cannibalism). This is both gruelling and meaningful viewing, as crafted with technical mastery (especially by Don't Breathe 2 cinematographer Pedro Luque, plus Cinco lobitos' Andrés Gil and Cites' Jaume Martí as editors), built upon brutal candour, and paying tribute to resilience and then some. Its feats extend to its hauntingly acted performances from a cast that includes Enzo Vogrincic (El Presidente), Agustín Pardella (Secrets of Summer) and Matías Recalt (Planners), all contributing to an account of camaraderie and sacrifice that deserves its Best International Feature Film Oscar nomination. Society of the Snow streams via Netflix. The Devil's Bath Suspense and tension, how to cultivate such a strong atmosphere of unease that it feels as if it drips from the screen, the darker side of human nature, sheer existential exasperation: writer/directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala know these things. The Austrian filmmakers are just as well-aware of how to make movies that crawl under your skin as much as distress does with their characters. For that sensation at its very best, see: Goodnight Mommy, their Oscar-submitted 2014 debut (which was then remade in America in 2022). The Devil's Bath earns the same description, too. The duo's first feature since 2019's Riley Keough (Under the Bridge)-starring English-language horror flick The Lodge, it needles deep as it follows new bride Agnes (Anja Plaschg, Axolotl Overkill), who is thrilled to be starting her married life to Wolf (David Scheig, Heribet), even if that joy doesn't seem completely reciprocated. Relationship disharmony bubbles at the heart of this 18th century-set film, but that's not the only force bearing down on a woman that no longer has any agency — and, soon, little hope left simmering as well. Franz and Fiala begin The Devil's Bath with a different scene of domestic struggle. They haunt their viewers from the outset, too. First up, a woman throws a baby over a waterfall, then turns herself in for punishment, knowing that she'll meet her end via decapitation. With that scene as a prologue, it hardly appears strange that Agnes is thrilled to receive a severed finger as a wedding gift — a digit that's meant to bring luck for starting a family. But nothing in the way of good fortunes spring when she's soon away from her other loved ones, left alone in a woodland cottage as Wolf works by day, stuck navigating his disinterest in the bedroom each evening and frowned upon constantly by her new mother-in-law (Maria Hofstätter, Andrea Gets a Divorce). There's history to Franz and Fiala's screenplay, which draws upon real events, and the mood of despair that seeps from returning Goodnight Mommy cinematographer Martin Gschlacht's grey-toned frames sports a can-only-be-true bite to it. There's little sunshine shed on the imagery, or on the way that people treat each other — and there's even more terror in realising that the lines between this arresting picture's vision of the past, even as set within a deeply superstitious and puritanical community, and today are far from faint. The Devil's Bath streams via Shudder and AMC+. Hit Man The feeling that Glen Powell should star in everything didn't start with Top Gun: Maverick and Anyone But You. Writer/director Richard Linklater (Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood) has helped the notion bubble up before as early back as 2006's Fast Food Nation, then with 2016's Everybody Wants Some!! — and now he riffs on it with Hit Man. When viewers want an actor to feature everywhere, they want to see them step into all sorts of shoes but bring their innate talents and charm each time. So, Linklater enlists Powell as Gary Johnson, a real-life University of New Orleans professor who wouldn't be earning the movie treatment if he didn't also moonlight as a undercover police operative with a specific remit: playing hitmen with folks looking to pay someone to commit murder, sting-style. Johnson doesn't just give the gig the one-size-fits-all approach, though. Once he gets confidence in the job, he's dedicated to affording every target their own personal vision of their dream assassin. So, Powell gets to be a polo shirt-wearing nice guy, a long-haired master criminal, a besuited all-business type and more, including the suave smooth-talker Ron, the persona he adopts when Madison Figueroa Masters (Adria Arjona, Andor) thinks about offing her odious husband. Hit Man is as a screwball rom-com-meets-sunlit film noir, and an excellent one, as well as a feature based on a situation so wild that it can only stem from fact. Alongside charting Gary's exploits in the position and the murkiness of falling for Madison as Ron, it's also an acceptance that the kind of darkness and desperation needed for a person to want to hire a stranger to kill to make their life better isn't a rarity — if it was, Gary's services wouldn't have been needed. Linklater has been in comparably blackly comic but also clear-eyed territory before with Bernie, the past entry on his resume that Hit Man best resembles. The also-ace 2011 Jack Black (Kung Fu Panda 4)-led picture similarly told a true tale, and also sprang from an article by journalist Skip Hollandsworth. This time, Linklater penned the script with Powell instead of Hollandsworth, but the result is another black-comedy delight brimming with insight. Hit Man is a movie about finding one's identity, too, and Powell keeps showing that he's found his: a charismatic lead who anchors one of the most-entertaining flicks of the year. Hit Man streams via Netflix. Frida For almost a century, the art-loving world has peered at Frida Kahlo. Her self-portraits have stared steadfastly back. You can glean much about a person from how they commit their own likeness to canvas; whether donning a velvet dress, reclining in a hospital bed, standing between curtains, sitting opposite herself, or accompanied by a black cat and a monkey, Kahlo was unflinching. Exhibitions have adored her work, whether she's taking centre stage in her paintings or not, for decades upon decades. Creatives in other mediums have shown the same affection, be it via books (1983's Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo), biopics (2002's Frida, with Black Mirror's Salma Hayek as the artist; before that, 1983's Frida Still Life), operas (as first hit the stage in 1991) or ballets (Broken Wings debuted in 2016). 2024's Frida brings Kahlo back to the screen with a new approach that she'd surely approve of: making her directorial debut with this portrait of the iconic Mexican painter, editor-turned-director Carla Gutierrez (who spliced fellow biodocs RBG and Julia) lets her subject speak for herself and her own complexity. Actor Fernanda Echevarría (Ella Camina Sola) actually does the talking, because the treasure trove of materials that Gutierrez has gained access to — illustrated diaries, essays and letters, photos and footage, plus interview transcripts by Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo's Hayden Herrera — doesn't include Kahlo's voice. But the impact remains: this is Kahlo as she saw herself and as she was herself, as she always fought to convey when she was living. Drawing upon Kahlo's art, Gutierrez also uses animation by Sofía Inés Cázares (Daughter From Another Mother) and Renata Galindo (A la mala) to accompany Kahlo narrating her childhood, her medical studies, her life-changing accident at the age of 18, her marriage to fellow artist Diego Rivera, her other romantic liaisons, and her thoughts about all of the above and more. It's an inspired touch, and not just in breaking up the black-and-white archival visuals with dances of colour. Seven decades since her death in 1954, Kahlo still feels alive in her work, but the latest raw, rich and deeply resonant documentary to pay tribute to her finds its own way to express and honour that sensation. Frida streams via Prime Video. American Fiction Here's Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison's (Jeffrey Wright, Rustin) predicament when American Fiction begins: on the page, his talents aren't selling books. Praise comes the Los Angeles-based professor's way for his novels, but not sales, nor attendees when he's part of writers' festival panels. And even then, publishers aren't fond of his latest manuscript. Sick of hearing that his work isn't "Black enough", and also incensed over the attention that fellow scribe Sintara Golden (Issa Rae, Barbie) is receiving for her book We's Lives in Da Ghetto, he gets a-typing, pumping out the kind of text that he vehemently hates — but 100-percent fits the stereotype of what the world keeps telling him that Black literature should be. It attracts interest, even more so when Monk takes his agent Arthur's (John Ortiz, Better Things) advice and adopts a new persona to go with it. Soon fugitive convict Stagg R Leigh and his book Fuck are a huge hit that no one can get enough of. Because of the story spun around who wrote the bestseller, too, the FBI even wants to know the author's whereabouts. Deservedly nominated for five 2024 Oscars — including for Best Picture, Best Actor for Wright and Best Supporting Actor for Sterling K Brown (Biosphere) as Monk's brother Clifford — American Fiction itself hails from the page, with filmmaker Cord Jefferson adapting Percival Everett's 2001 novel Erasure. Wright is indeed exceptional in this savvy satire of authenticity, US race relations and class chasms, and earns his awards contention for his reactions alone. Seeing how Monk adjusts himself to a world that keeps proving anything but his dream is an utter acting masterclass, in big and small moments alike. As the film dives into the character's personal chaos, that's where Brown's also-fantastic, often-tender performance comes in, plus Leslie Uggams (Extrapolations) as Monk's mother and Tracee Ellis Ross (Candy Cane Lane) as his sister, and also Erika Alexander (Run the World) as a neighbour who is a fan of his — not just Stagg R Leigh's — work. Don't discount how excellent American Fiction is beyond its literary hoax setup, in fact; as a character study, it's equally astute. American Fiction streams via Prime Video. Fancy Dance Lily Gladstone might've won the Golden Globe but not the Oscar for Killers of the Flower Moon, but her exceptional resume shows every sign of more awards coming her way. Fancy Dance, the other movie to join her filmography in 2023 — it premiered at Sundance that year, but only makes its way to streaming worldwide now — is yet another example of how the Certain Women and First Cow star is one of the very-best actors working right now. Where Gladstone's time in front of Martin Scorsese's lens showcased her mastery of restraint, playing an aunt trying to do what's best for her niece and a sister searching for her absent sibling benefits from her equal command of looseness. Jax, her character, is a pinball. When she bounces in any direction, it's with force and purpose as well as liveliness and determination, but the choice of where she's heading is rarely her own. All she wants is to find Tawi (debutant Hauli Sioux Gray) and protect 13-year-old Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson, Three Pines), but set against the reality that law enforcement mightn't look as enthusiastically for a missing Indigenous woman — or treat one with a record attempting to do right be her family with consideration — that's far from an easy task. Writer/director Erica Tremblay hails from the Seneca–Cayuga Nation, where much of Fancy Dance is set. As Gladstone is, she's also an alum of Reservation Dogs — including helming two episodes — and so is experienced at depicting everyday reservation life with authenticity. Accordingly, her first fictional feature after documentaries Heartland: A Portrait of Survival and In the Turn takes a social-realistic approach in its details, especially when it's simply surveying the space and empathy that First Nations versus white Americans aren't given. Because Jax has a criminal history, child services deems her unfit to look after Roki, or even to take the teen to the powwow where the girl is certain her mum will attend to again steal the show in the mother-daughter dance competition; instead, Jax's white father (Shea Whigham, Lawmen: Bass Reeves) and stepmother (Audrey Wasilewski, Ted) are their choice of guardians. Fancy Dance's protagonist isn't one to simply acquiesce to that decision, and Gladstone makes both her fire and her pain palpable — and her tenderness for Roki, who is weightily portrayed by her Under the Bridge co-star Deroy-Olson, as well. Fancy Dance streams via Apple TV+. Infested For those firmly of the idea that there's no new stories in horror, just fresh takes on well-established sources of fear, Infested isn't here to change minds. Rather, the French movie is the latest poster child for what looking at a tried-and-tested concept anew can do, including while pairing it with up-to-the-moment social commentary. The genre staple here: spiders. When writer/director Sébastien Vanicek begins his feature debut — which he co-scripts with Florent Bernard (Meet the Leroys) — it's with a specific breed of the venomous eight-legged scurrying nightmares unearthed, literally, in a Middle Eastern desert. Within moments of emerging from the earth, the critters make the smugglers that are attempting to capture them pay. Horror fans should clock that Infested nods to classic ways to kickstart a scary flick from the outset, then, bringing The Exorcist's opening scene to mind. Prayer won't help the Parisian banlieue residents soon fighting arachnids for their lives, however, after Kaleb (Théo Christine, Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story) innocently purchases a new addition to his bedroom menagerie of exotic pets from a local convenience store. As he disagrees with his sister Manon (feature first-timer Lisa Nyarko) about selling the apartment that they've inherited from their mother, grapples with his grief, trades in sneakers to his neighbours to stump up a buck and is faced with small-minded prejudice just by stepping outside his door, what happens when Kaleb soon has a spider (and quickly, more than one) to track down? The critter he calls Rihanna was always going to escape, so havoc unsurprisingly eventuates. That's not to say that Infested goes through the motions. With energy and style as well as needling suspense, Vanicek makes a creature-feature equivalent of British alien-invasion gem Attack the Block, with shades of Les Misérables — the 2019 crime-thriller, not Victor Hugo-penned tale — and 2022's fellow standout Athena. He also gets his audience squirming. He filters his recognisable setup through welcome eyes. He knows how to make a heightened situation feel real to the deep distress of arachnophobics, and to get terror and tension scuttling through veins. And, he ensures that desperately rallying against forces that won't let you escape, in a setting that embodies that exact notion, proves both urgent and immediate. Infested streams via Shudder and AMC+. Stopmotion One of the most-haunting performances in Australian cinema belongs to Irish Italian actor Aisling Franciosi. She's acted in The Fall and Game of Thrones, I Know This Much Is True and Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter, and Jimmy's Hall and the upcoming Speak No Evil remake before and since, but her deservedly AACTA Award-winning work in The Nightingale — the second feature from The Babadook's Jennifer Kent, which follows a former convict's quest for revenge against a British officer in 1820s Tasmania — is stunning, searing and unforgettable. Also stellar half a decade later: Franciosi's turn in Stopmotion, which hails from the UK, has her playing the daughter of an animation genius and again tasks the immensely talented actor with confronting trauma. It's the product of a filmmaker in Robert Morgan with an uncompromising vision, too, with the English writer/director making his feature debut almost a decade after helming the D Is for Deloused segment in The ABCs of Death 2 with a movie that's never afraid to commit to its eerie chills, psychological thrills and macabre sense of wonder. Franciosi's Ella Blake has spent her entire life being told that her mother Suzanne (Stella Gonet, Breeders) is an unparalleled master at making the dead appear alive — because that's one way to see Stopmotion's eponymous art form. She's also spent much of her existence assisting rather than pursuing her own dreams, including after arthritis robs her mum of being able to use her hands to craft the exacting movements that their chosen medium requires. When the film begins, overwork has Ella fraying. Emotional cruelty has her internally raging, although she won't admit it. Suzanne has a project to finish, demanding her daughter's utmost commitment. When tragedy compounds her stress, Ella escapes into own creative vision instead, conjuring up a twisted fairy tale aided by a girl (Caoilinn Springall, The Midnight Sky) from an apartment neighbouring her new makeshift studio. Saying what Morgan unleashes from there is inventive, powerful and extraordinary — in live-action and animation alike — is an understatement. Stopmotion streams via Shudder and AMC+. Lumberjack the Monster Spanning big-screen releases, TV and straight-to-video fare, Takashi Miike has notched up 115 directorial credits in the 33 years since making his helming debut. Lumberjack the Monster isn't even the latest — it premiered at film festivals in 2023, which means that miniseries Onimusha and short Midnight have popped up since — but it is Miike back in horror mode, where 1999's Audition and 2001's Ichi the Killer famously dwelled. Here, the inimitable Japanese filmmaker and screenwriter Hiroyoshi Koiwai (Way to Find the Best Life) adapt the eponymous 2019 Mayusuke Kurai novel. Its namesake character also exists on the page in the movie itself, in a picture book. This is a serial-killer picture, though, and with more than one person taking multiple lives. A mass murderer wearing a bag over their head and swinging an axe is on a rampage, and lawyer Akira (Kazuya Kamenashi, Destiny) and surgeon Sugitani (Shôta Sometani, Sanctuary) aren't averse to dispensing death themselves. A clash is inevitable, not that the slick Akira expects it, or that his costumed attacker anticipates that their current target will survive his blade, sparking a cat-and-mouse game. Lumberjack the Monster doesn't just weave in fantasy boogeyman stories, offings upon offings, and characters with dark impulses going head to head. The police are on the case, giving the film a procedural layer, as well as Akira motivation to hunt down his assailant first. Science fiction also washes through, with brain-implanted chips and modifying human behaviour both for worse and for better part of the narrative. There's also a moral-redemption element weaved in. Consequently, it's no wonder that this tale is Miike joint. As well as being prolific, Miike loves making his resume the ultimate mashup. To name just a few examples, see: the yakuza action of Dead or Alive, superhero comedy Zebraman, titular genre of Sukiyaki Western Django, samurai efforts 13 Assassins and Blade of the Immortal, period drama Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, video-game adaptation Ace Attorney, romance For Love's Sake, thriller Lesson of the Evil, vampire movie Yakuza Apocalypse and the crime-driven First Love. Unsurprisingly, Lumberjack the Monster is specifically the engrossing — and bloodily violent — Frankenstein's monster of a flick that Miike was always going to relish making when splicing together such an array of elements came his way. Lumberjack the Monster streams via Netflix. The Kitchen He has an Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe for Judas and the Black Messiah. He was nominated for all of the above accolades for Get Out, and should've won them all then, too. His resume spans Skins, one of Black Mirror's most-memorable episodes, plus Sicario, Widows, Black Panther, Queen & Slim and Nope as well. But The Kitchen marks a first for Daniel Kaluuya: his first movie as a director. Hopefully more will follow. Co-helming with Kibwe Tavares — who also notches up his feature debut behind the lens after shorts including Jonah and Robot & Scarecrow, which both starred Kaluuya — and co-penning the screenplay with Calm with Horses' Joe Murtagh, the actor makes a stunning arrival as a filmmaker. The Kitchen's setup: in the year 2044 in London, with class clashes so pronounced that not being rich is basically treated as a crime, a man (Top Boy's Kane Robinson, aka rapper Kano) living in the titular housing development crosses paths with a 12-year-old boy (newcomer Jedaiah Bannerman) who has just lost his mother, with the pair discovering that they have no one but each other as they endeavour to find a way to survive. Robinson's Izy has bought into the social-climbing dream when The Kitchen begins. He'll do so literally if he can come up with the cash for an apartment in a swankier tower away from everything he's ever known within 21 days, a dream that he's been working towards at his job selling funerals. It's at the latter that he meets Bannerman's Benji, who has nowhere to live after his mother's death and no one else to turn to for help. The film's scenario is pure dystopia, reflecting the inequities, oppressions and realities of today as all great sci-fi should. Its intimate emotional core hones in on people attempting to persist and connect, as the genre's best always does as well. Accordingly, this is an impassioned and infuriated portrait of society's gaps as everyone watching can recognise, a nightmarish vision of what might come and a thoughtful character study. As directors, Kaluuya and Tavares excel at world-building, at bringing such rich detail and texture to the screen that viewers feel like they could step straight into its social realist-leaning frames, and at guiding affecting performances out of both Robinson and Bannerman (who adds to the feature's impressive first efforts). The Kitchen streams via Netflix. Orion and the Dark Learning to face life's chaos, or even just recognising that life is chaos, has a particular term when Charlie Kaufman is making movies and audiences do the confronting. Describing something as Kaufmanesque sprang from the screenwriter and filmmaker's stunning run at the end of the 90s and beginning of the 00s — the Spike Jonze (Her)-helmed Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, plus the Michel Gondry (Microbe & Gasoline)-directed Human Nature and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind — and it's stuck ever since. Joining the trio of Synecdoche, New York, Anomalisa and I'm Thinking of Ending Things as well, all three of which he penned plus helmed, is new family-friendly animation Orion and the Dark. A Kaufmanesque kid-appropriate flick? It exists, and it's wonderful. Feature first-timer Sean Charmatz (TV movie Trolls Holiday in Harmony) directs, and Emma Yarlett's 2014 children's book provides the source material; however, this account of a boy afraid of the dark who then meets the literal Dark (voiced by The Afterparty's Paul Walter Hauser) is a Kaufman affair through and through. Also, iconic German filmmaker — and one-time Parks and Recreation star — Werner Herzog (The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft) pops up. Loaned the vocal tones of Jacob Tremblay (The Little Mermaid) as a child and Colin Hanks (The Offer) as an adult, Orion is petrified of sleeping without the lights on. And, just like the kids in Monsters, Inc that are scared of creatures in their cupboards, Orion and the Dark's protagonist is frightened of something real. Dark exists and, alongside Orion's parents (The Fall of the House of Usher's Carla Gugino and Bull's Matt Dellapina), is exasperated by the boy's response to nighttime. He can't help taking it personally, in fact, then offers to assist. For one 24-hour period, as darkness falls around the world, he gets Orion to accompany him on his travels with friends Sleep (Natasia Demetriou, What We Do in the Shadows), Insomnia (Nat Faxon, Our Flag Means Death), Quiet (Aparna Nancherla, The Great North), Unexplained Noises (Golda Rosheuvel, Bridgerton) and Sweet Dreams (Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) to demonstrate that being distressed is unfounded. It isn't just Herzog's involvement and a joke about David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest that prove that this is a movie as much for adults as kids; amid its gorgeous animation, its understanding of existential dread is also that astute. Orion and the Dark streams via Netflix. Spaceman Should astronaut become a dictionary-certified synonym for melancholy? Cinema believes so. Its latest case in point comes via Spaceman, where life temporarily lived above and beyond the earth replaces gravity with loneliness and disconnection for Jakub Prochazka (Adam Sandler, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah). He's six months into a solo trip past Jupiter to investigate an eerie phenomenon in the heavens when this adaptation of Jaroslav Kalfař's 2017 sci-fi novel Spaceman of Bohemia kicks off. His quest is both time-sensitive and celebrated. South Korea is in close pursuit, he's frequently being told by Peter (Kunal Nayyar, Night Court), his contact at ground control — and Commissioner Tuma (Isabella Rossellini, Cat Person) happily keeps dialling him in for PR opportunities. As he soars through a strangely purple sky, however, endeavouring to fulfil his mission while pleading for maintenance approval on his crumbling ship, all that's really on his mind is his wife Lenka (Carey Mulligan, Maestro). Pregnant and left at home alone, she's no longer taking his fast-as-light-speed phone calls. Then Hanus (Paul Dano, Mr & Mrs Smith) scurries in beside Jakub, demanding attention — as a giant spider in space is always going to. For the best part of a decade now, seeing a live-action movie starring Sandler has meant heading to Netflix. In Australia, even Uncut Gems, his greatest-ever performance, arrived via the streaming platform. Alongside The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) and Hustle, add Spaceman to the list of such features that give their star worthy parts and would've made welcome cinema releases. It isn't new news that Sandler is an excellent actor in dramatic and/or weightier roles, or that his career is more than the Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore-style comedies that he first became known for. Spaceman director Johan Renck (Chernobyl) has cast him expertly, in fact, in this tale of isolation, arrested development, otherworldly arachnids and amorous entanglements. Sending Sandler on an Ad Astra-, First Man- and Solaris-esque trip proves contemplative and empathetic — and, amid spider's-eye flashbacks to his complicated childhood in the Czech Republic, time spent with Lenka on the ground and floating around the film's claustrophobic main setting, also brimming with raw and resonant emotion. Spaceman streams via Netflix. STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces To do justice to Steve Martin's life, career and impact requires more than just one movie. So, the engagingly and entertainingly in-depth, intimate, affectionate and informative STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces explores the comedian and actor's existence in a pair of parts. The first is subtitled 'Then', honing in on his childhood and early stand-up days. The second, aka 'Now', jumps in when he made the leap to movies in the late 70s, which is where The Jerk, Pennies From Heaven, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Parenthood and LA Story comes in — and, of course, includes his tours with his ¡Three Amigos! co-star Martin Short, as well as their murder-mystery-comedy TV hit Only Murders in the Building. The initial half gets Martin narrating, sharing reflections personal and professional as accompanied by archival footage aplenty (and ample tapes of his stints in front of audience). The latter section treats him as an interviewee, with his wife Anne Stringfield, Short, Jerry Seinfeld (who has had Martin as a guest on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee) and Tina Fey (who also co-starred with Martin in Baby Mama) among the talking heads. Behind it all is documentarian Morgan Neville, an Oscar-winner for 20 Feet From Stardom, as well as a filmmaker who is clearly taking his stylistic cues from his subject. That's noticeable in STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces' moniker, for starters — it throws caution to the winds of grammar and title formats just as Martin has to comedy rules, as the two-part film makes plain again and again. No matter how well-acquainted you are with Martin, insights flow freely in this fascinating way to spend three hours surveying the ways that he's made people laugh over decades upon decades, beginning with doing magic tricks and working at Disneyland on his school holidays in the 50s. Revelations bound through about Martin as a person, too; more than once, he notes that his life has felt as if it has played out backwards, and not just because he only first became a father in his 60s. Clips of his stand-up act, and the response to it in the 60s and 70s, are gold. Hanging out with the man who originally was only going to create Only Murders in the Building, not star in it, when he's bantering with Short are as well. STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces streams via Apple TV+. Am I OK? The question in Am I OK?'s title is indeed existential: is Lucy (Dakota Johnson, Madame Web) coping with being a thirtysomething in Los Angeles treading water emotionally, romantically and professionally? From there, more queries spring. Can she — or, more accurately, will she — shoot for more than not quite dating the smitten Ben (Whitmer Thomas, Big Mouth), right down to shaking his hand at the end of their evenings out together, and also for something beyond working as a day-spa receptionist while putting her passion and talent for art on the back burner? Is she capable of breaking free of a comfort zone padded out with spending all of her spare time with her best friend Jane (Sonoya Mizuno, House of the Dragon), including being so predictable that she always orders the same thing at their brunches at their favourite diner? Regarding the latter, she gets a push when Jane agrees to a lucrative transfer to London, splitting the pair for the first time since they were teenagers. Am I OK? is an arrested-development coming-of-age movie, then, and a film about being honest about who you are and want to be. Change comes for us all, even when we've built a cocoon to protect our happy status quo — and, at the heart of this romantic drama, change clearly comes for Lucy. She's forced to consider a path forward that doesn't involve solely being defined as half of a platonic duo. She also confronts the feelings for her coworker Brittany (Kiersey Clemons, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters) and the truth about her sexuality that she's never previously admitted. Am I OK? is a coming-out tale, too, but it treats Lucy's stuck-in-a-rut existence and at-first-tentative attempts to embrace how she truly feels holistically, seeing how life's passage inevitably shifts how we see ourselves. If the movie feels more honest than it might've been, that's because screenwriter Lauren Pomerantz (Strange Planet) spins a semi-autobiographical story. Also, the directing team of real-life couple Tig Notaro (2 Dope Queens) and Stephanie Allynne (who helmed Notaro's 2024 special Hello Again) — who met making 2015's In a World… — demonstrate the ideal light-but-delicate touch. Plus, Johnson and Mizuno exude genuine BFF chemistry, with the former again showing why fare such as this, Cha Cha Real Smooth, How to Be Single, The Peanut Butter Falcon, A Bigger Splash, Suspiria and The Lost Daughter, a diverse group of pictures, is a better fit than the Fifty Shades trilogy or a Spider-Man spinoff. Am I OK? streams via Binge. Looking for more viewing highlights? We picked the best 15 films that've reached cinemas in 2024's first half, too, plus the 15 best new TV shows of 2024 so far and the 15 best returning TV shows. We also keep a running list of must-stream TV from across the year so far, complete with full reviews. And, you can check out our list of film and TV streaming recommendations, which is updated monthly.
Approaching its 100th year in Darlinghurst, The Strand is set to have a huge makeover, with the longstanding corner pub being transformed into a multi-venue hotel, bistro and rooftop bar. Part one of this transformation is already complete, with the French bistro occupying the pub's ground floor now open to the public. At The Strand Bistro, you'll find all the trimmings of a classic French diner. Inspired by 1920s Paris, the venue boasts a sleek wood and gold fit-out with a menu that rolls out expected favourites from the region's cuisine. There's caviar service ($30-260), steak frites with bearnaise sauce ($38-46), creamy garlic mussels ($26) and a French leek tart ($24). It's a far cry from standard pub fare. The mussels are a real highlight, presented swimming in sauce, as is the steak tartare ($22), anchovy and caramelised onion pissaladiere ($8 each) and the roasted magret duck breast paired with grilled radicchio and plum ($42). There are also two midweek specials available for anyone looking to add some Parisian charm to their work week. The first is The Strand's le burger gruyere, served with fries and a beer for $30 for lunches Monday through Friday. Alternatively, come in on a Tuesday and you can order the duck pie with a glass of pinot for $40. As with the food, the drinks menu has undergone a similarly dramatic change. There is still a selection of standard beers on tap, but diners looking for something more adventurous can take their pick from the bistro's expansive Australian and French wine list, or opt for a selection from the aperitifs and cocktails. A 49-strong whiskey list is also on hand, featuring highlights from Japan, Scotland and Ireland. The bistro is set to be joined by a second new space inside The Strand. Head up to the William Street building's rooftop and you'll discover a casual al fresco bar. Expected to open during winter, the rooftop will facilitate snacks and cocktails with sunset views and DJ sets.
It's hard to talk about The Darkside. It's a collection of true Aboriginal ghost stories. It's the follow-up to Warwick Thornton's first feature, Samson and Delilah. And it's unlike any other feature film — in format, in feeling and in content. It's a bit like The Turning by Robert Connolly — an anthology of mini-films rather than a long narrative that arcs forward in a straight line. So you have to take it for what it is; there's no suite of regular characters who change or interact or grow or hug or learn together, there are no subplots, no tricks, no twist at the end, no irony, no winking cleverness, definitely no CGI. In 12 small chapters, an encounter with an Indigenous ghost is recounted, usually by an actor, straight into the camera in leisurely, long takes. It's a simple and honest approach to pure storytelling without the cinematic gimmicks we're used to. That makes The Darkside a film to approach with total trust and zero skepticism. Thornton put a call-out all over the country for people to tell their stories of interactions with spirits and the inexplicable. The fact that the stories are real is important. The fact that you may not believe in ghosts is unimportant. After all, you don't need to believe in zombies to enjoy a horror movie. I engaged less with the spiritual side of the film, and more with its sincerity and its unique Indigenous cultural perspective. Thornton's detours from the direct-to-camera thing are highlights: we watch artist Ben Quilty painting a symmetrical, roaring landscape with the spirit of a small, lost girl floating sideways (it is astonishing, and a rare insight into this painter's creative process). We see a long-limbed Claudia Karvan meets the rainbow serpent and dances into Massive Attacked oblivion. And we see quietly distressing archival footage of 1900s colonialists' anthropological studies into Aboriginal people, who were once thought of as the missing evolutionary link between 'legit' humans and apes. There are a few sneaky laughs and a few sneaky creeps. This new tide of Indigenous filmmakers — Thornton, Wayne Blair, Ivan Sen, Rachel Perkins — are speaking for themselves, making Aboriginal stories for all audiences, and showing that black culture cannot be compartmentalised into the past or into the margins of non-white populations: this is not Australia's heritage, this is Australia's present. This film may be in limited release in theatres, festivals and galleries, but it deserves to be seen by everyone. The Aboriginal ancestors of Australia are still here and they're living on in The Darkside. https://youtube.com/watch?v=AUQ-8MBFjjE
If the idea of health-conscious eating conjures up images of boiled vegetables, soggy tofu or a cut-everything-that-actually-tastes-good-out diet, you're doing it all wrong. In a city like Sydney, where a slew of restaurants are dishing up wholesome food in innovative, delicious ways, healthy eating is honestly as easy as (gluten-free) pie. That's good news for those among us who want to treat our bodies right without having to go through the hell of detoxes or cleanses. Yes, our bodies are our temples, but that doesn't have to mean days of exclusively ingesting kale smoothies. To help get you started, we've teamed up with American Express to pick out the best spots to go when you want a healthy feed with zero compromises on flavour. Whether you're looking for a new vegan spot or a place more suited to the healthy carnivore, we've got the place for you. From premier farm-to-table eating to some of Sydney's best sushi, these eateries make grabbing a healthy meal a total breeze. Grab your Amex and kiss that cleanse goodbye. Got yourself in another dining situation and need some guidance? Whatever it is, we know a place. Visit The Shortlist and we'll sort you out.
Weekends get a lot of credit for being the ideal time for side quests, personal plot development and just general mischief. Maybe it's the spare time suddenly afforded by those of us chained to the weekly 9-5. But it's time to diversify your weekly routine, no? So, Espolòn Tequila presents Midweek Mischief: a midweek exclusive takeover of a handful of venues in Sydney and Melbourne to do just that, running from now until the end of the month. Here's how, and where, to find it. Ramòn's Bell Spontaneity is a key ingredient in any good mischief-seeking quest, and when you're looking for a truly good time, you need to chase the unexpected. So, when visiting any of the venues participating in the Midweek Madness festivities, there's a sound you need to keep your ears open for. When the pink Ramòn's Bell tolls, it's time for your next round — it signals that limited edition Espolòn cocktails are pouring, so chase the unknown and go get your order in before the bar line is ten heads deep. Bones Blast It's not just bells that you'll need to watch for. At select moments throughout the night, you'll want to keep your eyes on the air for fluttering calavera-style bills and the pink Bones Blaster that they're being fired from. While it's not actual usable currency, select bills in the flurry are vouchers that, when found and presented to the bar staff, will land you a complimentary Espolòn voucher. Rowdy Raffles If the bell or bills let you down, or general awareness and speed of getting in line at the bar isn't on your side, then don't worry — you're not completely down and out from the chance to get some goodies. For the duration of Midweek Madness, the purchase of any drink with Espolòn Tequila will reward you with half of a raffle ticket. Should Lady Luck be on your side, your raffle stub will land you a bundle of Espolòn RTDs and merch before the night is through. Card Games Raffles aren't the only thing you'll get if you order something with Espolòn Tequila, you'll also be given a deck of cards and instructions for three Mexican card games, ideal if the conversation back at the table needs some extra stimuli. The games? Conquián, a Mexican spin on Rummy, Brisca, a game of trumps and trick hands, and Burro, where slow reaction times make you a real donkey. All the games are suitable for three players or more, and you can keep the cards after the night concludes. Tarot, Illustrations, Tooth Gems and Live Music Beyond everything we've mentioned so far, there are some offers of entertainment exclusives to certain destinations. In Sydney, the Light Brigade will play host to illustrator Belinda Xia, who will be drawing Calavera-style caricatures every Thursday this month. In Melbourne, CBD bar Spleen will host on-stage tarot readings every Wednesday, and Monday nights at Republica Economica could see you go home with a set of sparkly tooth gems. And of course, what would be a night out without live music? Across five of the participating venues, you'll find DJs and live bands performing every Wednesday or Thursday night throughout the month. Read on for the specific details. Midweek Mischief Near You Sydney Lazybones Lounge, Thursdays from 7pm Chuck Trailers CBD, Wednesdays from 6–11pm The Light Brigade, Thursdays from 5pm Melbourne Spleen Bar, Wednesdays from 9–11pm Republic Economica, Mondays from 5pm Mirror Mirror, Thursdays from 6–10pm Antique Bar, Thursdays from 9pm Grace Darling Hotel, Thursday May 14 and 28 from 9–11pm For more information on Midweek Mischief, visit the Espolòn Tequila website. Offer only available for 18+, remember to drink responsibly.
When winter hits Australia, it is easy to start daydreaming about long lunches in Italy, late sunsets in Spain, or a slow cruise along a coastline. But between travel disruptions and surging flight prices, the long-haul transit has lost its appeal, with many Australians looking closer to home for a holiday. So where are some of the other best places to travel to in winter? Within a single flight of our capitals are destinations we often overlook. Better yet, the currency conversions in these spots won't make you wince when the bill arrives. Whether you want to flee the cold or lean right into it, these ten destinations prove you do not need a cobblestone alley or castle to have a good time. [caption id="attachment_1099505" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Otautahi Christchurch[/caption] Christchurch, New Zealand Skip the Queenstown adrenaline for Christchurch's Copenhagen-style energy. This city balances modern art galleries with a cocktail bar and dining scene, all among leafy pockets. Hop in the car and drive to the Canterbury wine region for pinot noir, or to the nearby French settlement town of Akaroa to scout for the rarest and smallest dolphins, Hector's dolphins. Further afield, hike the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers or explore local hiking trails. It's a great base for a low-faff winter escape. [caption id="attachment_1099508" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Bna Ignacio, Unsplash[/caption] Singapore If you need to flee the cold entirely, Singapore stays a steady 30 degrees. June and July are frenetic peak months, but the city handles the crowds with brutal efficiency and high-powered air-conditioning. You will find most of the action inside museums and malls, where educational exhibitions compete with midyear sales. Catch the Singapore Dragon Boat Festival in June to watch teams battle to a drumbeat, and eat your weight in festive bamboo-wrapped rice dumplings — no matter how you travel, it's one of the best places to travel to in winter. [caption id="attachment_1099503" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Yuri Li, Unsplash[/caption] Hokkaido, Japan While the rest of Japan swelters in 35-degree heat, Hokkaido is a temperate 20 degrees. There is no powder snow in July, but you get a landscape of lavender fields and volcanic calderas. It is the best time to drive through Furano or hike around Lake Toya without the crowds. [caption id="attachment_1099507" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] User Pascal, Unsplash[/caption] Da Nang, Vietnam Vietnam is currently the destination of choice for anyone prioritising a budget holiday. While the north hits peak humidity in the middle of the year, Southern Vietnam, including Da Nang, is in the dry season, with temperatures sitting around 33 degrees, perfect beach weather. Lounge at My Khe Beach and visit the iconic Golden Bridge in the mountains to cool off when needed. [caption id="attachment_1099504" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Suleyman Coskun, Unsplash[/caption] Lombok, Indonesia Indonesia during the Australian winter is a classic for a reason, but skip the Bali crowds for Lombok. It is a hub for the surf crowd and is significantly more rugged and quieter than its neighbour. If you are not up for the three-day trek to the summit of Mount Rinjani, take a 45-minute walk up Bukit Merese for the best coastal views on the island. Between the pink sand beaches and the rice fields of Tetebatu, you'll soon see why it's one of the best places to travel to in winter, plus it's the high-value alternative to the typical Kuta transit. [caption id="attachment_1099502" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Johnny Africa, Unsplash[/caption] Fiji The dry season (May-October) brings trade winds that drop the humidity and clear the water, pushing underwater visibility to its peak. You will need a light sweater for the 22-degree evenings, but Fiji is at its most vibrant in this window. To skip the crowds, avoid the Australian and New Zealand school holiday rush. [caption id="attachment_1099510" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Emilie Ristevski[/caption] Tasmania, Australia If you actually want to lean into being a "winter person," in Australia, Tasmania is the closest you will get to a Scandinavian escape without the long-haul transit. Days are crisp and clear, perfect for disappearing into a remote forest cabin or a lakeside lodge with a glass of local pinot noir. You can spend your mornings hunting for truffles in the damp earth and your afternoons in a floating sauna on a lake. [caption id="attachment_1099501" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Erin With, Unsplash[/caption] Shanghai, China With the new 30-day visa-free entry for Australians, China is finally a frictionless option for a winter getaway. In Shanghai, the Australian winter aligns with the "hot season," where temperatures average around 31 degrees. While the humidity is high, the city handles summer with high-powered infrastructure. Spend your days in the climate-controlled galleries of the Shanghai Museum or the world's largest Disney castle at Shanghai Disneyland. [caption id="attachment_1099506" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Tourism Australia[/caption] Darwin, Australia While the rest of the country is shivering, the Top End is in its prime dry season glory. This is the NT at its most cooperative, with clear blue skies, zero humidity, and nights that will require a light jacket. It is the only time when you can swim in Litchfield's stone pools or hike the Larapinta Trail without the oppressive heat. Expect high-energy night markets in Darwin and dusty, spectacular sunsets in the Red Centre. [caption id="attachment_1099509" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] John Ko, Unsplash[/caption] Jeju Island, South Korea While Seoul's humidity can climb to 90 percent from June to August, Jeju Island stays around a steady 27 degrees. It is still humid, but coastal winds take the edge off the heat. The waters are clear, making it ideal for dolphin watching and water sports. Inland, dive into rainforests with waterfall hikes and explore Dongmun night market, a popular spot for street food. Lead image: Sheraton Fiji Want more travel inspiration? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get more guides just like this delivered straight to your inbox
Sydney has no shortage of beautiful neighbourhoods vying for attention. One gleaming gem in its crown, however, is Potts Point. Just east of the Sydney CBD, and close to the historic Kings Cross, the neighbourhood is a blend of heritage architecture, leafy streets, boutiques, bars, galleries and more. If you're looking to stay in the culturally-rich precinct for the weekend, Hotel Indigo Sydney Potts Point offers front-row access to the best parts of the neighbourhood. [caption id="attachment_1032369" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hotel Indigo Sydney Potts Point[/caption] With its boutique rooms, quirky interiors, and views overlooking the beautiful Rushcutters Bay, Hotel Indigo Sydney Potts Point situates you right in the heart of the action and luxe Sydney lifestyle. Here's how to plan your next weekend exploring the neighbourhood. [caption id="attachment_1032350" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Destination NSW[/caption] Begin With A Wander And Coffee Potts Point is a beautiful walkable neighbourhood that's dotted with some of the city's heritage 20th-century architecture. Enjoy an early morning stroll around the suburb to orient yourself and soak up the view. After a wander, head to Piña for a coffee and breakfast. Located down Llankelly Place's laneway, Piña is a buzzy local café that offers outdoor seating, so you can people-watch while sipping on your flat white. Room Ten, located across the road, is also a popular café destination for locals. Be sure to enjoy some breakfast and fuel up for browsing. [caption id="attachment_652937" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Potts Point Bookshop[/caption] Browse The Boutiques Potts Point is a mecca of independent stores and designers. Macleay Street in particular offers a range of boutiques for you to peruse. Potts Point Bookshop is a destination for any bibliophile. Macleay on Manning is another eclectic Potts Point staple that's been around for over two decades. Here you'll find design books, ceramics, candles and fashion to inspire. If you're looking to pick up some new threads, Locale features clothes by both local and international brands such as Elka Collective and King Csila. [caption id="attachment_654859" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Fratelli Paradiso[/caption] Long Lunch After window shopping (or dropping some cash), you've probably worked up an appetite. The Apollo is a Greek restaurant that specialises in the art of the long lunch, while across the road, Cho Cho San serves modern Japanese cuisine. If Italian is more your style, enjoy casual European dining at Fratelli Paradiso. Top off your lunch date with a wine from Dear Sainte Éloise. Also located in the laneway of Llankelly Place, the wine bar features over 350 bottles to choose from, all in a sophisticated Potts Point setting. [caption id="attachment_623519" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Dear Sainte Éloise[/caption] Bar Hopping Post-aperitif at Dear Sainte Éloise, you may want to continue enjoying the buzzy atmosphere of Potts Point. The neighbourhood has always known how to do nightlife. From its King's Cross heyday to the modern and glamorous cocktail bars, there's no shortage of venues to select from. If you enjoy your cocktails with a side of New York City sophistication, drop in to The Roosevelt. Jangling Jack's offers live music and a mean martini, while Dulcie's gives you a glimmer of Sydney's past with its underground cocktail parlour. [caption id="attachment_791596" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Ezra[/caption] Dine Like A Local Looking for a dinner spot for your Potts Point stay? There are several venues for you to head to after exploring the neighbourhood. Ezra serves bold Middle Eastern flavours with a Mediterranean twist in a relaxed setting. Its small plates are perfect for sharing with friends or your date. Meanwhile, Bloom is a café by day and an Italian-inspired restaurant by night. If you're craving some mouth-watering pizzas, check out Bloom's sourdough bases. If you're the traveller who likes to make the most of the hotel, Hotel Indigo Sydney Potts Point is home to Luc-San Restaurant. With a menu crafted by renowned chef Luke Mangan, the casual dining bar offers a blend of French and Japanese-inspired cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere. Plus, you can just hop the elevator back upstairs once finished. Easy. [caption id="attachment_1032368" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Hotel Indigo Sydney Potts Point[/caption] The Perfect Base When you're done wandering (and eating) for the day, Hotel Indigo Sydney Potts Point is ready to welcome you back. Home to stylish rooms with views across the city, and filled with nods to the neighbourhood, the boutique hotel offers a plush place to relax and gather your energy before more exploring tomorrow. [caption id="attachment_1034131" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Hotel Indigo Sydney Potts Point[/caption] Want to stay in the thick of it? Find out more about Hotel Indigo Sydney Potts Point here. Lead image: Hotel Indigo Sydney Potts Point
Working from home is a dangerous perk. Whether you're a freelancer or lucky enough to have a flexible full-time gig, using your couch as your office can end in disaster. You start with good intentions. You write a list. You send a few emails. You open that report that needs fixing. Then you open Facebook. Next, you check Instagram. And text back your mate to lock in drinks on the weekend. And then it's 11.15 am and you're no closer to the finish line. Sometimes, we need some fresh air to get the work done. Although a visit to the library can be productive (we recommend heading to the ones in Green Square or Surry Hills if you're in the area), there's something strangely motivating about working from a cafe. There's the soft hum of conversation, the friendly faces behind the bar and, of course, infinite quantities of caffeine on hand. If you're looking for the perfect spot to pull up a stool and hit to the keyboard, we've rounded up ten of the best Sydney cafes you need to visit with your laptop in hand.
Sorry Sydney. Melbourne is getting the country's first-ever 67 Pall Mall outpost, due to launch some time in mid-2025. This incredibly luxe, global private members club is set up exclusively for wine lovers who want to sample the very best drops out there. It's not for those of us hunting down $15 bottles of ok wine at the local bottle shop; it's for top-tier wine drinkers who are willing to spend big. The joining fee is $3500 per person (being waived for a limited time!) and the current discounted yearly fee for members who sign up early is $2300 on top of that. If this is beyond your spending limits, perhaps shoot this article over to your rich sister or that well-to-do mate who always shouts the good drinks — because they might be able to bring you in as a guest. [caption id="attachment_942250" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 67 Pall Mall Singapore[/caption] So what's the deal with 67 Pall Mall? Memberships for 67 Pall Mall are highly sought after around the world. The group has sites in Singapore, London, Switzerland, France and Hong Kong. The venues are known for being some of the most incredibly designed spaces, filled with the world's greatest wines that are served and chosen by accredited master sommeliers. A huge selling point for wine connoisseurs is the fact that 67 Pall Mall offers an unmatched selection of wines by-the-glass to members — 1000 to be exact — and sells them with very minimal markup. Most of these drops are never offered by the glass so it presents a rare opportunity. What's in store for Australia's first club? The first Australian site is touted for Melbourne's Spring Street. Spread across the top three floors of the 16-story building, the private members club will let folks sip on fine wines while taking in views across the Treasury Gardens, MCG and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Floor 14 will boast a wine bar and all-day dining room with impressive 270-degree views of the surrounding area. One level up, members will get access to private rooms and semi-formal dining experiences. And the top floor will feature an extensive champagne menu, a raw bar, open air balconies, and a secluded whisky bar. This is top-end luxury stuff that's hard to come by in Australia. 67 Pall Mall's CEO Grant Ashton says, "Melbourne was chosen above all other cities as our first outpost in Australia due to its close connection to independent and outstanding wine producers, allowing us to engage with a passionate wine culture and a knowledgeable collector community." Peter Gago, chief winemaker of Penfolds, whose wines are poured in 67 Pall Mall Clubs across the globe, also commented: "From London to Singapore, 67 Pall Mall has evolved into the world's premier wine Members' Club. Now, expanding to a prime site overlooking the MCG in Melbourne, it's truly remarkable. "Melbourne, a strategic gastronomic hub, with Yarra Valley vineyards and Mornington Peninsula nearby, will soon boast 67 Pall Mall as a wine mecca. It'll attract wine enthusiasts and curious minds alike, continuing the Club's tradition." 67 Pall Mall is set to open in mid-2025 at 85 Spring Street and is currently taking applications for new members (at heavily discounted prices). For more information, head to the club's website here.
Muggles, something very magical has landed in Melbourne. While the city has already had a wizarding hotel, a Harry Potter escape room, a magical train trip and a potion-filled rooftop bar, it seems our love for The Boy Who Lived is insatiable — because, the country's biggest Harry Potter shop has today swung open its magical doors and started welcoming in wizards, witches, goblins, centaurs and even mere muggles. Located on the basement level of Myer Melbourne on Bourke Street, the 500-square-metre store is home to a Platform 9 3/4 — so you can finally achieve your dream of heading off to Hogwarts, even if you're much older than 11 — and an Ollivanders with over 20 different wands. As the store is a collaboration between Myer and Warner Bros, it's also home to tonnes of official merchandise, homewares, apparel, stationery, toys and more. We're told there's a heap more 'photo opportunities' from The Wizarding World, and Lego, too — so bring your smartphone and a patient mate. JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child theatre production is still playing at Princess Theatre and you'll be able to snag tickets for that here, too, at a dedicated booth. And to celebrate the Harry Potter at Myer store's opening, the play's cast performed hit track 'Wand Dance' on Bourke Street at midday on Friday, October 18. Of course, the opening of the Harry Potter store coincides with the lead-up to another magical event (which is, mind you, only ten weeks away), so we're sure Myer and Warner Bros are hoping to collect a few galleons from muggles doing their Christmas shopping. But, we're not complaining — the more Harry Potter, the better. The Harry Potter at Myer store will be disappearing — evanesco! — in December 2020, so we suggest if you're located interstate, to book in a trip to Melbourne ASAP. Find Harry Potter at Myer at the basement level, Myer Melbourne, 314–336 Bourke Street. It's open Monday–Thursday 9.30am–7pm, Friday 9.30am–9pm, Saturday 9.30am–7pm and Sunday 10am–7pm. Updated on October 18, 2019.
If you're looking for a romantic getaway, there's no better holiday than an island escape. Between adults-only resorts, warm turquoise waters, quiet dinners and walks on the beach, an island holiday could be just what your relationship needs. Only a few hours flight from Australia lies Vanuatu, an archipelago of over 80 islands in the South Pacific Ocean. With warm hospitality and way of life (Kastom), untouched nature and rich cultural experiences, Vanuatu is a destination that'll help you to switch off and reconnect with your partner. Not sure where to start? We've found the top activities and accommodation options across Vanuatu's main islands: Efate, Espiritu Santo and Tanna so you can sit back and relax, ASAP. [caption id="attachment_1102509" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mele Cascades[/caption] Efate Efate is most tourists' introduction to Vanuatu as the capital city of Port Vila is located on the island. It features rugged coastline and a rolling countryside dotted with rivers, waterfalls and lagoons. Efate is the perfect base for a romantic getaway, with a selection of barefoot luxury accommodation options. The Havannah Vanuatu is a five-star adults-only haven designed for complete relaxation. It features waterfront villas complete with panoramic views across the water to neighbouring islands and a gourmet dining experience that will make you want to stay in the resort the whole week. Eratap is a boutique eco beach resort surrounded by pristine reefs and uninhabited islands. If you can't choose between adventure experiences or time in the resort's spa, Eratap blends both. Voted Vanuatu's Luxury Resort of the year for 2018, Tamanu on the Beach is a private and romantic accommodation option for your getaway. Situated on the coastline, the resort and spa offers Caribbean-inspired villas surrounded by shimmering white sand. The Moso (located on Moso Island just off the coast of Efate) is also a popular honeymoon destination. With 16 premium villas available and secret, secluded beaches at your doorstep, The Moso is another private accommodation option for your romantic getaway. [caption id="attachment_1102510" align="alignleft" width="1920"] Efate[/caption] Beyond the resorts, Efate rewards couples willing to explore. Spend a day learning local flavours and cooking techniques at Papayaloco Cooking School, or jump aboard a Sailing Vanuatu day trip to discover hidden islands and crystal-clear swimming spots. For dinner, the Trust the Chef experience at Mangoes Resort is a must. It's an intimate multi-course meal showcasing local produce and island-inspired flavours. Culture also sits at the heart of Efate. A visit to Ekasup Cultural Village offers insight into traditional Kastom practices and village life, helping you feel more connected to land, storytelling and community. Nature lovers are equally spoiled. Swim beneath the cascading waters of Mele Cascades, float in the electric-blue waters of the Blue Lagoon or spend the afternoon at Eden on the River. Couples after a little more adventure can take a day trip to Pele Island with Vanuatu Eco Tours or tackle the Nguna volcano hike for panoramic ocean views. Whether you're after some quiet downtime by the pool or adventurous memories made by exploring the island, Efate has everything you need for a romantic holiday. [caption id="attachment_1102511" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mele Cascades[/caption] Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (or simply Santo, as locals call it) is where Vanuatu really shows off. Famous for its beaches and dazzling blue water, the island is another paradise for couples who love the outdoors. Romantic stays here range from the secluded Ratua Private Island Resort, where you can enjoy private beaches, an overwater spa and organic dining, to the laid-back charm of a bungalow in Aore Island Resort. Barrier Beach Resort on Espiritu Santo is another stunning accommodation option with rooms overlooking the water and sundecks for you and your partner to kick back and relax on. [caption id="attachment_1102512" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Champagne Beach[/caption] When it comes to things to do, make the most of Santo's pristine beaches by visiting the powdery white sands of Champagne Beach and snorkelling around Aese Island for vibrant coral reefs and crystal-clear waters. The island also features famous freshwater Blue Holes, including Riri, Matevulu and Nanda for you to swim in. Feeling a bit more adventurous? Millennium Cave offers a full-day expedition through jungle, caves and rivers, while the Mount Hope Waterfall float is a gentler (but equally scenic) way to explore Santo's rivers. For some local culture, head to the charming fishing village of Port Olry, located on the East Coast of Santo, where long seafood lunches at Chez Louis Restaurant can stretch well into the afternoon. [caption id="attachment_1102513" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Riri Blue Hole[/caption] Tanna While Efate and Santo offer luxurious tropical romance, Tanna offers wild and dramatic adventure. The main drawcard of Tanna is Mount Yasur, one of the world's most accessible active volcanoes. Known as the "lighthouse of the Pacific", heading to Mount Yasur is an exhilarating holiday experience for any couple. [caption id="attachment_1102522" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mount Yasur[/caption] Accommodation on Tanna leans into the island's rugged charm. White Grass Ocean Resort & Spa pairs oceanfront relaxation with easy access to the island's major attractions, while Rockwater Resort is a hideaway that offers dramatic cliffside views, flower-draped exteriors, and total romantic seclusion. Like the other islands, Tanna is also deeply connected to Kastom culture, with villages preserving traditions passed down for generations. A visit to Imaio Cultural Village offers couples the chance to experience local customs, dance and storytelling. And, for a romantic hideaway moment, make a trip to Blue Cave, a hidden sea cave that glows when the sun hits it just right. [caption id="attachment_1102524" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Blue Cave[/caption] For couples seeking more than a flop-and-drop destination, Vanuatu offers the perfect balance of romance, culture and adventure. You can spend your mornings swimming in hidden lagoons, your afternoons learning about local traditions and your evenings dining beneath the stars, making it perfect for couples searching for the ultimate romantic getaway. Answer the call of Vanuatu. Learn more about the destination here. Image Credit: Supplied
If you've ever watched a David Attenborough documentary about the planet and wished it was sillier and stupider, to the point of being entertainingly ridiculous and ridiculously entertaining alike, then Netflix comes bearing wonderful news. Actually, the BBC got there first, airing history-of-the-world mockumentary Cunk on Earth back in September 2022. Glorious things come to waiting viewers Down Under now, however — and this gleefully, delightfully absurd take on human civilisation from its earliest days till now, spanning cave paintings, Roman empires, Star Wars' empire, 1989 Belgian techno anthem 'Pump Up the Jam' and more, is one of the best shows to join Netflix in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 so far. This sometimes Technotronic-soundtracked five-part series' beat? Surveying how humanity came to its present state, stretching back through species' origins and evolution, and pondering everything from whether the Egyptian pyramids were built from the top down to the Cold War bringing about the "Soviet onion". The audience's guide across this condensed and comic history is the tweed-wearing Philomena Cunk, who has the steady voice of seasoned doco presenter down pat, plus the solemn gaze, but is firmly a fictional — and satirical — character. Comedian Diane Morgan first started playing the misinformed interviewer in 2013, in Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe, with Black Mirror creator Brooker behind Cunk on Earth as well. Over the past decade, Cunk has brought her odd questions to 2016's one-off Cunk on Shakespeare and Cunk on Christmas, and 2018's also five-instalment Cunk on Britain. Then, in Brooker's Death to 2020 and Death to 2021, two annual looks back at life during the pandemic, Morgan played Cunk-like everywoman Gemma Nerrick — aka the spoof specials' average person among its comic experts. That's Cunk's remit as well. She poses enquiries and makes observations that academics on various branches of history, plus archaeologists, biologists, engineers and others, wouldn't expect to be asked by their peers or serious interviewers. In fact, they wouldn't anticipate being asked Cunk's questions by anyone, really, except perhaps very young children. "If you want to talk about Russian Soviet vegetables, we can," is one response that Cunk's incorrect queries garner, this one after accusations of mansplaining when she's told she likely means the Soviet Union. When she isn't uttering outlandish questions, she's often simply demanding OTT statements that'll help the show go viral, such as an exchange with another boffin where she requests a pithy soundbite stating that Jesus Christ was "the first celebrity victim of cancel culture". Or, in classic history doco style, Cunk is walking and talking, her eyes trained on the camera and scenic and/or important locales stretching out behind her — and, elsewhere, narrating while remaining unseen over the same type of images. Much of Cunk on Earth's hilarity comes from its take on the past, and on humanity, as well as the series' love of the ludicrous — as delivered with Cunk's dry, droll and unflappable demeanour (unless she's learning that Laika, the first dog in space, didn't make it home). She posits with the straightest of faces that the human brain is made of pipes, and that Beethoven's 'Symphony No 5' has lyrics that just repeat the word "dumb" over and over. She has thoughts on the worst Romans, in ancient times and now; connects hieroglyphics to emojis and likens mummification to Gwyneth Paltrow's spa treatments; and asks "was early man made out of the same sort of meat as us?" while then wondering if human flesh ever had a pork- or beef-like moniker. Morgan's performance is a marvel, and a perceptive portrait of couldn't-care-less arrogance, ignorance and certainty that plays as an easy-but-still-smart caricature of a growing attitude prevalent online today. With one character, she's as much of a canny and cutting comedic force as Sacha Baron Cohen has proven with Ali G, Borat, Bruno and the various figures in 2018 mockumentary series Who Is America?. Cunk, in all of her on-screen appearances, adopts the same basic format as Baron Cohen's alter egos — proposing the absurd to both parody and interrogate. Her throwaway comment about the pyramids being designed the way they are to "stop homeless people from sleeping on them" says plenty about society's treatment of folks doing it tough, and she skewers the overuse and misattribution of quotes by stating that Aristotle said "dance like no one is watching". As brilliant as Morgan's deadpan turn is, and as committed as the Inside No 9, Motherland and Mandy actor is, Cunk on Earth is equally reliant upon its interviewees. They each take their task seriously — the real-life experts aren't here to court laughs — but they're also willing to use Cunk's silly queries and comments as a jumping-off point. The question about the brain's pipes inspires a considered and accessible explanation of two different schools of philosophical thought, for instance. Often, Cunk's naive musings spark tidbits and corrections that do exactly what an Attenborough-style show like this sincerely and earnestly would: inform. Of course, for every enlightening answer offered — whether recounting something that's common knowledge anyway or diving deeper — Cunk on Earth has Cunk being Cunk. She asks about ancient Greeks before declaring she couldn't give a shit, segues off on tangents about her ex-boyfriend Paul to counter her panel of experts, and pronounces words incorrectly to humorous effect (even if nothing beats her butchering of Camelot in Cunk on Britain, which begets questions about King Arthur's semen production). A series like this is a masterclass in juggling, with everything from a Black Mirror-leaning skit about Beethoven resurrected inside a smart speaker to a recreation of a Dark Ages fray purely through sound also thrown in. Here, this very series is flat-out masterful — and tremendously funny. Check out the trailer for Cunk on Earth below: Cunk on Earth streams via Netflix. Images: Jonathan Browning.
The next dancefloor filler from 'Love Tonight' favourites SHOUSE is on its way, but it needs your help in the best possible fashion: by taking part in a huge music party that'll fill Melbourne's St Paul's Cathedral for RISING 2024. The Victorian capital's major annual arts festival has announced its first commission for next year, with Ed Service and Jack Madin overseeing Communitas — where hundreds of people will make tunes, then a single will be released. Free to attend, Communitas wants its participants to form a choir; however, not only using their voices but dancing and making sound vibrations will be on the agenda. Think of it as a huge gathering that's also a jam and a ritual, composing collectively and spontaneously as everyone parties and communes. There's no audience here, just folks joining in, connecting and chasing shared joy. The date to pop in your diary: Saturday, June 15, for what's certain to be a standout event on the full RISING lineup. Nothing else has been announced for the fest so far, but the entire program of art, music, installations and performances for its third year will run from Saturday, June 1–Sunday, June 16. Jon Madin is creating handmade instruments for participants to use, while Deep Soulful Sweats is in charge of the choreography. While the end result is something to experience, the single that springs will give everyone who is there a songwriting credit as it aims to share the fun beyond Communitas' one massive night. "Communitas is more than a musical event; it's a collective celebration of the human spirit, a symphony of shared joy that transcends boundaries," said Service. "We're thrilled to collaborate with RISING, and invite hundreds into the heart of St Paul's Cathedral to join us in forging connections through the language of music. Join us in the beat of drums, a chorus of voices, a mass of humanity, finally together in space and time." Getting its audience participating en masse, and not just passively watching, is one of RISING's focuses, including at 2023's fest when 11,000 people formed a kazoo orchestra. RISING 2024 runs from Saturday, June 1–Sunday, June 16 across Melbourne, with Communitas taking place on Saturday, June 15 at St Paul's Cathedral, Flinders Street. Head to the festival's website for further information and to register to take part in Communitas.
If you enjoy getaways of the pampering, wellness-oriented and soaking kind — you're in luck. Victoria is quickly becoming a hot spring haven, with future plans including a 900-kilometre trail of bathing spots dubbed The Great Bathing Trail to span along the Victorian coast. In the meantime, there are plenty of newly-opened and established favourites to explore. Regional Victoria boasts some of the best hot springs in the country, from geothermal pools overlooking stunning views to majestic spa precincts complete with restaurants. If you're looking to escape the city for some well-earned self-care, here are the natural hot springs and wellness destinations to put on your must-visit list. Recommended reads: The Best Spas in Melbourne The Best Heated Pools in Melbourne A Weekender's Guide to the Mornington Peninsula The Best Winter Day Trips From Melbourne
Australia's cost-of-living crisis continues to escalate, expanding into different areas of life and affecting needs and habits across the country and all walks of life. The latest victim is an Aussie tradition, as revealed by findings in The Great Aussie Debate, the pub shout has fallen on hard times as drink costs keep climbing. There might have been a time when shouting a round at the pub was done without question. But survey respondents are mixed on whether or not they would, or could, still commit. Of the 53,000 Australians who took part in this year's survey, only 22 percent said they shout without question. The majority response, at 44 percent, says yes, but only with close friends and loved ones. Then a notable 33.6 percent admitted they won't shout anymore, citing costs as the main issue. Of that group, most respondents fit into the Baby Boomer age bracket, with 44 percent of respondents aged 70 and older refusing the shout. Millennials were on the other end of the spectrum, 70 percent of whom replied yes to either shouting outright or with loved ones. [caption id="attachment_1018342" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dominic Xavier[/caption] The prices listed on pub menus reflect strained supply chains in the alcohol industry. According to Yahoo! Finance, 85 percent of Australia's beverage market share is controlled by either Lion (owners of XXXX Gold, Hahn, James Boag and Stone & Wood, to name a few) or Asahi (brands like Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draught, Great Northern and Pure Blonde). Both companies have stated intent to raise prices by 3.4 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively, citing transport, labour and material costs as the main reasons for the hike. That price increase at the supplier level will affect consumers in different ways, but last month the Australian Hotels Association advised venues to raise schooner prices for VB, XXXX Gold and Carlton Draught by 40 cents. And as costs continue to climb at the venue level, hospitality groups and owners are forced to increase prices across the board to break even, with everyday costs almost negating the Federal Government's February freeze on tax excise on Draught Beer. [caption id="attachment_1009223" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Blute Bar[/caption] Despite that, a spokesperson for Lion told Yahoo! Finance, "the brewing and hospitality industries have continued to experience cost inflation over the last couple of years, and market conditions remain difficult." "Lion is committed to striking the right balance between competitive pricing and recovering some of the costs passed onto us from our suppliers in a stubbornly high inflation environment."
Motherhood is often framed as a beginning — the arrival of a child, the start of a new chapter. Increasingly, though, psychologists and writers describe it as something closer to transformation. The word for it is matrescence: the physical, emotional, and psychological transition into motherhood, a process many now compare to adolescence in its scale of physical impact on the body. For Steph Claire Smith and Laura Henshaw, the concept offers a language for a shift they were already experiencing. The Melbourne-based founders of wellness platform KIC have spent the past decade encouraging women to rethink their relationship with movement, food and self-worth. Now, both navigating early motherhood themselves — Steph for the second time, Laura for the first — that philosophy is evolving again. Not in theory, but in real time. Henshaw first encountered the concept while reading Lucy Jones's book Matrescence before the birth of her son Atlas. It was (deliberately) the only book she read in preparation for motherhood, but it proved to be an unexpectedly grounding one. "Matrescence is essentially the transition into motherhood and how it affects our mind, brain and body," she explains. "I read the book before Atlas was born, and it helped me understand what was happening scientifically — how our brains actually rewire when we become parents." View this post on Instagram A post shared by @kicbump That neurological shift, she says, reframed experiences that might otherwise have felt unsettling. Understanding the science behind motherhood didn't make the process simple, but it helped her contextualise the intensity of it. "One thing that really stuck with me was intrusive thoughts," she says. "I used to have anxiety earlier in life, and I was prepared for that to come back when I became a mum. But reading about how your brain becomes more protective of your child helped me understand why those thoughts can happen. I could separate that from myself and think, 'Okay, my brain is doing this because it's trying to protect my baby.'" The book also made something else clear: that motherhood is rarely the singular, all-encompassing identity people expect it to be. Instead, it tends to expand a person's sense of purpose rather than replace it. Before Atlas arrived, Henshaw says much of her identity was tied to her career. Building KIC alongside Smith had been the defining project of her adult life, and she worried that motherhood might fundamentally alter that drive. "I think for a long time my main purpose in life was my career," she says. "I'd come to terms with that being a really big part of my identity, and I was actually quite scared of losing it." Instead, she found that motherhood didn't displace that ambition so much as widen it. "I still feel like that career person," she says. "But my purpose has expanded. It now also includes caring for Atlas and loving him. And something I didn't expect was contentment — that feeling is something I realise I'd never really experienced before becoming a mum." For Smith, mum to son Harvey (four) and Billie (nine months),who has spoken candidly online and on the KICBump podcast about the realities of parenting, matrescence has also reshaped her relationship with movement. Before children, workouts followed the sort of structured routines familiar to many in the fitness world — longer sessions, consistent programming and clearly defined goals. "My routine just can't look how it used to," she says. "Some days it's a five- or ten-minute Pilates class on the mat while Harvey's watching Bluey and Billie's crawling around on the floor. That's just the reality of this stage of life." At other times, movement becomes something shared rather than solitary. Recently, she went for her first run with both children in tow — Billie in a pram, while Harvey rode alongside on his bike. It was less about performance than about proving something to herself. "I just needed to know it was possible," she says. "Of course it won't look like that every time, but being able to do it once felt really empowering." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Stephanie Miller (@stephclairesmith) The shift has also expanded her motivations. While she still values the physical benefits of exercise, she is increasingly aware of the example she is setting. "It's really important to me that Harvey grows up seeing movement as a normal part of life," she says. "I was very into sports growing up and it gave me so much confidence and connection with other people. You can't mould your children into who you want them to be, but I do hope my relationship with movement sparks that curiosity in him." Henshaw's own relationship with movement is entering a new chapter as well. A committed runner who completed the New York Marathon in 2024, she found that pregnancy temporarily erased the desire to run altogether. "While I was pregnant I would see people running and think, 'I must be allergic to running,'" she says, laughing. "I just couldn't imagine doing it." Now, twelve weeks postpartum, the urge is slowly returning. That process has become part of the inspiration behind KIC's newest program, Run for Joy, an eight-week running challenge developed in partnership with New Balance that encourages participants to focus less on pace or distance and more on reconnecting with the enjoyment of movement."I love that the challenge is centred around joy," she says. "That's really what I want to rediscover in my own running journey." View this post on Instagram A post shared by KIC | Health and wellness (@kic) Hers will begin with the program's postpartum pathway, a physio-designed training plan that builds safely from zero to three kilometres over eight weeks. "[KICRun Postpartum] is designed for returning to running after having a baby," she explains. "Your body goes through so many changes, so it's really important to ease back into it in a safe way." The logistics of fitting exercise into daily life now require a little more planning than they once did. "I can't just head out the door whenever I want anymore," she says. "My husband and I are actually writing out the schedule together so that time is protected. Otherwise it's very easy for the days to just go by." That negotiation between ambition and adaptability is something both founders recognise from another part of their lives as well. Building a business in their twenties meant navigating uncertainty, setbacks and the constant pressure of public scrutiny — experiences that Smith believes have unexpectedly prepared them for motherhood."There are similarities between leadership and being a founder and motherhood," she reflects. "You face challenges and hurdles that force you to build confidence and resilience. In that sense, the experience of growing a business has definitely helped." At the same time, motherhood has reshaped how she approaches leadership itself. The arrival of children has sharpened her empathy and expanded her understanding of the experiences people carry into work and life. "It's given me more compassion and curiosity about what people might be going through," she says. "I think having a child just opens your eyes to so many different perspectives." In many ways, the evolution mirrors the trajectory of KIC itself. What began in 2015 (named 'Keep It Cleaner' at the time) as a 'clean' eating recipe e-book has gradually expanded into a broader wellness ecosystem encompassing movement, mindfulness, sleep, mindset and community. The philosophy behind it has always been that wellbeing should feel supportive rather than prescriptive, something that adapts alongside the lives of the people using it. Motherhood, in that sense, represents simply another season in the same ongoing journey. Wellness is no longer about rigid routines or aesthetic outcomes but about flexibility, resilience and the freedom to redefine what strength looks like at different stages of life. For Smith and Henshaw, that season currently includes prams, nap schedules and the occasional Pilates session squeezed into a living-room floor between episodes of Bluey. Yet the underlying philosophy that built their business remains intact. Movement should feel joyful, ambition should coexist with compassion, and growth — whether in business, identity or motherhood — is rarely linear. Enrolments for the New Balance x KICRun challenge are now open via the KICApp, with the first session beginning on Monday, 9 March. For more on KIC, visit kicwellness.com. Images: Supplied
For a lot of us, this year has been a time of reflection, much of which saw us reliving the glory days while we wait for life to get back to normal. For the arts lovers among us, that probably meant harking back to all your days watching live theatre, catching a panel discussion, head-bopping to live tunes and throwing shapes in sweaty mosh pits. Here at Concrete Playground we've been reminiscing about some of the standout gigs we've been to in past years and it's gotten us pretty damn excited for the new memories we'll be making come 2021. So, we've teamed up with Sydney Opera House to celebrate its reopening. The iconic Aussie arts venue is inviting you to share the most memorable moments you've had there — either within its walls or on its steps. Then, in January, a selection of the best moments will be projected onto the sails. All you need to do is share your favourite memory via the website, email or social media along with #MySydneyOperaHouse. We jumped on board, too, so if you need some inspiration, check out nine of our most memorable Opera House events over the past five years. Then, take your own trip down memory lane for the chance to have your moment splashed across the sails for all of Sydney to see. [caption id="attachment_793882" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Miku, Daniel Boud[/caption] DANCE RITES, 2019 It's only been running for six years, but the annual dance competition has become a firm favourite on Sydney's events calendar. First Nations dancers and musicians travel from north-east Arnhem Land, the Torres Strait and just down the road to perform in a temporary sand pit positioned by the Opera House steps in a celebratory exchange of cultures. Hundreds of performers compete for various prizes, and in 2019 the top gong was presented to local dance group Muggera, from NSW. You might know its founders Darren and Jax Compton from NITV's Move It Mob Style or Yabun Festival. Seeing Darren and Jax's group recognised at the city's iconic building was a moment of local pride. Emma Joyce, Branded Content Editor [caption id="attachment_793876" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Boud[/caption] SOLANGE, 2018 The force that is Solange was evident when she first took to the stage at Sydney Opera House. Sure, we knew it before, but not quite like this. The gig was visually arresting, with movement as much a part as the music. Combine that with the show's main songbook, A Seat at the Table, and its themes of race and womanhood and it was one hell of a gig. Each song bled into the next, making for one super-slick, seamless sonic delight, only to be heightened by the monochromatic costumes, perfectly timed dancers and dramatic red light swathed across the stage. Having been to both of Solange's sell-out Sydney shows, I left both astounded by her genius. The 2018 gig was a feast. The 2020 one? Well, it was one of the last big gigs Sydney saw this year, which holds a weight of its own. Cordelia Williamson, Branded Content Producer [caption id="attachment_793874" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Clare Hawley[/caption] 'IN THE HEIGHTS', 2019 Without trying to trivialise all the bad things that have happened this year, the delayed release of the In the Heights screen adaptation was a huge disappointment. But it made me all the more grateful for having seen the Blue Saint Productions tour for Sydney Festival. I only managed to nab standing room tickets, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise — because as soon as the show began, with the colourful mix of Latin rhythm, rap, hip hop and soul music, you wanted to be on your feet grooving along. It was captivating and joyful — and, at times, searing, as the characters deal with themes of loss, racism and identity. If I wasn't already convinced of Lin Manuel Miranda's genius from listening to the Hamilton soundtrack on repeat, witnessing this revolutionary show (and learning he wrote the first draft in college) was the final stroke. Melanie Colwell, Branded Content Editor [caption id="attachment_793877" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Keith Saunders[/caption] DAWN CHORUS, SYDNEY PHILHARMONIA CHOIRS, 2020 Despite 2020 being the year of minimal gigs, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Dawn Chorus is one that stands out from more than a decade of gig-going. The one-off concert took place on the Monumental Steps and, despite being at the crack of dawn (literally) and the pretty grim weather, it drew quite the crowd. I hadn't woken up that early for a while — 5.30am after a night out ain't easy for some. But, huddled for warmth on a summer's morning, we all stilled as soon as the a cappella voices echoed through the dark. It was a no-frill performance; pure vocals backdropped by the Opera House sails and using the naturally theatrical lighting of sunrise. I can't recall if the sun actually burst through the clouds at this moment but, as the choirs sang Dolly Parton's gospel-style ballad 'Light of a Clear Blue Morning', it sure felt as if it did. Cordelia Williamson, Branded Content Producer [caption id="attachment_793879" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Boud[/caption] TEN YEARS OF FUTURE CLASSIC, 2015 It was only five years ago, but 2015 feels like another age. Touch Sensitive's 'Pizza Guy' was on heavy rotation. Chet Faker was still chill with his stage name. And baby-faced Harley Streten was riding high off the back of his debut album Flume. It was an exceptionally good time for Redfern-based record label and artist management company Future Classic — the glue sticking these artists (and many others since) together. For Future Classic's ten-year anniversary, it was awarded prime real estate during Vivid Festival on the Western Broadwalk for an openair gig packed with partygoers and supporters. And what a way to blow out the candles. Sydney had recently adapted to its new lockout laws, but there was a sense that the party spirit couldn't be dampened. Emma Joyce, Branded Content Editor [caption id="attachment_793881" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Boud[/caption] KAMASI WASHINGTON, 2019 If you're a fan of the dizzying afrofuturist neo-jazz genius that is Kamasi Washington, then you'll probably already know how good his 2019 gig in the Opera House Concert Hall was — even if you weren't there. The LA tenor saxophonist has played at the House a couple of times, taking to the stage with his eight-piece band. Last year, it was all about Heaven and Earth; Washington's two-and-a-half-hour double album that gets to the belly of progressive improvisational jazz. The solos were some of the most exciting and raw musical experiences I've had, particularly the two drums. It was a mind-blowing, quasi-cosmic performance of freeform jazz, funk and hip hop. It left no question that Kamasi Washington is an artist in his prime — and of his time. Cordelia Williamson, Branded Content Producer [caption id="attachment_793875" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prudence Upton[/caption] 'BARBU', CIRQUE ALFONSE, 2017 When I went to see Quebec-based troupe Cirque Alfonse perform Barbu in 2017, I was, somewhat (naively it turns out) anticipating something akin to Canada's most famous circus export. But Cirque du Soleil this was not. It started fairly predictably — trampolining, trapezing, juggling — before descending into utter, yet carefully choreographed, chaos. There were four men roller skating while pulling each other along by their luscious beards. Someone dressed in a mirror-ball spinning around the circular stage inside a giant hoop. The two female acrobats performed a contortionist duet on a pole and an elder gentleman performed comedic skits in platform heels with his rodent accomplice. And most of this happened with the ensemble wearing barely anything — and, at some points, nothing at all — soundtracked by the increasingly frenetic stylings of a live three-piece band (a DJ/violinist, a guitarist and a whip-clad, corseted drummer). On the screens around the room, video footage played of naked people running through meadows. Despite it happening in The Studio, one of the Opera House's smallest spaces, it was impossible to know where to look. Barbu was astonishing in many ways, from the impressive strength of the performers to how each feat was more random, bizarrely erotic and death-defying than the one before. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before — or since. Melanie Colwell, Branded Content Editor [caption id="attachment_793878" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Daniel Boud[/caption] THE DEEP PURPLE POOL HALL, 2015 We can thank Ben Marshall for a lot of fond memories at Sydney Opera House over the years — including seeing Tame Impala perform by the steps, blissing out to Sufjan Stevens and chanting back at The Preatures' cover of The Angels' 'Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again?'. But one of the quieter wins of his reign as curator of Vivid Live was introducing a space at the House where we could get a well-made cocktail and shoot the breeze with our besties. In 2015, Marshall invited the team from Tio's and The Cliff Dive to create a pop-up bar in the Concert Hall's northern foyer with pool tables, soft furnishings and DJs. It's where we debriefed. Where we formed new friendships and solidified old ones. It's where we fell back in love with Sydney and its capacity to transform the city's landmarks in winter. Emma Joyce, Branded Content Editor [caption id="attachment_793883" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prudence Upton[/caption] PAUL KELLY AT THE FORECOURT, 2017 It doesn't get much more Aussie than seeing our country's bard performing at the foot of the Opera House. Paul Kelly's music is loved because it is Australia put into song. Though he was promoting his latest album Life Is Fine, his hits were what really entranced the crowd. He indulged us, too, playing songs like 'To Her Door' and Australia's Christmas anthem 'How to Make Gravy'. But, for me, it was 'When I First Met Your Ma' that made this one of the most memorable gigs in my young lifetime. What I deem to be one of the greatest love songs had me crying. But it wasn't just the tune, rather the sum of its parts — the setting sun, the glistening Sydney Harbour, the Opera House sails behind me and Kelly's live tunes sung unapologetically with an Aussie twang. At the risk of sounding completely sappy, it was a moment of true pause; one where you forgot about what's on next or that thing you messed up two days ago and you're just there — absolutely loving it. Cordelia Williamson, Branded Content Producer Relive your most memorable Sydney Opera House moments and share it via social media with the hashtag #MySydneyOperaHouse. Or, submit your entry to the competition via the website, email to myhouse@sydneyoperahouse.com. It can be a photo, video, drawing, a written story, an illustration or an audio — just get creative. Submissions close Thursday, December 31 2020. Top image: Hamilton Lund
Becoming something of a tradition around this time of year, Sydney Restaurant Group is kicking off its winter campaign by offering up to 50 percent off set menus at eight of its most popular restaurants. Slashing prices from Sunday, June 1–Sunday, August 31, now is the perfect time to get the crew together for a long overdue catch-up that leaves considerably more in your wallet. Up first, Postino Osterio's standout sharing menu is available for lunch and dinner on Monday–Friday for $59 per person. Think thinly sliced Blackmore wagyu tonnato, kingfish crudo, homemade egg linguini with charcoal-grilled Morton Bay bug, and beef cheek with bone marrow and pepper puree. Next, luxe waterside spot Ormeggio at The Spit is taking 50 percent off its Tribute to Australian Produce Menu, featuring a five-course feast and snacks. It's available every lunch and dinner until Monday, July 14, with reduced slots beyond this date. Over at Ripples Chowder Bay, its modern Australian cuisine will taste even more special after ordering a three-course set menu plus sides for $59 per person. Plus, it gets bonus points for a priceless harbourside view. Available for dinner Wednesday–Sunday and lunch Monday–Friday, you're welcome to BYO for $16 per bottle. For extra savings, sister venue Ripples Little Manly has three courses and sides for $49, served for lunch from Friday–Sunday and dinner from Thursday–Saturday. In Balmain, The Fenwick's historic stone building and old-world wood beams will house a three-course set menu plus sides for $59 per person. Get down for lunch on Monday–Friday or make a dinner reservation on Sunday–Friday. Then, from its perch above Elouera Beach, Summer Salt's three-course feed offers a rotating lineup of tantalising options, like wild mushroom ragu, crispy pork belly and handmade burrata. With BYO available for $16 per bottle, book for lunch or dinner on Tuesday–Sunday. When cosy Italian cuisine is the vibe, Noi has got you covered in Petersham. They're also serving a three-course set menu, including a side with your main, for $59 per person. Available across all services, BYO is $15 per bottle. Lastly, Chiosco by Ormeggio is making winter that much better with a premium four-course sharing menu plus bread for $59. This offering is available on weekdays for lunch and dinner, but just note that the venue is closed for renos from Monday, June 30–Thursday, July 17. Sydney Restaurant Group's winter discounts run from Sunday, June 1–Sunday, August 31 at various venues across Sydney. Terms and conditions apply — head to the website for more information.
There's a reason Australian hotels are sweeping global awards and landing on "world's best" lists. From chic inner-city stays to coastal retreats, the country's hotel scene spans dramatically different landscapes, experiences, and design approaches. Some properties stand out for their architecture and interiors, others for their setting, dining, or connection to the surrounding environment. Here are the Australian hotels to know about. More in the mood for an Airbnb? Explore our definitive guide to Australia's most extraordinary ones. Best hotels in New South Wales Capella Sydney Capella Sydney already has a spot on The World's 50 Best Hotels list. Housed inside a restored 1915 sandstone building in the CBD, the design pairs grand heritage bones with dark timber and custom Italian furniture. The rooms are massive, swapping sterile minimalism for deep-soaking tubs. Downstairs, the restaurant operates as a busy neighbourhood fixture, while the 20-metre indoor pool sits directly beneath a sunlit glass atrium like a Roman bathhouse. Book now. Halcyon House Inside a reimagined 1960s surf motel, designer Anna Spiro pairs bold, patterned textile wallpapers with salon-style antique art for a whimsical beach feel that never slips into a theme. On-site restaurant Paper Daisy leaks out toward the pandanus-fringed pool courtyard, while the surf break is just across the grass. It is small, tightly run, and entirely built around its beachfront position. Book now. Ace Hotel Sydney Holding a coveted Michelin Key, Ace Hotel Sydney anchors Surry Hills with cultural swagger. The former 19th-century brick factory completely skips corporate gloss, pairing its original raw patina with warm timber furnishings by Flack Studio. Rooms swap standard hotel amenities for vintage wool blankets, turntables, and acoustic guitars. Downstairs features all-day eatery Loam, while 18 storeys up, wood-fired rooftop restaurant Kiln keeps you plugged into the glittering city skyline. Book now. The EVE Hotel This characterful Surry Hills newcomer has already bagged a Michelin Key for its effortless neighbourhood charm. Built where a 1970s shopping mall once stood, the layout of The EVE Hotel centres around a gorgeous rooftop pool deck, while downstairs, European-style Bar Julius operates as a buzzy, morning-to-night local hangout. Expect fast and convenient service via QR codes throughout the hotel. Book now. Best hotels in Victoria The Ritz-Carlton Melbourne An established favourite in the CBD, The Ritz-Carlton Melbourne relies on flawless execution rather than passing trends. After checking in at the 80th-floor sky lobby, you are surrounded by dark walnut furnishings, black marble, and local First Nations art. Rooms look straight across Melbourne's grid and out to Port Phillip Bay on a clear day. Everything here is built for unwinding, from the light-flooded wellness pool to the Atria restaurant, which feels like it is floating directly over the Melbourne skyline. Book now. 1 Hotel Melbourne Positioned on the banks of the Yarra River, 1 Hotel Melbourne pairs premium luxury with strict biophilic design. The waterfront property incorporates the heritage structure of Goods Shed No. 5, using reclaimed industrial timbers, bluestone, and thousands of living plants to bring the outdoors inside. The zero-plastic filtration taps, organic linens, and field-to-table restaurant operate as a natural extension of the eco-conscious ethos of 1 Hotels. Book now. Lake House Daylesford Lake House sits on the edge of Lake Daylesford, where gardens, native bush, and still water frame the property on all sides. Rooms are spread across the grounds in lodges and suites, each with fireplaces, deep baths, and views that shift with the weather. The restaurant is the centre of it all, built around regional produce and a long-standing focus on seasonal cooking, while the spa sits just beyond the main buildings. Book now. The Langham Melbourne You don't stay at The Langham for raw concrete or avant-garde design; you stay here for its peerless geographical privilege and its commitment to classic hospitality. Sitting on the river's edge, this hotel is stately, dependable luxury that has anchored Melbourne's cultural precinct for decades. Inside, expect warm, amber lighting, deep armchairs, and plush, residential-style textiles. With the Arts Centre, National Gallery of Victoria, and the city's premier dining laneways sitting literally at your front doorstep, it remains one of the most reliable, front-row bases for experiencing Melbourne's creative calendar. Book now. Best hotels in Tasmania The Tasman, A Luxury Collection Hotel Commonly referred to as The Tasman, this hotel on Hobart's waterfront is stitched together from heritage buildings and a sharp contemporary addition. Depending on which room you land in, you will either overlook the harbour or lean into the building's 1800s bones. Downstairs, speakeasy Mary Mary and Italian restaurant Peppina operate as proper neighbourhood fixtures, while the rest of the city's top dining spots are a short walk away. Book now. Saffire Freycinet When it comes to luxury, there is no more iconic name in Tasmania than Saffire. This property, part of Luxury Lodges of Australia, sets the absolute benchmark for barefoot luxury, matching all-inclusive estate dining with guided wilderness encounters, including an on-site Tasmanian devil sanctuary. It expands its footprint in late 2026 with Saffire Jewel, a three-bedroom private villa tailored for small groups and families seeking total isolation. Book now. Stillwater Seven While the name Stillwater is synonymous with Launceston's pioneering fine-dining scene, the seven boutique suites upstairs are an editorial triumph in their own right. Hidden within the eaves of a 19th-century flour mill on the Tamar River, this Cumulus Studio-designed stay completely skips traditional hotel layouts. The spaces lean into moody, residential warmth, contrasting the massive, rough-sawn original Oregon timber beams with locally crafted blackwood furniture, custom wool throws, and locally sourced, fully stocked larders. Book now. [caption id="attachment_720486" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Tourism Western Australia[/caption] Best hotels in Western Australia The Ritz-Carlton Perth Anchoring the edge of Elizabeth Quay, this tower pairs serious architectural intent with a layout that maximises the bending Swan River views. The interiors trade stale luxury for native jarrah timber and thousands of pieces of handpicked desert sandstone. Because the ground-floor dining spaces and the breezy rooftop cocktail bar open directly toward the water, the hotel feels entirely connected to the waterfront precinct. Book now. Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef Hotel This isn't a hotel in the traditional sense. As the only fixed accommodation allowed inside Cape Range National Park, Sal Salis operates as an exclusive eco-camp. The layout swaps typical hotel corridors for 15 off-grid eco-tents, while the nightly rate covers all-inclusive, chef-led dining. Meals are a communal affair, highlighting local fish and seasonal produce over sunset canapés. This is Australia's premier base for swimming with whale sharks, where the outback red dirt meets coral reef just steps from your private deck. Book now. [caption id="attachment_694714" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Sean Fennessy[/caption] Best hotels in Queensland The Calile Hotel The Calile Hotel treats Fortitude Valley like a Mediterranean resort. The layout centres around an outdoor pool courtyard with striped umbrellas and private cabanas. Rooms swap typical hotel carpeting for cork floors, raw concrete, and custom brass details that open onto breezy balconies. Downstairs, the precinct's restaurants, including Greek restaurant Hellenika, and boutiques spill directly onto James Street, keeping the property plugged into the neighbourhood. Book now. Mondrian Gold Coast If you've picked up a design or lifestyle publication lately, you've already seen the buzz surrounding Mondrian's grand Australian debut. Snagging a global brand footprint and dropping it directly onto the Burleigh esplanade was a bold play, but the execution succeeds by grounding its international identity in highly localised, sculptural architecture. Guest suites maximise panoramic headland views alongside oversized configurations that double the standard footprint of an inner-city stay. Between the bio-wellness therapies at CIEL Spa and the wood-fired menus on the third floor, it introduces a European-reminiscent energy that is shifting luxury on the coast. Book now. Qualia Even with a wave of flashy new ultra-luxury island openings across the country, Qualia holds its position at the peak of the Whitsundays by relying on timeless, site-specific architecture. Occupying a private 30-acre peninsula on Hamilton Island's quiet northern tip, the layout splits its focus between the southwest-facing Leeward Pavilions, which harness the theatrical Whitsunday sunsets, and the north-facing Windward Pavilions, boasting private infinity plunge pools that look directly out to sea. Book now. Best hotels in South Australia The Louise, Barossa Valley The Louise pairs a world-class wine country silhouette with a sharp, contemporary design pedigree. Freshly reimagined by Baillie Lodges, the property trades standard vineyard accommodation for private, gated suites featuring private courtyards, outdoor rain showers, and original local artwork. It also operates as South Australia's ultimate destination-dining pilgrimage, with the on-site Appellation restaurant, pairing hyper-local, estate-grown menus with the region's absolute finest vintage pours. Book now. Southern Ocean Lodge The undisputed icon of Australian coastal luxury, triumphantly rebuilt with an even sharper architectural eye. Rising from the limestone cliffs of Kangaroo Island, the lodge features a dramatic, sweeping design that maximises cinematic views of the wild Southern Ocean. The rooms feature premium native timbers, sandblasted stone, and bespoke furniture crafted by local artisans. The all-inclusive stay connects you completely to the island's raw wildlife, paired with a sea-to-plate culinary menu. Book now. Eos by SkyCity Adelaide's riverfront gets an injection of pure, unapologetic glamour here. This tower is a glossy, multi-sensory playground, layering golden-hued glass, Italian marble, and rich velvet tones. The suites are smart-controlled sanctuaries featuring private balconies tailored for sunset champagne. From the sun-drenched wellness deck to the signature restaurants pulsing downstairs, it's a high-energy stay engineered for indulgence right in the city's revamped entertainment heart. Book now. [caption id="attachment_810984" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Visit Canberra[/caption] Best hotels in the ACT Ovolo Nishi Ovolo Nishi treats Canberra's cultural precinct like a canvas for radical design. The iconic, geometric timber grand staircase sets a moody, sustainable tone, swapping corporate marble for reclaimed materials and brutalist concrete. Inside, the hotel rooms are designed around curved textures, vintage furnishings, and original contemporary artwork. Downstairs, Monster Kitchen and Bar is for guests and locals, while the shores of Lake Burley Griffin sit just a short walk or bike ride away. Book now. Jamala Wildlife Lodge Even for Australians familiar with Canberra's famous animal encounter, the sheer architectural cleverness of Jamala deserves a re-evaluation. Rather than a singular lodge, the property is split across three distinct zones: the African-inspired uShaka Lodge, the glass-fronted Jungle Bungalows, and the elevated Giraffe Treehouses. It trades kitsch for genuine luxury, integrating massive viewing panels directly into lounge walls and bedrooms for prime wildlife viewing. Add in private, expert-led twilight tours and sundowners on the jetty for the ultimate experience. Book now. [caption id="attachment_900572" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] George Apostolidis for Tourism NT[/caption] Best hotels in the Northern Territory Longitude 131 This is arguably Australia's ultimate splurge, and that legendary price tag means expectations are sky-high before you even arrive at Yulara. Longitude 131° justifies the premium by acting less like a hotel and more like a private, curated expedition. The canvas-topped tents are insulated sanctuaries, trading basic glamping vibes for custom brass fixtures, local ceramics, and automated blinds that reveal Uluru from your pillow. Because every bespoke tour, fine-dining menu, and open-bar pour is entirely wrapped into the stay, the logistics vanish, leaving you to experience the desert with absolute clarity. Book now. Sails in the Desert This multi-winged resort wraps itself around a massive, gum-shaded swimming pool that provides an essential oasis after a morning spent exploring the base of Uluru. The rooms trade standard outback minimalism for spacious, balcony-fronted sanctuaries decorated with authentic Indigenous design elements. With multiple on-site dining venues, an impressive gallery showcasing regional dot paintings, and easy access to the resort's sunset viewing platforms, it remains a thoroughly reliable, upscale gateway to the Red Centre. Book now. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence our recommendations, but they may earn us a small commission. For more information, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy. Images: Saffire Freycinet, The Eve, 1 Hotel Melbourne, Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef Hotel, The Calile Hotel, Southern Ocean Lodge, Ovolo Nishi, Longitude 131; supplied.
The 2026 snow season is almost here, and the mountains might just be calling your name for the first time. Yet it's no secret that heading to a top Aussie ski resort will put a dent in your wallet. Fortunately, the crew at Vail Resorts has a new promo designed to introduce adult rookies to the slopes, whether they got caught up in the Winter Olympics or love the idea of a summit-side apres-ski experience. Available for the first time, the Epic Beginner Bundle, priced at $499, offers three flexible days of beginner lift access, lessons and rentals at Perisher, Falls Creek and Hotham. Plus, if your debut on the slopes turns out to be such an unforgettable experience that round two can't wait, purchasing the bundle means you can access discounts on additional lift tickets, lessons and rentals for the rest of the 2026 season. And if that's not enough, you're also given an early incentive to lock in a 2027 winter escape, with Epic Beginner Bundle buyers scoring themselves 20 percent off a 2027 Epic Australia 4-Day Pass or an even more impressive 2027 Epic Australia Pass. The latter includes access to over 80 world-class overseas resorts, so you can take your newfound obsession to Canada's Whistler Blackcomb, Japan's Hakuba or Switzerland's Verbier 4Vallées, with loads more to choose from. "We created the Epic Beginner Bundle to make it easy for adults to learn how to ski or snowboard and set them up for future success," said Nathan Butterworth, General Manager of Perisher Resort. "We've seen that three days on the slopes with expert instruction is often the moment it clicks — when guests build confidence and start to fall in love with the sport." Equipped with the pass, you'll have everything you need to get acquainted with the slopes. That includes an adult group lesson, top-notch rental gear and lift access to green runs. While newbies should probably be steering clear as it is, just know that intermediate and advanced terrain isn't accessible with the Epic Beginner Bundle. Instead, you can spend three straight days, or three days spread throughout the season, learning at your own pace on the easy runs at various resorts. "By combining lift access, lessons and rentals into one bookable experience at an accessible price, our goal is to make it easier to say 'yes' to learning something new and provide benefits that make it easier to keep coming back for years to come," says Butterworth. Vail Resorts' Epic Beginner Bundle is now available for $499. Head to the website for more information. Like what you see? Subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter to get stories just like these straight to your inbox. Images: Supplied.
Bondi has the kind of natural wonder most places in the world can only dream of, so it's no wonder store owners are so environmentally aware. Located on the immaculate boutique-lined Gould Street, Bondi Wash is proudly peddling Australia's best botanical scents. Founded by local Belinda Everingham, Bondi Wash has shampoos, body washes and cleaning products all made with native fragrances. Since opening, the store has expanded beyond scents to cater to all corners of the beach house with natural dog wash, organic, ocean-friendly surface cleaners and a host of skincare products perfect for sensitive skin. Images: Josh White.
Callan Park, the beloved Inner West parkland that used to be home to a psychiatric hospital, is looking at a bright future thanks to the planned upgrades from Greater Sydney Parklands, which have now been finalised. The short version? More native greenery, a cafe, timings for the tidal baths and upgrades on the iconic Bay Run. The 61-hectare parkland on the harbour shore of Lilyfield, once known as Callan Park Hospital for the Insane, has been earmarked for upgrades for a while now. There's a major focus on maintaining the park's history, and adding new spaces and opportunities for the 300,000-and-counting residents who live nearby. The park's iconic green spaces are home to a lot of introduced species, and one of the sticking points for Lilyfield locals was the need to restore native bushland in the park. A special focus has also been placed on the area's cultural significance and First Nations archaeology, especially on the Parramatta River foreshore, which will be maintained with oversight from First Nations custodians. [caption id="attachment_892353" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Greater Sydney Parklands[/caption] The big issue for anyone who's been following this story is the park's strict ban on commercial activity, which could be scrapped entirely. Historically, only not-for-profit activity has been allowed in the park, but the management plan includes turning one heritage building into a cafe, which has been debated even at the parliamentary level. According to the ABC, the plan was brought before the NSW Parliament, where the Minister for Planning and Public Space, Paul Scully, said the public now expects commercial sites in public spaces (right now, you have to head to Balmain Road for the nearest food and drink options). While the Member for Balmain, Kobi Shetty, was concerned the changes undermine the park's identity, Liberal MP Mark Hodges argued that limited commercial activity "can, and should, play a role in supporting the long-term maintenance and activation of these spaces." [caption id="attachment_1103250" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] DoNk3y via Flickr[/caption] Whether visitors want coffee close by or not, the majority want to run. In 2023, half of all visitors to the park were on the popular Bay Run path. Now, those regulars (about 5,000 a day) can expect less cars, dedicated lanes for pedestrians and cyclists, more shade and a cooling off spot at the previously announced tidal baths. As confirmed last month, those baths are still on track to begin construction in June, adding a new spot for harbour swimming to the area sometime this summer. There's also a planned community sports facility in an old repatriation ward, which will add to the sports fields and facilities that are already used year-round. Visitors will also be able to enjoy an extra 1.6 hectares of open green space after nine derelict buildings are removed, giving you even more space to enjoy one of Sydney's most popular parks. Community consultation on the plan, which you can read in full here, is open until Sunday, June 21. Lead image: Warwick King via iStock
There are very few Australian artists who could announce a new album in the same week they represent their country at Eurovision and have it feel entirely on-brand. Delta Goodrem is one of them. The Sydney-born singer-songwriter has officially confirmed Pure, her eighth studio album, will arrive on 6 November via Universal Music and her own Better Now Records/Electrola imprint — her first record since leaving Sony Music Australia after a 20-plus year relationship. "I am so excited to be stepping into this new chapter and joining forces with Universal Music," Goodrem said. "It marks the beginning of a powerful new home for ATLED Records — something I am incredibly proud of." The album has been years in the making. "Pure is an album I've been creating and living through over the past few years, and it truly feels like a return to myself and the heart of who I am as an artist," she said. "It holds some of my biggest singalongs, my most vulnerable moments, and brings in all the elements I love most in music — from intimate classical piano pieces to uplifting cinematic anthems." Speaking on the Rolling Stone Uncut podcast ahead of the announcement, Goodrem was characteristically clear-eyed about her independence. "I've always been somebody who's steered their own ship," she said. "I'm just wanting to make a record that I love and I want to take on the road and perform for people." The announcement arrives as Goodrem heads to Vienna to represent Australia at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, which kicks off this week — making this one of the more loaded diary entries in recent Australian pop history. This article first appeared in Rolling Stone Australia. Images: Supplied
