No comments about PeriplusTravel Map Queensland Australia Regional Map (Australia Regional Maps) (Australia Regional Maps).

5 comments about Culture Shock: Australia (Culture Shock! Country Guides: A Survival Guide to Customs & Etiquette).

1. An American friend, five years in Australia, lent me her 1999 version of this book. I've been here two years, from England, so I found it interesting. I agree that it has been inconsistently updated, and the Australia of 1991 seems to have been different in many ways to the Australia of 2004. Also, life in Perth must be different to that in Brisbane, where I live, 2,700 miles away. For a start, they play Australian football (and soccer) whereas Rugby League is the main game here.

   It would be highly surprising if the author's views/perceptions and mine tallied 100%, but in fact they do quite a lot. I was interested, for example, in her correct perception of sport being a good conversation topic, not least at dinner parties. Coming from a somewhat bourgeois part of the south of England, I found that a most refreshing change.

   One problem the book has is that it sets out to be amusing (successfully) and serious: on tax for example. For the serious side, some of the drier books on living and working in Australia, or emigrating here, are better.

   Finally, I found myself liking the author and her style. She comes across as pleasant and with a light touch.




2. This book does contain some interesting information on Australian culture, and on what makes Aussies tick. But I found the writing style to be particularly annoying; even painful. The Australia book available within the "Culture Smart" series, while offering less detail than this book, is far easier on the eyes and mind.



3. "Culture Shock! Australia: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette" by Ilsa Sharp is a guidebook to living in Australia. This book is not a travel guide, but rather a guide to the people and culture of the country. The main audience for this would be someone who intends to spend a lot of time in Australia, but it can also help business travelers, and even tourists.
   
   I know someone who just moved to Australia from Asia, and from what I have been able to determine, this guide appears to be fairly accurate. I am looking forward to my visit there, which should also give me a better idea on just how accurate it is. Be sure to get the latest edition, as it was updated in 2005 and it is clear from my reading that there were substantial updates.
   
   The author, Ilsa Sharp, migrated to Western Australia, and that personal experience clearly was a big asset to her in putting this book together. I did sense a bit of a bias towards Western Australia in her examples. To be fair, I was more interested in Eastern Australia, and so the bias may have been in my reading as well. In either case, she certainly does try to cover most of the country, and if I were to pick the one area where there was the least amount of information it would be Tasmania.
   
   The book is broken down into 10 sections. These include a quick introduction, followed by basic information. Next is a discussion of the people, the society, and moving there. It then gets to some more specific areas such as food, entertainment, slang, and business. It then finishes with an A to Z section covering many basic facts about the country, some key figures both historical and modern, and it even has a short culture quiz.
   
   As someone from the United States, this book is probably not as useful to me as it would be to someone coming from a much different culture. Not to say that Australia is just like the United States, but clearly the two are much closer than people from other countries from Asia and the Middle East. Even so, I think the book was fairly useful in understanding some of the societal differences between the two countries. This is one book that is easy to recommend.



4. First off, it's difficult writing any book that generalizes about a country and culture so hats off to the author for trying. The info is probably more relevant to someone going to Western Australia 5-10yrs ago. I moved from Vancouver, Canada to Sydney, Australia to live and find the info mostly outdated. Some of the cultural conflicts such as misunderstanding what it means to be invited for tea are more applicable to the older generation. Sydney is a fast paced city of 4million. The younger generation, under 40, are very similar to people in Canada/US/UK. If you're coming from a Western english speaking nation, I don't believe this book is going to be your assimilation bible. If you're coming from a non-Western culture, I think you'll be better off reading Australian newspapers and watching Hollywood movies. You'll get along fine in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane - never been to Westcoast but I assume Perth or any other modern Australian city will be the same.



5. I have not recieved the book at all
   
   regards
   Bhaskar Poojary

1 comments about Trout Fishing: A Guide to New Zealand's South Island, 5th Edition (Fly Fishing International).

1. Now in a fully updated and significantly expanded fifth edition, Trout Fishing: A Guide To New Zealand's South Island by conservationist and expert angler Tony Busch is a thoroughly detailed guide to over 400 fishing spots and some of the best trout waters to be found. General tips and tactics for seasoned fishermen, black-and-white photographs, maps, and in-depth knowledge and love of the fine trout fishing waters to be found on New Zealand's South Island characterize this handy and expertly written resource. As enjoyable to read for armchair fishermen looking to experience an impression of New Zealand's waters as it is for dedicated enthusiasts who live or plan to vacation there.

5 comments about From Alice to Ocean: Alone Across the Outback.

1. I bought this book while on a visit to Australia in 1990 and read it on the flight home! I was completely entranced by this woman's tenacity and determination to complete her often difficult but life expanding trek ALL ALONE! I had lost this book in a fire in 1993 and felt like I had lost a friend - I am soooo happy to see it is back in print! The incredible photos that accompany the journey are worth every penny!



2. This book breaks all the boundaries - combining Photography, digital media and narrative to capture the wild spirit in us all. Makes me want to buy and camel and set off!



3. The combination is a winner because of:
   * the stunning page and a half photo spreads of Australian desert and scenes showing Robyn's trek with the camels
   * engaging narration by Robyn that shows you the beauty, fear, boredom, and other feelings that accompany her on the months of solitude crossing 1700 miles of outback Australia
   The photographer represented National Geographic, and the photos have that look the magazine readers expect. Interesting panoramas, the light playing on the spinifex, the wrinkled face of an Aboriginal tracker, the otherworldly red dirt, the camels silhouetted against the skyline.
   Robyn represented only herself and undertook the trek for reasons even she did not understand. Seeing her develop and expand her thinking during the days and weeks and months on the track makes this a fascinating book.



4. Although large in size, and filled with breathtaking photographs, this book includes so much more than the regular "picture book". Robyn's thoughtful words make you feel as if you are traveling right along with her and her famous camels. The story is engaging and heart-wrenching; and the reader runs through the same emotions that Robyn feels at each leg of the journey, from the tragedy of loss to the jubilation of completion.
   
   Beautiful and introspective - and very highly recommended.



5. I first saw a picture or two on some program to download desktop photos. I followed some info cuz I was captivated by the Alice pictures. I discovered Robyn's journey, story and this story book. I considered buying a used one, but decided to get a new one. I just love the whole of it and so appreciate the author not only taking the journey but sharing it with the rest of us. Even if some of the sharing was against her original plans. Thanks Robyn. Your journey touches deeply in inexplicable ways.

5 comments about Waltzing Australia.

1. This is such a wonderful and compelling book! As a nature photographer, I have a sense of adventure and a love of the outdoors that is shared by Cynthia and expertly conveyed to the reader along the way. I was amazed at her journey and felt I was right there with her. I found myself reading slower during the last few chapters of the book as I didn't want the journey to end. This book really brings to life the wonders of Australia and I admire Cynthia's adventurous spirit and joy in discovering all that nature has to offer.



2. This is a compelling tale of adventure and dreaming. Cynthia takes us on a journey and climbs her 'Everest'. Many Australians make similar journeys to Cynthia- it is still a challenging country to travel through. Yet as we share her travels something becomes clear; there is one thing that most of us cannot do.... and that is to write about our adventures and dreams in such an engrossing way. This is what marks this travel book apart from other similar tales; it is a piece of literature. As an Australian I could almost smell the scent of eucalyptus leaves coming out of the page. (This is the highest praise an Australian can offer!)



3. I have been to Australia three times, from East to West. At least I thought I had been to Australia until reading Cynthia Clampitt's Waltzing Australia.
   
   Waltzing Australia is Cynthia Clampitt's record of a long trip she took to the world's largest island, the driest continent - the only nation that is a continent. Through her record we share this trip. This book is not your normal travel story...
   
   First of all Cynthia didn't go to Australia for vacation. She didn't go for altruistic reasons, to help the locals. And she damned sure didn't go for business opportunities.
   
   She had an obsession.
   
   Cynthia quit her job and off she was for five months in Australia. Starting out in Queensland she headed in a westerly direction then looped back around and headed East until she got to Sydney. And she soaked up everything. Nature. History. Geology. People.
   
   Waltzing Australia is a well written account of this trip, written almost as if it were a lengthy personal journal (just over 500 pages). But I say "almost as if" this were a journal because Cynthia didn't just keep track of her experiences - she kept track of the essence of this large, dry continent.
   
   When reading Waltzing Australia I got the distinct feeling that Cynthia Clampitt and I have lots in common. Well, then again, maybe not. I have traveled the world but have done it in a much different way. Cynthia started with Australia out of college. I started with the Navy after high school. Cynthia moved back into "normal life" in the United States. After a few decades, I, on the other hand, am still overseas. Cynthia chose a location to know well and chose to live frugally. I chose to build my businesses around an area so that coming and going were up to me. But we have that wanderlust in common. In reading her opening chapters I understood this obsession of Clampitt's. I had the same obsession growing up in rural Arkansas, wanting for the life of a world traveler. And of all the enchanting places that I have been, whether I lived there or only visited, I share the sentiment of the bittersweet description Cynthia Clampitt gave of leaving Australia.
   
   It will always still be there...



4. I never knew what exactly enticed my daughter when in her late teens she was determined to travel for six months to Australia exploring a country that is called "Down Under." (If you are wondering why it is called "Down Under," it is because it is the only continent with a permanent population that is entirely below the equator and thus it has been given this name.) After all, wasn't she supposed to follow her friends and pursue the usual trip to Europe? However, after reading Cynthia Clampitt's Waltzing Australia, I well understood why this mesmerizing and enthralling country would lure anyone to explore it from one end to the other.
   
   Clampitt is a freelance writer specializing in food, travel, and history. As her bio mentions, the life she now leads began with a dream that seduced her away from her corporate career and led her to Australia. In fact, since her dream took hold, she has traveled to China, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Thailand, Mexico and several other countries. There is an old saying that no matter what happens, travel gives you a story to tell and this is exactly what Clampitt does as she permits us to relive with her an amazing six month twenty-thousand journey circling and crossing Australia.
   
   Beginning in Queensland, readers follow Clampitt through the Northern Territory, Western and South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, Canberra & Environs, New South Wales, Sydney. Using comprehensive notes jotted down in log format, she effectively chronicles the pulse of her escapades and gives her readers one hell of a ride as she describes what she saw, smelled, heard and felt pertaining to some of the more interesting colorful and historical venues.
   
   Just as an artist would have a sketch- book handy, Clampitt traveled with her journal recording intriguing scenes, descriptions of people and places. For example, the famous Great Barrier Reef is brought to life where we learn that it is 1,250 miles long and supports more animal life per square mile than any other region in earth. In addition, as mentioned, "it is the largest structure ever built by living creatures, constructed over thousands of years by tiny coral polyps." Clampitt leaves her readers with stunning and breath taking images when she describes the reef with its tiny, brilliant yellow fish darting among the channels of enormous, green brain corals. The giant clams, some of which measuring four feet across, turning on their mauve, purple, and green mantles to collect food.
   
   With her keen sense of time and place, Clampitt has grasped the essential ingredients of good travel writing avoiding a common pitfall that some travel writers yield to in that they merely recycle factual information. However, such is not the case with Clampitt who manages to elegantly mix her own personal observations and musings while throwing in a little history and geography. Moreover, as we tag along with Clampitt, we notice how she places us firmly on the ground she describes. In other words, we perceive and experience the same venues as she does utilizing all of our senses in order to enjoy this alluring and captivating learning experience.
   
   As for the people she met along the way, although she was travelling solo, she never felt alone due to the fact that Australia never gave her much opportunity to feel lonely.
   
   Wherever she went, there was always someone to talk to, even Aborigines. Clampitt recounts when she stopped to photograph some beautiful pink flowers, a white-haired Aborigine with limited English stopped and told her about oleanders and picked a branch for her. They even managed carry on a conversation where she discovered various other plants.
   
   Waltzing Australia is a splendid travelogue that delivers in spades and anyone contemplating a trip to "Down Under," or even armchair travelers, would be more than satisfied with its abundance of intriguing revelations. By the end of the book, I felt as if I actually sat beside Clampitt as she explored beautiful Australia.
   
   Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor Bookpleasures



5. Cynthia's book wasn't at all what I expected when I first picked it up. I thought it would be a nice, light travelogue of some time she spent in Australia. Boy, was I surprised.
   
   First, this was no travelogue - it's an intense love story between an American city-dweller and the vast continent of Australia. It starts with an infatuation from afar, and develops over the course of five months into a deep life-long love and respect.
   
   Along the way, we are close witnesses to Cynthia's discovery of every nook and cranny of large cities, small towns, and hundreds of miles of outback. Each new experience is described in gorgeous detail from the joy of feeding flocks of wild parrots to the agony of sleeping on a bus. Each page is overflowing with adventures, and we get to meet each city, animal, plant, and person along with Cynthia as if we're right there with her.
   
   "Waltzing Australia" is deeply emotional and personal. It's an inspirational read about a strong woman living out the dream of a lifetime, and we are very fortunate that she decided to take us all along.

No comments about Uluru: Australia's Aboriginal Heart.

No comments about The Death of Captain Cook: A Hero Made and Unmade (Profiles in History).

5 comments about Maui for Dummies.

1. Loved getting a bit of "history" along with what to do and what to see! You'll get a better feel for the island with this book. Very detailed (right down to the best roadside stand to buy fruit at on the road to Hana). We love this book....it will be our "bible" when we go...



2. This is a pretty decent book, with some good information and tips on the island. The post it not tabs are nice to mark information you want easy access to. Some of the icons (heads up, kid friendly etc) are also helpful. Beware - there is some word for word duplication with the Frommers book.
   
   For anyone traveling to Maui, this is a decent resource. But the ultimate is Maui Revealed.



3. The book seems a couple of years old (although it says it's published in 2005). There are certain places that have moved or closed. However, the general idea of the book is to familiarize you with Maui which I thought it fulfilled the overall purpose. There are great tips which I corroborated with locals including good snorkeling spots, best snorkel gear, best luaus, restaurant, shops, etc. It lists out the places you SHOULD go while in Maui and suggests what to avoid and refuse. This is my first Dummies travel book and I plan to use future Dummies along with the current year's Frommer's for updated info. By the way, Cakewalk in Paia....no longer there.



4. I have both this book and Revealed and by far I recommend the Revealed book. This book is ok to use as a companion guide with Revealed, but I did not find it nearly as helpful. I mainly bought the Dummy book to see if I could get a different point of view about sites, restuarants, etc. and I did in some cases, but I will be using the Revealed book as my main guide when I go back to Maui this year.



5. I am a regular visitor to Maui and I got this book cheap at a library book sale because I am always interested in anything to do with Hawaii. It was surprisingly informative and accurate. The author has even covered some 'local' restaurants (unlike other guide books) she's now blurted to the world, but also missed a few, so some of my favorite finds are safe.
   I liked the very detailed, personalized info on hotels etc: 'the owner leaves notes in your room saying things like bang the top of the TV twice if the reception is bad'.
   This is an author who clearly enjoyed her research. I gave her four out of five only because she spills the beans on my favorite hideaway restuarant. Now I'll never get in!!!

1 comments about The Last Men: Journey Among the Tribes of New Guinea.

1. It is an incredible book. When the book came to my hands, what most surprised me what its size and incredible pictures.
   But the reader can also enjoy a book of great anthropological value, with magnificent descriptions of the tribes in New Guinea.
   Definetely, it was really a worthy purchase.

No comments about Wave-finder Surf Guide Australia.