Life Blocks

Airlie Beach, AustraliaThere is nothing beneath you but blue. Then the reef rises to meet you.A sheltered bay on the edge of a national park island — less famous than the outer reef,…Experience on Life Blocks →Renmark, AustraliaAustralia’s highest-scoring whisky is made in a room you’re not allowed to photograph.The rule sounds like a joke until someone explains it.Experience on Life Blocks →Ōtsuki, JapanThe destination isn’t what moves you – it’s how you get thereThe slower rail line to Mount Fuji reveals more than the destination ever could.Experience on Life Blocks →Hiroshima, JapanThe most photographed memorial in HiroshimaThe Hiroshima Peace Memorial Cenotaph frames an eternal flame and a reflective pond in a direct line with…Experience on Life Blocks →Broadbeach, AustraliaThe holiday inside your Gold Coast holidayYou’re already on holiday. That’s the strange part.Experience on Life Blocks →Nusa Penida, IndonesiaNecker Island style for the price of a Bali lunchAfter a private car up a goat track of a road through rubbish-strewn scrub on Nusa Penida, you…Experience on Life Blocks →Paris, FranceYou know what a Michelin Star means; but a Michelin Key?The Michelin Key launched in 2024 — and most travellers still haven’t heard of it.Experience on Life Blocks →Nusa Penida, IndonesiaThe Sea Dragon Doesn’t Apologise for the Indian OceanFast boats, open swell and no government rescue. This day trip delivers — but deserves more preparation than…Experience on Life Blocks →Eildon, AustraliaCypriot postcard dining in Australia’s High CountryIn Eildon’s original picture cinema — now a fully fitted live music venue with a Mediterranean kitchen attached…Experience on Life Blocks →Causeway Bay, ChinaJade rabbits watch from Wan Chai’s drifting lanternsAncient folklore collides with Ziggy Stardust inside the city’s most whimsical designer sanctuary.Experience on Life Blocks →Melbourne, AustraliaWarrigal greens and quandong sweeten the river airA two-tier pontoon displays native produce and floral textures along the Southbank promenade.Experience on Life Blocks →Noosa Heads, AustraliaWhere sand meets strangling rootsHidden ridges protect a soul; ancient trees and fern gullies offer refuge while the sea horizon breaks through…Experience on Life Blocks →Broadbeach, AustraliaBroadbeach breathes rhythm against the morning swellCouples and cyclists share the renovated ribbon as spring tides smooth glassy breakers into silence.Experience on Life Blocks →Airlie Beach, AustraliaMeet you at Sorrento’s at four. Watch what happens next.Airlie Beach Marina has grown from a small-boat harbour into a serious superyacht destination. Sorrento’s on the waterfront…Experience on Life Blocks →New York City, USAThe Most Unexpected Room in New YorkThe Shibui Spa at the Greenwich Hotel is the last thing you expect to find in Manhattan —…Experience on Life Blocks →Tokyo, JapanRenting a Universe by the HourNobody at the front desk asks why you’re here tonight. In Kabukicho’s manga cafés, that’s the entire point.Experience on Life Blocks →Wangaratta, AustraliaAt 10,000 feet, control is something you learn to lose firstThe moment an aircraft stops flying is the moment you start understanding it.Experience on Life Blocks →Sherbrooke, AustraliaLyrebirds mimic chainsaws in the fern gulliesThe drive east reveals a stand of mountain ash where dappled light compels silence and slow steps along…Experience on Life Blocks →Melbourne, AustraliaArgentinian fire burns quiet amidst Southbank glamourA custom parrilla grill and rare wine list define this riverside eatery’s culinary depth.Experience on Life Blocks →Hardy Reef, AustraliaStep off the boat. Enter another world.Every photograph you’ve seen of the Great Barrier Reef has undersold it.Experience on Life Blocks →Bright, AustraliaFive townhouses. Five Australian artists. One alpine town.In the heart of Bright’s food, wine and distillery precinct, a respected local builder’s wife had an idea…Experience on Life Blocks →Sanctuary Cove, AustraliaAustralia’s Superyacht CultureOn the Gold Coast’s northern waterway, Australia’s superyacht culture has quietly built itself a serious home.Experience on Life Blocks →Luganville, VanuatuIs paradise still paradise… if the cocktail never arrives?At Aore Island Resort, something subtle is shifting. The clink of ice in a cocktail glass? Still there.…Experience on Life Blocks →Helsinki, FinlandWhat happens when the wilderness moves into the city… and refuses to leave?At Lapland Hotels Bulevardi, Helsinki’s most polished boulevard becomes a kind of northern echo. No snowdrifts on the…Experience on Life Blocks →

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Cook Islands Ika Mata with taro chips

Rarotongan (Cook Islands) Ika Mata is an effortless dish but is a great refreshing snack or side. While ultra simple in ingredients and direction, it is a true reflection of using natural foods in abundance within the Rarotongan lagoon environments.

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Haupia (Hawaiian Coconut Pudding)

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Haupia – Hawaiian Coconut Pudding

Suppose you're perhaps going a little troppo with all the Australian state lockdowns but would prefer a tropical holiday instead. In that case, we're here to provide the next best thing - a series of tropical desserts and lighter dishes to lift your mood, starting with this easy to make, flavoursome Haupia (Hawaiian Coconut Pudding).

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Meet our writers

  • Jamie Durrant

    Jamie Durrant

    EDITOR/PHOTOGRAPHER

    Photographer, publisher and long-time travel storyteller, capturing Australia and the world through a distinctively local lens.

  • Megan Chalmers

    Megan Chalmers

    CHEF CONTRIBUTOR

    The artist behind Essentials' gourmet recipes. Megan styles her plates with finesse to match the perfected flavours.

  • Belinda Jackson

    Belinda Jackson

    INFLIGHT & TRAVEL

    An award-winning travel writer exploring the world’s most inspiring destinations, from boutique stays to global airlines.

  • Richard Cornish

    Richard Cornish

    FOOD EDITOR

    One of Australia’s most respected food writers, bringing insight, curiosity and a passion for the people behind it.

  • Ivan Durrant

    Ivan Durrant

    CONTRIBUTOR

    Painter and contributor. ‘Art is about being human. We can survive without it but we need it to live.’

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Travel isn't always about where you go, but how it makes you feel.
Jamie Durrant