5 comments about AA Road Atlas: New Zealand (AA Road Atlases).

1. This is the equivalent of the Rand McNally Road Atlas for New Zealand. I highly recommend it if you are planning a road trip through New Zealand. It helped tremendously with our trip planning. It also includes a table of distances between major cities and towns and estimated drive times.



2. This is an excellent detailed resource for travel in New Zealand.



3. If you're planning on renting a car in another country to do some sightseeing, I highly recommend this series of Road Atlas. I have several of them from different countries and all of them are extremely helpful when you want to make your own route for a driving excursion. It is large scale, with excellent detail on roads and routes. A must have for driving in other countries.



4. The AA Zealand map/guide is an excellent source for all your driving & touring needs in New Zealand. Highly recommended.



5. If you are planning on doing any driving in New Zealand this is the atlas for you. It is rather large but it makes it easy to follow the roads. I have a friend that lives there; she begged me to leave it for her.

5 comments about Straying from the Flock: Travels in New Zealand.

1. I was very disappointed in this book as it really said nothing about NZ. Rather it is an attempt of one arrogant New Yorker's idea of how to impress you with how well he can judge people and wine.
   
   I couldn't finish it. This is rare for me as I am a compulsive reader. I don't usually review books....but if you want to know about NZ this is *not* the item.



2. Dr. Elder definitely describes the places he visits in New Zealand adequately and the book gives some good information for people who are planning a trip in the future.
   
   However, I took many of his impressions about the people he met with a grain of salt. Dr. Elder seemed much more forgiving of people who may have erred if they had a good bottle of wine. He seemed harshly judgmental and impatient many times which made me regret purchasing the book, especially since the majority of the text deals with the people he met along the way.



3. Dr. Elder has written a fine travel memoir that made New Zealand come alive for me prior to my trip there. The title is a great metaphor for the book. New Zealand is far away, physically and psychically, from his home in New York. Dr. Elder enriches his adventure with historical background on the places that he visited such as the biographical sketch of Captain James Cook which is part of the chapter (titled "Meeting Captain Cook) about the Marlboro Sounds.
   Some reviewers have called this book a "guide book," and it has a great deal of useful information, but I consider it fine travel writing. I suggest that those interested in New Zealand read this book first and then get a copy of the Lonely Planet guide when they're ready to go.



4. I bought this book because it was the first novel I have ever seen about New Zealand. Basically every other book has been a travel guide, some of which are useful, but none of which are a narrative of a person's experience in New Zealand. Alexander Elder is a frequent traveler to New Zealand and he relates his story of traveling from the south tip to the northernmost tip of the country over the course of eight weeks (with a few days in Fiji and Australia). He meets new people and visits old friends along the way.
   I really enjoyed this book, my only issues were that I couldn't completely relate to his way of traveling. He travels in a style where laying down several hundred dollars to get a guided trip a few times in a week is no issue. I tend to be on a much more restricted budget. He also has a bit of a different attitude than myself, more strict about superb service and attention than I probably would be, but it's his story not my own :)
   He does give a good impression of the hospitality that is present in most New Zealanders as well as the beauty of the land itself. I often felt like I was right along side of him during his trip.
   This is a good read for anyone interested in New Zealand, especially being a tourist there. He also provides a link to his website where he posted the photos (non-professional) that he took during the course of this trip, a nice little addition to enhance the story.



5. 
   This is a wonderful travel narrative: entertaining, informative, fun. As I eagerly turned pages, I felt I was taking a "virtual trip" to NZ (both North and South islands), and one that provided me a sense of familiarity when I made an actual trip there in March 2008. Dr. Elder shares his quirky observations about the people, "straying from the flock" alternative lodgings like homestays and farmstays, the country's history, the local food and wine, and some key destinations on both islands. His highlights of places to see -- like Auckland, Queenstown, Rotorua -- and activities unique to each guided me in planning my own itinerary. The only aspect of the book that proved somewhat "dated" was the reported cost of everything. Clearly, when Dr. Elder made his trip, the exchange rate was much more favorable to the US$ than it is has become in the last year or so. (For example, when he paid NZ$100 for something, it cost him less than US$50. That would translate into about US$80 in today's market.)
   In summary, for anyone contemplating a trip to NZ, or just curious about this faraway land, I recommend this book as an essential part of your research and planning.

No comments about Living and Working in New Zealand, 4th Edition: A Survival Handbook (Living & Working in New Zealand).

5 comments about Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World.

1. I just finished reading this wonderful story. It's amazing how man can adapt to any situation if they have the right attitude and perseverance. Or the opposite. Both are represented here. I'd rank this up there with In the Heart of the Sea by Philbrick and South by Shackleton. The only criticism I have is that the map was horrible. More detail needed there. More visual aides overall would have really helped. But still what a ripping true story!



2. Engaging on many levels, Druett's telling story brings to life the way one crew got themselves out of a mighty mess.... and how the other collapsed through simple selfishness. Just wonderful.



3. On January 3, 1864, the schooner Grafton wrecked on the southern end of Auckland Island, 285 miles south of New Zealand. On May 10 of the same year, the square-rigger Invercauld wrecked on the northwestern promontory of the same island. The five survivors of the Grafton and the 19 survivors of the Invercauld co-habited the same island for an entire year without either group ever once being aware that the other group was there, the reason being the twenty miles of "impassable cliffs and chasms" between the north and south ends of the islands. In Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World, maritime historian Joan Druett tells the vastly different stories of the two groups of survivors.
   
   From journals, letters, published books and other research documents, Druett has interwoven the stories of the two groups and shown how through cooperation, discipline, hard work, routine, ingenuity, and respect the survivors of the Grafton had a far different experience and outcome from the group of Invercauld survivors, whose leadership failed them, who splintered into groups, and who gave themselves over to the despair of their situation.
   
   We come to know each of the men from the Grafton as they hunt for food, build shelter, make clothing and tools, and wait to be rescued for almost two years before deciding to try to build a boat and escape. We watch the men from the Invercauld succumb to apathy and lethargy, or else to cannibalism. Only one resourceful seaman had the ability to cope with their circumstances and helped keep the final few survivors alive.
   
   Druett has very skillfully penned a fascinating tale of human nature, death, and survival in a hostile environment. It is a book that is hard to put down, with a story that is unbelievable - except that it is true. Amazingly, the few Invercauld survivors are rescued, and the Grafton castaways make an heroic journey back to safety. More than just history, this is an amazing book about survival against all odds and how that survival depends at least in part on attitude. It is a good lesson for us all.



4. There are not enough stars to show how much I enjoyed this enthralling story of survival in an extremely hostile environment. Historian Joan Druett, drawing from journals kept by the shipwrecked crew throughout their ordeal and later accounts of the survivors, describes the conditions and their, at times fruitless, struggle for survival. The vivid picture she paints captured my imagination so fully I could visualise the wild, frigid island, the accommodations they built and their trips hunting and foraging for food. I was repeatedly astonished by the staggering ingenuity of the castaways. If this book had been a work of fiction the tales of skill and craftsmanship of the survivors would have been too far fetched and completely unbelievable which only served to make this factual story so much more enjoyable.
   
   The inspiring leadership of the Captain of the Grafton who ensured the survival of his entire crew through the hardships of the months spent on the Auckland Islands and the adaptability of the men he led reminded me very much of Ernest Shackelton and his crew Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
   
   I could not put it down until I had finished it and, as a result of reading this book, my first of Joan Druett's, I have become a firm fan of her writing, determined to read all of her books. So far I have been just as delighted with her other works as I was with this one.



5. In January of 1864, the Australian schooner, Grafton, wrecked on Auckland Island, an inhospitable and inclement land mass in the South Pacific, with a five-man crew. Half of this book is their story of survival. Under the leadership of captain Thomas Musgrave and the well-rounded ingenuity of the French prospector Francois Raynal, the crew used everything at their disposal. They built an impressive shelter, made clothes, shoes, tools for hunting seals, and even a working forge so they could create nails to build a small boat.
   
   By unimaginable coincidence, five months after the Grafton wrecked, the freighter Invercauld, on its way from Melbourne to Callao, also crashed off the coast of Auckland Island with its 25-man crew. Nineteen survivors swam ashore on the northern coast of the island. There, they hunkered down in a state of panic. Their captain, George Delgarno, showed exceptionally inept leadership. Instead of encouraging teamwork among his men, he insisted on the same strict ranked hierarchy as was followed on the ship. Soon there was infighting. Men broke off from the group. In strict contrast to the Grafton situation, there was very little in the way of an organized effort for survival. The situation quickly deteriorated, with men dying of illness and starvation. The situation grew so dire, and so ill-equiped were the survivors, that some resorted to cannibalization of their dead comrades.
   
   Because a mountainous region separated the two groups, neither group knew, at any time, of the other's existence. In that way, the simultaneous shipwrecks set up a fascinating social experiment. While the castaways from Grafton were fortunate in that their location was slightly more hospitable, with more edible vegetation and seals nearby, they also showed heroic resolve and resourcefulness. Their story alone would have been an amazing survival story, culminating in a desperate, five-day suicide mission in a boat of their own construction--an undersized and ill-equipped vessel that they optimistically dubbed Rescue--from Auckland Island to Stewart Island in New Zealand. In the end, all five crewmen survived the ordeal, which lasted nearly two years.
   
   The other side of the tale is much more grim. Of the Invercauld crew, only three survived--the captain, first mate, and crewman Robert Holding--and then only thanks to Holding's resourcefulness and good luck in the form of a ship passing the island.
   
   This is a fascinating book. Druett's extensive research and analysis are paid off in a story that is both enthralling and full of lessons about teamwork, leadership, and what it takes to survive in one of the more inhospitable corners of the sea.

1 comments about The Rough Guide to New Zealand Map (Rough Guide Country/Region Map).

1. This is a great map of New Zealand. Its unfortunate that it is becoming hard to find.
   
   The map was printed a few years ago, so some things have changed, but for 95% of the areas you would be traveling to it is very accurate. Most of the changes are not the addition or changing of streets but rather the condition of the roads. Many roads that are said to be unsealed are now sealed, especially in the North Island.
   
   The map is also made out of a plastic type material that is waterproof. You could dump a bucket of water on the map and it would still be fine, maybe just cleaner! Wish they made all maps out of this material.
   
   Great map if you can find it, and its worth the hunt!

1 comments about Fodor's New Zealand 2008 (Fodor's Gold Guides).

1. I can not review the contents of this book because upon arrival to my house, I found it was way too big to travel with. I immediately returned it. If you are backpacking, this is not the book for you.

5 comments about The Rough Guide to New Zealand 5 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. I fancy myself somewhat of an expert in New Zealand travel, with numerous lengthy trips there, including two group trips that I organized and led. I have used DK, Lonely Planet, Let's Go, and Rough Guide, and there is absolutely no question which is best. Rough Guide. It is more thorough and more intelligently written than any of the others, and its graphics have gradually improved as well. Though not as glossy as DK or as famous as Lonely Planet, Rough Guide provides the traveler/reader with the best understanding of New Zealand. If in doubt, go to a bookstore and read the descriptions of a given place in Lonely Planet, and then in Rough Guide. It will be obvious which is better. I recently purchased the recent editions of both Rough Guide and Lonely Planet (both published Sept 2006) but have decided that it won't be necessary to bring both on my next trip to New Zealand. Rough Guide has everything found in Lonely Planet and much, much more. Highly recommend.



2. We are yet to take our trip to New Zealand, however, I'm sure we'll feel more comfortable with our decisions on where to go, what to see, where to stay, and what to do from using this Book. The book gives general price ranges for hotels, activites, and in some cases restaurants. I think the greatest resource has been the website listings within each section. The websites cover everything from airlines, to tour groups, to just general information about the country. Needless to say, We're very excited to take our trip and I know this book will be coming along with us!



3. After trying another guidebook, we purchased The Rough Guide shortly before we left for New Zealand. It was an invaluable companion during our travels. The reviews were spot-on, leading us to a number of excellent restaurants and good campgrounds. We even appreciated knowing that a restaurant was "somewhat overpriced but adequate" before we went in--and that description was completely accurate.
   
   The Rough Guide covers a range of restaurants and accommodations, which is useful. Even budget travelers sometimes like to splurge (and know that the splurge is worth the money). Their evaluation of activities was also accurate.
   
   This guide is well worth the price--and worth it's weight when traveling.



4. I planned our entire trip using a good road map and the 4th addition of the Rough Guide. Everything regarding the locations we visited was amazingly accurate. There are good maps of all the cities as well as the areas of interest. I did not find particularly useful the recommendations for accommodations, which featured either places for backpackers or those at the higher end, with not much in between. I also did not agree with some of the restaurant recommendations. Nevertheless if you are looking for a great guide book for everything else, this one is a winner.



5. 
   
   I had Rough Guides recommended to me but I am disappointed in the size of the print, I would have rather the book been larger that having to strain my eyesight to read. I'm sure the book is very informative & we will ready ourselves hopefully for a trip to NZ in late 2008.

5 comments about Frommer's New Zealand (Frommer's Complete).

1. I thought this book had good coverage of the major locations most Americans would visit in New Zealand. More importantly, the author is a native of NZ and as such, she seemed to have some good insights into the local viewpoint. I had no difficulty finding the information I needed about every location we wanted to visit and every major hotel or restaurant that interested us. This book is probably not well suited to those who want to backpack through NZ on the cheap. It's aimed at the middle-class traveler who wants to stay in an actual hotel and eat in restaurants.



2. An excellent planning guide, especially the tips about school holidays and how to avoid the crowds.



3. Somehow I received and was charged for 2 books. I only wanted 1 book. Any ideas?



4. I bought this book because it had a good name behind it, but this guide is lacking what I need, pictures and MAPS! Not a great start to a trip to a country I've never been. After recently browsing a book store I found New Zealand by Insight Guides to be much more sufficient! It is under Discovery Channel so it's legit! Overall this book has been helpful but I think the target audience is older and much better off monetarily than I.



5. A friend and I had 5 New Zealand travel books between us on our trip. This was the best book by far. We would look at the other books then would always go back to the Frommer's. We ended up using it exclusively by the end of the first week. The information was accurate and easy to follow.

5 comments about New Zealand (Country Guide).

1. Great book, the information is accurate, complete and extremely useful at the time of choosing NZ as a travelling destination. plus, its ad free. just excellent.



2. NZ definition of luxury is different from USA definition. Stayed in Victorian Hotel in Rotorua that got rave review in this book, the room we had was very ordinary and the bathroom was very old and run down. Very disappointing. Even though the hotel is about 100 yrs old, it does not have to look rundown.
   Stayed in Boutique hotel in Hamilton, very nice but not up to US Boutique standards. Best hotel on the trip was in Auckland by the sailing harbor, room modern but parking situation is pathetic. Only have room for 10 cars or so, for a large hotel. Except for the first night, had to park several blocks away in a municipal parking garage (car park), at the same price as at the hotel. Very inconvenient, we were there in summer, would be a miserable walk in the winter.
   Great information about things to do in each city.



3. So far what I've read the book has a wealth of travel info.



4. Lots of good information. Will be bringing it on our trip. Print is very small. Needed my extra strong readers.



5. For years I have relied on Lonely Planet guidebooks as one of my primary travel sources for information. After returning from a self-guided 2 week car trip through New Zealand's north and south islands, my wife and I were both in agreement that this guide was not up to par and disappointing compared to other LP guidebooks. Restaurant information in Christchurch and other towns was already outdated. Hotel information was not comprehensive and I found better information for planning our lodging on the internet before we left home. Things to see and do in towns besides nightlife and museums was sparse, and excursions to interesting places off highways was sketchy. We finally put the book away and stopped referring to it since we were better able to explore on our own. New Zealand has one of the world's best tourist information systems throughout the country which helps travelers find or plan lodging, activities, transportation, virtually anything that would be helpful to the tourist. Offices are located throughout the country under the "i" signs for information, even in the smallest towns. Maps are freely available everywhere, as are also helpful free booklets and brochures for each region you may visit. For general information, this guidebook will answer many of your basic questions, but I would suggest looking at several other books for planning your journey and guiding you along your way in New Zealand.

4 comments about New Zealand (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE).

1. NEW ZEALAND achieves the same for that country, packing all into a pocket-sized tote which is just easy enough to take along, yet compromises nothing in the amount of detail offered. From driving and walking tours to cultural insights, these books can't be beat and are top choices for destination-oriented travelers wanting visual excitement paired with practical facts.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. I love the Eyewitness Travel Guide series but they generally suffer from certain limitations and the New Zealand guide is no exception. It starts off with the standard historical chapter before getting to an area-by-area description and summary of both islands that form the country. This is where the book shines because it offers color photos on every page that are invaluable in helping you decide which sights are must-see and which ones you can skip if you are short on time. As you would expect, every region is covered, from Auckland in the north down to Stewart Island in the far south. All of the major attractions are covered although perhaps not as comprehensively as you might like.
   
   Next, come the sections on hotels, shopping, restaurants, and other practical needs. These sections are not as comprehensive as you'll see in some other guides such as Frommer's New Zealand (Frommer's Complete). And this really is what it comes down to. The Eyewitness guides are not as detailed as most of the other guide books. They are, however, the only series to offer hundreds of color photos to help you visualise your trip and this is an invaluable planning tool. I highly recommend that you buy this guide as well as one of the more detailed books and use them both to plan your trip. That's the only way to get everything you need to plan a great vacation.



3. This DK travel guide to New Zealand is quite good at describing that island nation in a general sense, and offering lots of beautiful color illustrations and photographs of neat places to go. But it's not so great as an actual travel guide. First of all, it's a bit heavy to carry around. Second, it is broad, rather than jam-packed with helpful details. Third, it offers up mostly white-bread, been-there-done-that activities and sites.
   
   I suggest that you consult this DK guide **before** you head to New Zealand, in order to get familiar with the country and to pick the mainstream places and monuments you want to see. Then leave it at home, and bring a more dense, helpful guide along with you (such as "The Rough Guide to New Zealand").
   
   The DK guide to New Zealand will make a handsome souvenir reference once you return home.



4. Eyewithess Travel Guides give the best overall overview of any travel book or other travel product - good organization; great pictures, maps and other graphics; interesting & concise text and descriptions about history, national foods and beverages, etc.; good suggestions for lodging and eating. They are excellet resource and reference books, but they are concise enough to give a relatively complete overview but short enough to quickly convey information, especially if you do not have a lot of free time.
   
   I believe that carefully reading about a desination is important for planning any trip. The Eyewithess Travel Guides are the best way to obtain that overview and prioritize where you want to go. The New Zealand guide is enormous help to us with our planning.