No comments about Christchurch Region City Map by Hema.

2 comments about Travellers' Wildlife Guides Alaska (Travellers' Wildlife Guides).

1. I found the book to be very informative and well organized. The photos were a tremendous aid to the text, which is easy to read and fun. This will be a wonderful addition to my reference library and I will be going back to it again and again.



2. The guide goes well beyond simple identification information and truly provides a condensed naturalist study of each animal or group of animals. I particularly enjoyed reading the "Lores and Notes" sections as they provided additional information into the animals' significance and connection with the local and native human populations. I also found the notes on region and habitat particularly useful... it really helped me differentiate between similar looking species and understand what I might encounter in different circumstances.
   
   I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was one of the few guides that contained information about the local insects... and there are an amazing amount of insects in Alaska, especially considering the harsh climate! I'm not normally a bug-hunter, but it was nice to be able to identify the HUGE butterflies and dragonflies we encountered on our hikes.
   
   Buyer beware! There is a strong naturalist, eco-conscious tone to this reference. If you aren't the sort who is particularly concerned about the interconnection of species and preservation/conservation of our wild brethren and their natural habitat... this book may not be for you regardless of the wonderful information it contains.

No comments about New Zealand Complete Residents' Guide.

1 comments about Frommer's Australia from $60 a Day (Frommer's $ A Day).

1. Very informative. Great practical info. They tell you straight up the good and the bad. There are lots of little tips as well. I really got a lot out of the book.

5 comments about Moon Handbooks Tahiti: Including the Cook Islands.

1. Comparing this guide with other guides for Tahiti, it's just great!!.. It's far more accurate then the others, but those others it's often plain bad.

   Most guides are correct about weather, currency, number of inhabittants etc. But when it comes to accomendations, guiding companies etc. it's a completely different story.

   I went to Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands 3 years ago. I stayed at a pension which Stanely recomended. The pension was a joke and the owner was the sleaziest guy I come across my 5 weeks in the South Pacific.

   I asked Stanley after the trip if he had been at the pension which was not the case. This pension is still recommended in the last edition.

   Lucky for Stanley that very few tourists travel to Nuku Hiva..

   It's just incredibil, that's not possible to trust the correctnes of infor- mation from a guy who has been travelling in the South Pacific for 20-30 years.

   I will use Stanley's guide this year too, but only as a basic tool. Getting an honest and accurate answer, I use the web-forums.




2. As a producer researching filming locations throughout the Pacific Basin, I have found David Stanley's Moon Handbooks guide to Tahiti and the Cook Islands to be of tremendous value. Having travelled extensively throughout the world, I've often had trouble finding guides that are thorough and accurate. In Stanley's book, I've found just that. Rich with historic, cultural and practical information, along with numerous illustrations and maps, Stanley provides his readers with all of the necessary and critical information required in order to get the most out of a travel experience. To anyone planning a trip to this region, I would highly recommend this book.



3. David Stanley has a wealth of personal knowledge of the South Pacific, and it shows. This comprehensive guide to French Polynesia, Rapanui, and Cook Islands is a must for anyone planning to travel to these exotic tropical paradises. Covering everything from history to present day conditions, from the practicalities of getting there to getting around, he tells it like it is. No matter your preffered travelling style, there is a wealth of realistic information to please everyone, from backpackers to luxury seekers alike. You will find this book invaluable; don't leave home without it.



4. During my two big trips through the South Pacific, I always had one of David Stanley's guidebooks in my backpack. Stanley has been writing guidebooks to these islands for almost 25 years. Like his other Pacific guides, this fifth edition of Tahiti Handbook (which includes the whole of French Polynesia, the Cook Islands and Easter Island) is completely packed with information for the traveller.

   Tips for travellers
   While planning, Tahiti Handbook will help you find out which islands will be more interesting, easier or cheaper to visit. Stanley gives a good idea of what to expect in the islands, while you can still have a great adventure and discover things on your own.
   In the Pacific, this guide will save you money and trouble. Following Stanley's advice to sleep at Tahiti's airport when arriving at night, to wait for the early morning bus instead of taking a taxi to your hotel, will already save you the cost of the book. Accommodations of all categories are described, often including critical commentary. The same applies for restaurants and organized activities. Stanley identifies with any kind of traveller. He answers almost any possible question to arise on other travel matters.

   Incognito
   I haven't used this edition of Tahiti Handbook in the field yet, so I can't say much about the accuracy of the travel information inside. However, during my trips through the islands, Stanley's information usually proved reasonably up-to-date. You can never expect everything to be correct, Stanley admits that. For every new edition of his guides, he makes a research trip to check the places listed in his book. On these trips Stanley arrives unannounced and tries to identify himself as little as possible. This way he is better able to experience a place like any other traveller. For this fifth edition of Tahiti Handbook, the Marquesas and Easter Island were visited in addition to more regular places. It would be nice to know what islands were exactly visited. If you feel some information is incorrect or missing from Stanley's guide, you can write him and he will seriously look at your comments.

   Lively and critically
   The chapters on history, people and places and the references in Tahiti Handbook are an excellent starting point to learn more about Eastern Polynesia. In my opinion, some more attention could have been given to the language section: an extension of the Tahitian and French section and adding Cook Islands Maori, Spanish and Rapanui.
   The biggest problem with this book, as with Stanley's other guides to the Pacific, is that you'll want to go to almost every island he so lively introduces. With every new edition, Stanley not only updates travel information, he also perfects his writings. Stanley won't bore you. It's obvious he loves the islands. Still, he does so without writing over-positive about it. Stanley will tell you about the French nuclear testing at Moruroa and Papeete traffic jams. As he puts it on page 3: `Through this book we've tried to show you the best of the region without ignoring the worst. Paradise it may not be, but it's still a remarkable part of our planet.'

   Three in one
   Since the previous edition of Tahiti Handbook, the Cook Islands and Easter Island are also included, without making the guide too thick or expensive. The only I only place I miss in Tahiti Handbook is Pitcairn. Since it lies between French Polynesia and Easter Island, you would expect it to be included. It does receive more visitors than islands like Puka Puka or Maiao these days. For information about Pitcairn, you need to get Stanley's South Pacific Handbook.

   Maps and photographs
   You can find 56 maps in Tahiti Handbook, including ones of more remote islands. Of the main islands; there are detailed maps of towns to show accommodations, restaurants, offices and more. The atolls of the Tuamotu Archipelago are a bit underrepresented. But since these are mostly thin necklaces of land, this is not really important. In general the maps in Tahiti Handbook are fine. Only the coloured map and the index map at the beginning of the book could be better: the lagoons of the coral atolls have all been coloured in like land.
   There are not many photographs in Tahiti Handbook: two coloured ones at the beginning of the book and a handful of black and white ones throughout the book. Without doubt this helps to keep the price of the book down. Also, you don't really need photographs here: Stanley's writing will bring Polynesia to life for you.

   Take it!
   Despite some small critical notes, I still give Tahiti Handbook five stars. There is nothing to match this guidebook. Take it when you go to French Polynesia, the Cook Islands and/or Easter Island no matter what your budget or style of travelling is.




5. An excellent guide to the islands of French Polynesia. We used it during the planning stages to pick our resorts and research the activities we might be interested in in Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora. Each day we were there, the book helped us plan our activities and learn more about the islands and what they had to offer. The island and Papeete city maps were of great use finding our way around. The book covers all islands of French Polynesia and the Cook Islands. I enjoyed reading about all the others we didn't visit. Will definitely take this our next trip down. Highly recommended.

3 comments about New Zealand by Bike: 14 Tours Geared for Discovery (By Bike).

1. In February '97 me, my bike, and this book covered 1300 miles of New Zealand. I used this book extensively to plan my route by mixing & matching the routes covered in the book. obtw, in New Zealand you don't need a map, you only have a couple of roads to choose from and this book covers just about everything you need. I highly recommend it and appreciate the effort Bruce put into the book.



2. Yes, I am a Kiwi [native New Zealander]and have found this book extremely valuable for planning a tour around both islands. I could find out all the information, but why reinvent the wheel?? It is all laid on here..including an insight into our customs and language.

   In brief..... you want to bike around NZ??? GET THIS BOOK!!




3. definitely a must for a n.z. bound cycling adventure. this book keeps it all simple and clear without what you don't need. i cycled 4100km in n.z. by mixing and matching routes from the book and found it very useful. the only down side is the not very convenient format and the lack of good route maps which is not a big deal altogether. good luck.

1 comments about Lonely Planet Islands of Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

1. This guide is usefull if you're devoting lot of time to queesland and the great barrier reef. Its best companion is the Lonely Planet Queensland guide (perhaps it's too much information).
   But as I'm concerned, Lonely Planet is not doing anymore this guide (and this version is quite old, so it may be not updated).
   What a pitty!...

No comments about Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded by the Late Captain Owen Stanley During the Years 1846 - 1850: Including Discoveries and Surveys ... the Louisiade Archipelago, etc.. Volume 2.

1 comments about Lonely Planet South Pacific.

1. A typically good LP guide, but be aware that while earlier editions of the title included the whole South Pacific area, this edition does not include Micronesia. (And LP hasn't updated their micronesia guide since 2000.) So if you're planning to visit Kiribati, Palau, or other countries in Micronesia, this guide won't meet your needs.

1 comments about Working & Living Australia (Working & Living - Cadogan).

1. I have purchased a one-way ticket to Sydney, Australia with plans to attend graduate school and possibly get a job in the country. This book, while extremely helpful, can be dry at times and is written primarily from the British perspective. However, when dealing with such exciting topics and taxation, bureaucracy and housing, one cannot expect the most spectacular prose and the British viewpoint can be easily circumvented with some careful reading.