1 comments about Perth & Western Australia (Regional Guide).

1. In general, Western Australia still seems to be off the usual tourist path for most outside visitors to Australia, so there wasn't much selection when it came to finding an appropriate guidebook. For the most part, guides seemed to be too broad (covering all of Australia), or too specific (focusing just on Perth). Despite being an absolutely enormous place on its own, few choices seemed to address the state of WA.
   
   We picked this book up out of desperation, but for the most part, it did a decent enough job. In typical Lonely Planet style, there were lots of budget options for food/accommodation and plenty of details on tours and logistics. Most of the information appeared to be accurate, and a few tips proved quite helpful.
   
   My biggest qualm with book is that its layout centers around towns, and in such vast and spread-out areas, a town-by-town approach isn't the most useful. Many of the smaller towns have few attractions or amenities, and nearly all of the must-see destinations (national parks, wineries, caves, capes, coasts, etc) lie in between these small towns.
   
   Finally, despite the extensive use of flowery adjectives, the descriptions of individual sights often remain vague. For some of the national parks especially, the description seems to be just a list of key points copied from a park map or guide, sometimes with no description whatsoever.
   
   In the end, it did prove to be a useful aid to our tour of the southwest and south coast of WA, but we definitely needed to augment it with some of the literature and information from the local tourism agencies. It was certainly better than nothing, but hopefully further research will lead to some improvements in later editions.
   
   One possible alternative is West Coast Australia (Footprint West Coast Australia), which seems to have better descriptions of some of the southwest parks but covers only the western edge of the state.

5 comments about We, the Navigators: The Ancient Art of Landfinding in the Pacific (Revised).

1. David Lewis has zig-zaged the Pacific in modern yachts and traditional canoes. His broad experience and long resarch, using his own and many schoolars data, has made this a good analysis and documentation of the extremly impressing and interesting phenomenon of ancient and present voyaging in the Pacific. Others, specially anthropologists fieldworking in the Central Carolines of Micronesia, had written about the presently used Micronesian voyaging system, others less throughly about the forgotten polynesian,but Lewis mangage to give a synthesis of the technologies and some of the social aspects of traditional voyaging in the Pacific



2. This book is written by an academic. I don't necessarily mean this in a negative sense. The author has done a very thorough research on the topic and presented his findings. The effect is a book that can be called a comprehensive treatment as far as it can be done given that the practictioners are disappearing fast.
   The downside is that it can send you to sleep as the author systematically compares how the navigational techniques are practiced in the various island groups.

   The strength of the book is not only its thoroughness but also the fact that the author is a skilled sailor who has gone on trips using these techniques. This makes the material so much more authentic, because the reader can relate how effective these skills are and yet how much practice they require.

   The author provides commentary on many practices and relates them to our modern day knowledge. An example was their ability to recognize the impact of sub surface currents, something that is today a rather specialist piece of knowledge not available to the everyday sailor.




3. The most complete study of early navigation I have come across. The author does a fantastic job of comparing the different styles of landfinding as used by the Pacific islanders. Lewis brings the knowledge and experience of an accomplished western sailor and navigator to his studies, and in doing so is able compare and contrast ancient and modern techniques. A scholarly study of primitive navigation, the book is not always an easy read, however for the reader looking for a complete comparison this is the volume to have.



4. For most of us, sailing across 2000+ miles of open ocean from Hawaii to Tahiti (or vice versa) would be daunting enough even with using every modern navigation device such as a GPS. Consider that in 1927 with compasses, sextants, radio, etc, in the Dole Air Race from Oakland to Honolulu (the same distance as Tahiti to Hawaii) 3 out of the 5 planes that started out were lost at sea. Then consider that a thousand years ago the Polynesians in 50-foot twin-hulled canoes were regularly making such voyages without any kind of instruments, and that crossing 50 or 100 miles of ocean was thought almost trivially easy.
   
   That a primitive (by European or American standards) people were skilled at ocean navigation was thought absurd. Kon-Tiki was an attempt to show that Oceania could be populated from South America by drifting on rafts and sheer luck of landfall. But it is now established that there was skilled and purposeful exploration and colonization--including Rapa Nui (Easter Island) which is 1000 miles from the nearest other habitable island. We, the Navigators is a fascinating look at "primitive" navigation techniques, and the author himself sailed from Hawaii to Tahiti using only these ancient techniques.
   
   So you'll see how the Polynesians used the sun, moon, and stars to achieve accurate navigation. They also used the ocean swells (as distinct from waves): islands reflect and deflect swells, so by careful observation, you can get a sense of direction to landfall. Land also changes cloud patterns. Birds were watched intently. New Zealand was one of the last places found and peopled--from 1600 miles away from the northeast, perhaps by watching birds migrate in that direction. Different kinds of birds travel different distances from land--some travel 40-50 miles, others 20-25 miles: by observing at dawn where the birds came from, and observing which direction they went towards sunset, and seeing what kind of bird it was, you could tell that there was land, and what direction it was, and how far away it was as well. On leaving land, backsights would be taken to help establish currents and drift. The book has lots of drawings and illustrations--it's a real treat!



5. This book is well-written, displels a lot of strange myths about native Pacific navigation, and provides a lot of interesting details useful to modern navigators when they run out of batteries in the middle of the ocean.

5 comments about Tahiti & French Polynesia (Country Guide).

1. This book did a wonderful job of not only preparing us for the journey, but help us get around. We have now been there three times to three difference islands, and each time it preformed well. Although with all travel books they get out to date in a year or two, you should always call a head to verify critical information.



2. I was expecting more from lonely planet but aside from the maps, the book is obsolete. It also reads like a text book, no passion, no flavor, very boring. The sections on each area are not very big at all. ...



3. I've used many Lonely Planet (LP) guides and found this one to be lacking their usual detail. I got the sense much hotel information was pilfered from Web surfing the basic info, rather than first-person investigation. While still a good book to take, next time (and there will be a next time because Tahiti is wonderful) I'll be sure take another guide along with it, and to thoroughly read actual travelers' online reviews. I'll also know the questions I need to ask before booking. My sense was that the reviewers weren't seeing things through the fresh-eyes of a first time traveler. The details, such as directions accommodation features were often lacking.

   One thing I've always liked about LP is that they will list small locally owned budget places - that are occasionally hidden gems - whereas many other guides only list "approved" chain-type accommodations. However, in this book key information about lodging was missing. For example, it's very uncommon to find window screens in Polynesia despite a lot of mosquitoes, yet it is not standard for the book to say if there are screens or mosquito netting at each location (sometimes there are neither). Screens would be a big selling point for me. In Lonely Planet's India guide - which I was quite happy with - they deliberately note whether hotels have air-conditioning or not; in this guide this rather important information (for the tropics) is randomly added. Sometimes we'd get there and they'd have AC and sometimes they wouldn't. A more specific example is a pension primarily described as "friendly" - which it was in spades - with no mention that there's one bathroom shared with 8 people and that doesn't have hot water. With what prices are in Tahiti, poor information is very costly. One "resort" (our over-water bungalow splurge) was merely described as "competitive with other luxury resorts." Come to find out it had bedbugs and no air-conditioning.

   If level of detail can be evidenced by pages numbers, note that LP's Hawaii guide (five main islands) is 615 pages, while their Tahiti guide (50+ islands/atolls, with ten commonly traveled) is a only 287 pages.




4. This new edition of LP's Tahiti and French Polynesia guide was invaluable on my recent trip. The details of the out of the way islands like Maupiti are wonderful, the writing is funny but clear and informative. It had details of local places and special spots that were not in the old one. I read up on the writers and one of them is an American woman who lives there, I could really tell that she understood the perspective of a tourist. I carried this book in my purse for the two and a half weeks I just spent there and referred to it often. Especially for the directions, cultural details and local customs that I needed. I felt like I had a local friend as my guide. I also find it comforting that they take no freebies from the hotels.
   We stayed in small pensions and loved it, no one has screens in Tahiti it seems, but the guide did mention electric mosquito devices which was helpful, it also gave food details on the half-board places, and on the whole seemed accurate and well researched. The enthusiasm of the writing is infectious and I totally fell in love with Tahiti and the other islands we visited, I felt like I really got to know it better than I would have alone because of this book.



5. Lonely Planet guides have been my guide of choice for some time but this one was not up to snuff. It just wasn't detailed enough. Two areas that bothered me was nothing about the weather and I could not find the specific snorkeling information I wanted and that was one of the prime reasons for going to Tahiti and purchasing the book.
   A general warning - the dollar will now only get you 75 polynesian francs instead of the 100 when the book was written. Not Lonely Planet's fault - the dollar has just sunk but what used to be expensive can now be almost ridiculous in price!

5 comments about Cocktails In Tahiti.

1. Always looking for new and exciting cocktails to try, I purchased this book. Each page became more interesting, not only for the drinks presented but for the knowledge that Mr. Bondurant shares about Tahiti, it's culture, local accomodations, etc.
   
   The photos are exceptional and each drink I have mixed has been better than the last. I have bought several as gifts for coworkers and friends. You won't be disappointed!



2. Not only does this book have a wealth of information on a destination we long to travel to, but it offers a wide variety of fun and DELICIOUS drinks.
   We love to entertain and it has been great having 'Cocktails in Tahiti' out at our parties...quite a conversation piece! Everyone loves the stunning photos of Tahiti, the scrumptious drinks, and the intriguing facts of the islands. Thank you!



3. Wow! What a great book! We received it as a gift, which was perfect since my husband and I spent our honeymoon in Tahiti. Several things make this book great. First, the information about Tahiti is factual and entertaining to read. Second, the photos are amazing. Third, not only are the drinks easy to make, they are awesome! Kudos to Richard Bondurant.



4. Richard Bondurant arranged a great trip to Moorea and Tahaa for my wife and I for our 10 year anniversary. This spectacular book is a great memory of our trip to Tahiti, and does an outstanding job of detailing all the exotic recipes that we jotted down on bar cocktail napkins while sipping fabulous drinks and sitting in the sun. I need to stock up on a few obscure ingredients before I can make all these wonderful drinks, but while it's snowing here for the winter, it's nice to just sit back, look at the amazing photos, read some of the trivia about Tahiti, and dream of going back someday soon. Thanks again Richard, for another great time!



5. The format of the book is very well done. Makes you want to go to Tahiti.

No comments about Top 10 Sydney (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

3 comments about Streetwise Sydney Map - Laminated City Street Map of Sydney, Australia - with integrated monorail lines & stations.

1. Streetwise Sydney is essential to experiencing a city rich in history. It is laminated, so it's easy to fold, and it fits almost anywhere - a breast pocket perhaps. The map color codes different points of interest and of necessity- i.e. the Royal Botanic Gardens, Restaurants and Hotels. This map made a trip to a foreign city not so intimidating, and I wouldn't want to use any other kind when I plan my next adventure.



2. prompt delivery by amazon. Product quality extremely dependable. Very clear and significant details well highlighted.



3. Don't waste your money. This map shows such a small part of Sydney it is worthless. Using this map is like riding through one of the prettiest cities in the world while looking through a pipe. I threw it away the first day in Australia!

5 comments about The Last Grain Race (Picador Books).

1. I was ready to drive from Seattle to San Francisco when I stopped at the library for some road music and a book on tape. This particular day, I found a jewel by one of the greats, Eric Newby's "The Last Grain Race". Eric Newby has done so much, and has been so many places that it boggles the mind. This book chronicles the beginning of his life as a true adventurer, when on the eve of WWII, he shipped out as a complete novice seaman on one of the largest sailing vessels ever built, bound for Australia and back.
   Though I've been reading his books for 20 years, for some reason I'd never run across "The Last Grain Race", and for well over 1000 miles I listened to the reading of this book, and when I got to Portland on my return leg, my first stop was at Powell Books to grab a hard copy of the book.
   This is one of the finest books I've ever read. I was going to say "seafaring books", but that is too restrictive.
   Eric Newby's commentary and sense of humor are first-rate, like always. While listening, and while reading, I was transported by this book. The conditions seem indescribable, but Newby succeeds in describing them, and paints cold, wet portraits of the days and nights in the rigging and the foc'sle of the barque "Moshulu". I subsequently found a book of the photographs of this voyage, Newby's "Learning The Ropes", which gives us faces to the cast of "Great Grain Race".
   Old friends of my youth came to visit while I was engrossed in this book, Sterling Hayden's "Voyage", the film "Windjammer", and the loss of the sailing ship "Pamir" in the late 1950's. The "Moshulu" survives today, as a restaurant ship in Philadelphia, but she was interned on Lake Union in my hometown of Seattle during WWI, and her consort, the "Monongahela" was the last tall ship to pass under the George Washington (Aurora) Bridge before it was closed to tall-masted ships.
   An interesting sidelight: While recently rewatching "Godfather II", I noticed that in the scene where young Vito Andolini (Corleone) arrives in New York, the ship he's on is the "Moshulu".
   Eric Newby is one of a kind. Now that he is gone we'll never see his like again.



2. Unfortunately the unappealingly named "The Last Great Grain Race" might be left on the bookshelf if it were not for its companion volume of photographs more appropriately titled "Learning The Ropes; An Apprentice on the Last of the Windjammers," both by Eric Newby. Oddly these volumes were issued over forty years apart, Grain Race in 1956 and Ropes in 1999. (A recent volume of Grain Race was reissued in 1999, possibly to take advantage of the pictorial release.)

   After a brief stint as an office clerk, Newby at eighteen signed on as an apprentice seaman for an around the world cargo voyage, with no nautical experience or skills other than a careful eye and superb memory for detail. "The Last Great Grain Race" is the story of one of the last four-masted barques, which in 1938 sailed from Ireland to Australia to pick up a cargo of grain and return to Ireland, a voyage which would take nine months. Ultimately it was to become the last voyage in such a vessel, as the impending war would change the world forever. We are fortunate that Newby was along to document the voyage. We are equally appreciative of his thoughtfulness in bringing his camera, as "Learning the Ropes" is the superb photo essay of this journey.

   Newby apparently was a very skilled photographer. Oddly, he only briefly mentions his possession of a camera in "The Last Great Grain Race." He never lets on that his is so actively chronicling events and shipmates throughout the voyage. Though Newby does an excellent job describing what is like to climb aloft in all kinds of weather, the black and white photographs take the reader aloft as well and provide the narrative even with more impact and grace.

   The crew is as varied and colorful as one might expect the conditions are harsh and oftentimes dangerous; the work is unrelenting, demanding and dangerous in its own right. Newby works alongside seasoned veterans and never shirks.

   Grain Race however does have its limitations. There is a tremendous amount of technical detail that can often leave the reader literally at sea. For example "There were still the sheets of the topmast staysails to be shifted over the stays and sheeted home, the main and mizzen courses to be reset, and the yards trimmed to the Mate's satisfaction with the brace whips." Newby does provide a graphic of the sail plan and running rigging (79 reference points), but these are only of marginal assistance.

   Another shortcoming is the language barrier Newby faces. This is a Finnish crew and commands are rarely given in English. Newby and the reader often have to work out the language; if the reader misses the first context or explanation then subsequent uses of the terminology will be lost, a glossary might have helped here. Newby does faithfully record dialects especially when he is being spoken to in occasionally recognizable English and these dialogues are often amusingly recounted.

   Eric Newby should seriously consider issuing both in a single volume and one has to wonder why this wasn't done when Grain Race was first issued or at least when "Learning the Ropes" was released a couple of years ago. It is interesting to speculate on the length of time between the original release of Grain Race and the very vivid and informative photographs. Regardless it was worth the wait.

   Grain Race the narrative and Grain Race the photographs make for an enjoyable double read.




3. In 1938 Eric Newby was eighteen years old. He left a dead end job with an advertising agency in London and signed as an apprentice seaman on the four-masted sailing ship Moshulu for a trip to bring back a shipload of grain from Australia. Moshulu was one of a dozen sailing ships still engaged in the grain trade and the 1938 trip was destined to be the last of the merchant sailing era.

   Newby is undeservedly less well known than other writers who have imitated him. His books, "A Small Place in Italy, "On the Shores of the Mediterranean" and "The Big Red Train Ride" have been imitated by other authors. His writing style is spare and matter-of-fact; he doesn't try to impress the reader with overblown prose instead letting the facts speak for themselves without florid editorial comment.

   There's a funny account a trick played by the Belfast stevedores on the sailors of Moshulu. Among the tons of rocks loaded into the hold were two dead dogs. The decomposing dog carcasses fill the ship's hold with an overpowering odor that plagues the men as they dump out the ballast and load the grain months later off the shore of Adelaide.

   The Last Grain Race goes into great detail describing the operation of a sailing ship, complete with obscure jargon names for the sails and rigging. Newby seems to have been working too hard on the trip to completely enjoy and appreciate it. The books gives a glimpse at a lost world of merchant sailing ships and the quiet life of sailors at sea, now exchanged for sparsely manned giant container ships crossing vast oceans in a matter of days.

   Moshulu returns to Queenstown, Ireland on June 10, 1939 after a pace-setting 91-day passage by war of Cape Horn. It had taken 8 months for a round-trip in which Moshulu brought 4,875 tons of grain from Australia to Ireland. Newby leaves the ship a full-fledged Ordinary Seaman. World War II will start in a few months and obliterate the peaceful world of merchant sailing ships.




4. If you want some relaxing summer reading and if you like the sea by all means get this book. Eric Newby was an 18 year old kid who, with family approval, signed on as an appentice before the mast on the Finnish owned barque Moshulu in the fall of 1938 for a nine month sail from Queensown to Port Victoria in Southern Australia and return. The Moshulu was a steel sailing vessel, built in Sweden in 1905, 3,600 gross tons, 360 feet at the waterline, three masted ship-rigged with her main mast topping out at 198 feet at the cap. She could carry 4,800 tons of wheat - and did, setting the record of 92 days for her return voyage eastward round Cape Horn. (Her outbound voyge had beeen around the Cape of Good Hope)
   
   Newby went on to become a rather prosperous clothier in London but was better known for his travel writing till his death last year (2006) at the age of 86. I had read his "Travels in the Hindu Kush" years ago and put him down as a kind of smart alek and I had also read the paperback of this book published by Penguin in 1971 but had not appreciated it till I got it down from my shelf of sea stories last week and read it again. He's a dmaned fine writer here and I take back what I said about him being a smart alek. His description of life at sea and the sea iself is as good as anything I've ever read; and you will enjoy it. For those who like sailing ships there's a lot of technical detail about rigging, watch-standing etc. and you can skip this and read about a storm at sea if you want but if you wade through the technical stuff you will be amazed at what you learn. I strongly recommend the whole thing to you.



5. Eric Newby, who died in 2006 at the age of 86, was an adventurer and gifted travel writer who chronicled his experiences in several books that reflect his curiosity and research about the world as well as his shrewd and often very hilarious observations of humans making their way in it. Originally published in 1956, THE LAST GRAIN RACE could be called memoir, but Newby recreates his apprenticeship aboard one of the last mercantile sailboats on the eve of World War II via his diaries, claptrap memory and research, creating an airtight world with immediacy. There is no sense of retrospect, distance of time or hindsight in the narrative.
   
   Newby was 18 when he went to sea in 1938 on a barque owned by a Scandinavian shipping firm. Before World War II, it was still economical to deploy a commercial fleet of these behemoths around the world to scoop up grain crops from Australia for the European market. When his job at an advertising agency (hilarious) was threatened by lay-offs, he indulged the youthful romance of life at sea stoked by a girlfriend's naval father and signed up with the Erikson firm's ship, Moshulu. He kitted up grandly, found a Louis Vuitton steamer trunk. Immediately aboard ship, he learned that a lot of the work centered about scaling those tall masts, cleaning the "restrooms" and repelling off the side to scrape rust. He was the only Englishman among Scandinavians and Germans who were decidedly not of the Louis Vuitton school. Newby's character sketches are priceless and he captures the hybrid vernacular so well that by the end of the book, the reader knows as much as he learned. The book is loaded with technical information about the boat and its mission, but also with accounts of dramatic storms, bedbug plagues or occasional leisurely pursuits like capturing an albatross just to measure its wingspan. I purchased a used original UK Reader's Union edition (think Book of the Month Club) that usefully had a detailed illustration inside the back cover and a world map inside the front, with the journey dated and marked off.
   
   Infrequently, news of the outside world drifted to the ship via a radio signal from a distant land. It is not good news, but at sea they can mostly ignore it. Like the Pequod in MOBY DICK, the Moshulu was its own complete world. That's the beauty of this book: it captures a fully evolved culture that would suddenly disappear a year later. When Moshulu unexpectedly returned first among the fleet, Newby packed it in. He had lived a lifetime and grown up in under a year. The next time the boat went out, it returned to the waiting Germans. Afterwards, it turned up in a future where commercial sailing ships were no longer competitive. Sic transit gloria mundi.

5 comments about Cold Beer and Crocodiles: A Bicycle Journey into Australia (Adventure Press).

1. Having travelled through Australia a number of times by airplane, car, and train, I found the perpspective of a bicylist to be enlightening, funny, and exasperating. While I never intend to pedal around Oz, I think Smith captured the spirit of the country. It was a good read. I would recommend the book but not the means of transport....



2. I loved this book. I like reading adventure travel books, but this one really caught my imagination. Roff Smith is a humorous writer with a knack for capturing the nuances of speech and behavior that make Aussies Aussies. Unlike many travel writers, Smith is neither condescending to his subject nor is he blind to the faults of the subject matter. Instead, he discusses the Australian psyche from the viewpoint of an adopted son, pointing out both the foibles of the Aussies as well as the things that make them a great country.
   
   HIGHLY recommended for anyone with an interest in our antipodean neighbor or in bicycling!



3. Roff Smith's adventure created quite the resume for his job with National Geographic! His bicycle trip around Australia made me wax nostalgic about the trip I made across the heartland of the US in the summer of 1982. I understand why there were periods of hundreds of miles where he didn't write any words. Or as he was making the trip from Eucla Pass and on in to Melbourne that he didn't remember much of that part of the trip. He was bone weary and ready to chuck it in. I felt that way by the time I got to Trail of Tears State Park in Missouri from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The wind in your face, the heat (though shy of the 130 degree oven that he slogged through). I enjoyed the descriptions of friends he made along the way and good times. I think probably by the time you've made your way to the middle of nowhere and find kindred spirits, you care less for formality. I didn't incurr any of the road rash such as he got careening out of control outside of Perth, but when you are on a bicycle, you are more at the mercy of the elements and the good will of strangers than you are when you would be traveling by greyhound or by auto.
   
   This was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I am preparing for a trip to Australia. It gave good insight into the customs and people. Though I may bicycle some, I don't think I'll be traveling but a hundredth of the distance he covered on bike.
   
   UPDATE - Jamie and I traveled to Australia and used the CityRail to get us to downtown Sydney as the first stop. We used Rolf's "Australian Traveler Guide" (National Geographic) and wound our way through the Royal Botanic Garden from the St. James train stop. This was an absolutely wonderful introduction to Sydney and Australia. Thanks again to Roff Smith. You can tell the man loves Australia!



4. This is, hands down, the best book I read in 2007 and will be tough to beat in 2008. By the time I finished it I needed a nap as I had felt every mile. Roff Smith needs to write more of his adventures as he draws you in with word one and doesn't release you until way after the adventure is done. Well done mate.



5. ...he tends to repeat himself, maybe this is as the previous gentleman stated, because this was a series of magazine articles to begin with but I got tired of hearing the phrase "ribbon of _______" (whatever the Aussies call Asphalt over there , begins with a "B")used every time he was refering to the road. At one point this overused phrase was repeated two pages in a row, which I found simply ridiculous.
   
   There were a few other descriptions that were phrased too close for comfort as well thoroughout the book. I guess this tale really needed an editor to point out the obvious flaws. I mean I'm no literary expert and even I saw these things.
   
   But, as I hinted at with the title to this "review", overall it was a fair read. I finished it in two marathon sessions and once he gets going, this book sails pretty seemlessly.

5 comments about Antarctica: A Guide to the Wildlife, 4th (Bradt Guides).

1. If you are visiting the Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands, this guide is a good field guide to identifying, and learning about, the most common Antarctic fauna you will experience, including birds, mammals and cetaceans. (It is not a comprehensive guide for htose desiring in depth information and identification of every species.) José Kirchner



2. I bought this book in preparation for a trip 'South' in December 1999/January 2000 and it was an extremely useful guide to wildlife in general but especially good for penguin information. The drawings by an ancestor of Robert F. Scott's are lifelike, and engaging art as well. The brief summaries of natural and exploration history are accessible and informative. If you are looking for a portable guide to peninsular wildlife get the book--you won't regret it.



3. The price tag may seem steep for the fourth edition of this 144-page paperback - but where else are you going to find details on the wildlife of Antarctica, tailored as a take-along tote for the Antarctica-bound traveler? Color drawings by Dafila Scott accompany nature history descriptions of each creature and discussions of identification specific to Antarctica, from contending with visibility factors to seasonal identification features. Antarctica: A Guide To The Wildlife is a unique and strongly recommended "take-along" handbook essential for any Antarctica-bound traveler.



4. This has got to be the single best guide to Antarctica's unusual wildlife. Everything is covered here, from Gentoo Penguins to Crab-Eater Seals (which don't actually eat crabs). Beautiful illustrations make it easy to identify birds & other animals while your out on the ice. If you're going to the White Continent, you'll want to stash this little book in your daypack. This book was useful when my husband & I visited the Antarctic peninsula, which we chronicle in our DVD "T&T's Real Travels in Antarctica" (also available on amazon.com).



5. This is an excellent guide to the wildlife in Antarctica. Great drawings of the animals and descriptions. It only deals with wildlife south of the Antarctic convergence, so if you are looking for a book which covers all species of penguin, this isn't it. It has a map on the inside cover and maps for each species and where it can be found. It also has a brief history of the wildlife after discovery and the hunting which took place. My only gripe is that I would have liked the maps for each species to be more specific.
   The book is small and not very thick, so very easy to carry around on the boat or in your backpack.
   This book made me even more excited about going to Antarctica, if that's at all possible!!

4 comments about Kiwis Might Fly.

1. It's difficult to write travel books with a "twist" but Polly Evans has a pretty good try here in a book that has two on the go at the same time. First, a lady with no previous motorbiking experience passes her test in the UK and, only a couple of weeks later, hires a 500cc road bike to circumnavigate the whole of New Zealand. Brave or stupid, her gradual mastery of this "monster" provides an engaging backdrop to the journey and results in a series of hilarious problems. Second, she sets out not only to see the country but to discover whether the traditional Kiwi male - the pioneer who could mend a clapped out tractor with a rubber band - still exists. A quest which allows her to include some fascinating facts about New Zealand's development, takes her to places that most tourists miss, and gives her the opportunity to ruminate on the issues facing a traditionally male dominated society in the process of change.
   
   All good stuff but the problem is that, as with many "I'm off to see the country in a few weeks" travel books, she can only scratch the surface of the place. For example, in Christchurch she takes an immediate dislike to its "faux" Englishness, with its boatered punters and its school children in 1950's uniform, without having the time or inclination to get behind why these things exist. As a result, her conclusion that the city is in some form of ridiculously nostalgic time warp completely misses the point that this need to replicate the safety & security of "home" was an integral part of the male "pioneering spirit" she is in fact seeking, and that Christchurch with its strong links to rural farming communities still embodies, more than any other of New Zealand's major cities, this particular aspect of its history and life.
   
   Truth is that it's virtually impossible to draw objective conclusions about a country or its people without immersing yourself in it and, with only a couple of days in each place, what she in fact ends up with is a series of intriguing snapshots rather than any real answers to the question she sets herself. But, no matter, because, in the end, it's an enjoyable ramble which, on the way, provides an excellent "primer" into New Zealand's history, captures a great deal of what a tourist can expect to see when there, and includes some wonderfully entertaining incidents as you follow her round its beautiful landscapes on her huge machine.



2. This book is less about The Kiwi Man (its ostensible theme) than it is about Polly Evans and her newfound love of motorcycling. If you want a sometimes entertining overview of things to do and see in New Zealand, this isn't a bad choice, but a cursory overview is all it is. I read it in an afternoon. Deep, it's not: some of the background info sounds as if she pulled it off of a tourist brochure. And it could use a good editor (why, or why, does she get paid to write books when she doesn't know the difference between further and farther?) I got none of that Bill Bryson I-love-these guys feeling for the people of New Zealand, nor did I get that (often entertaining) sense of grumpy irritation that so many travel writers affect (though she sometmes seems to attempt it, it just comes off as mean and off-point, as with the minister's wife and the potato peeler...very odd). Come to think of it, I learned very little about New Zealand at all, other than it's very pretty, has a wide range of weather and topography, offers some nice roads for motorcycling, and is filled with mostly nice people who are happy to help tourists. I knew all of this. Oh, I did learn that it's frighteningly easy for a novice to rent an oversized motorcycle there.
   
   Ms. Evans has to reach way too hard to incorporate her "theme" through most of the book (her attempt to tie it all together in the last pages is laughable). She occasionally tries out an overly arch tone that is intensely irritating -- I found myself skimming those parts -- and she sometimes falls into the "and then I went here and turned around and went there" style of a boring blog. Perhaps this would have been better if she'd been honest about her real subjects -- her motorcycle and herself. Presumably, the meaningless title for this book was chosen by the publishing house, as it has nothing to do with the text. Maybe there are too many chick-motorcycle-travel books for yet another, but a more honest tile for this book would have been something like _Kawasaki Kiwi: How I Got My Groove On and Learned to Fly_. After all, what really happened is that this gal had an affair with a bike. It just happened to have happened in New Zealand. The search for The Kiwi Man had sod all to do with it.



3. I picked up her book on bicycling in Spain at the library and liked it so much I bought Fried Eggs and Chopsticks and eagarly awaited the release of Kiwis Might Fly. Her books are written for the arm-chair traveler to laugh over but not emulate. Her personal experiences plus brief forays into history make a very enjoyable read.



4. I was given this book from a friend as a vague taster of NZ before I headed down there for a year and they seriously recommended reading it. I didnt know much about New Zealand and didnt really feel like I needed to know much about its history or landscape. But as I started reading this book I was suddenly fuelled with intregue and curiosity about the beauty of NZ and how it came to be. Based on a personal perspective of Polly Evans who decided one day that she's bored of Rainy England and feels it a good idea to ride around NZ on a 600cc on a mission to find out if the modern Kiwi bloke really is on the verge of extinction, this extremely funny book boasts educational references, drama, personal reflection and a fairly decent overview of NZ as a whole. Despite the strange theme, the book delves into personal experiences of many of the sights and attractions around NZ, clear and detailed references to the history different places and events, lots of good clean British humour and an engrosing writing style of adventure. I really enjoyed this book and found it to be inspiring and and exteremly interesting. Plus there arent many books that make me laugh out loud, and this one did, a lot! I've also used this book as a good reference to many trips out so far, handy!