Each week a New Zealand expat based in Queensland gives the inside word on their region. This week we hear from service station owner Paula Nash.

Scale new heights and jump for joy, the school holidays are here again. Sarah Ell suggests activities that kids will love no matter the weather.

Here are five of the best family-friendly cafes praised by our parent pals.

A new twist on the Kiwi staple of meat and three vege..

The Block NZ 2012 winner Ben Crawford and his girlfriend Kylie are building their dream home. Share their proud moments and pitfalls every week.

Mix and match your prints for a splash of style.

Brushes and rollers are ready for action.

A successful first-date location allows you to see if there’s a spark with someone, in a casual setting with flattering light.

Comedian Urzila Carlson talks about gender-bending life experiences, the delights of toilet humour and learning to man up.

Take advantage of the daylight hours and make hay (or compost) while the sun shines.

Cookies and tarts – a sure sign that autumn’s here.

I really like the actress Celia Imrie, one of the stars of the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel movies. So I wanted to like her debut novel, but I struggled at times.

Growing up, my family and I spent a lot of time in the ocean. My fondest memories were jumping in the old light blue (Smurf-coloured) Holden ute with mum and dad, ready to head down the line to the rugged west coast beach of Mokau.

New Zealand is a special place for Los Angeles-based blues singer Beth Hart. She's been here a handful of times on promotional trips, once supported British singer-songwriter David Gray and lived in Auckland for a six-week stint with her husband.

Ewan McDonald visits an island where humans come a distant last to wildlife.

Fashion takes inspiration from the past this season with a vintage ladylike feel.

It's St Patrick's Day on Tuesday and this year more than any other, beer drinkers are spoiled for choice when it comes to choosing how to celebrate.

Seeds saved from your best crops will look after you in seasons to come.

Indian novels tend to be sprawling, colourful and chaotic affairs. Em and the Big Hoom is some of those things but not all.

Clams and tuatua make a seafood banquet all the better.

The living room pod has finally arrived.

An Auckland Arts Festival show doesn't just blow things up, blow things over, and blow people's minds, it proves that science isn't just for boys.

Take to the streets with a spring in your step.

i never read the reviews on those dining-out sites. The opinion of a random, usually anonymous, stranger just doesn't cut it for me.

Charles Bradley is the ultimate soul survivor. The kid raised in a Brooklyn housing project, who endured years of hardship and who moonlighted as a James Brown impersonator, found fame as the so-called "Screaming Eagle of Soul" at the age of 62.