2 comments about Drive Around New Zealand: Your Guide to Great Drives (Drive Around - Thomas Cook).

1. I have read this book for planning our trip to N.Z. and the rating applies to only this aspect. We hope that our actual experience will confirm the numerous recommendations. The area maps are very helpful, but additional, separate maps of the full area of the North and South islands would improve the overall orientation. It took me until the very last page of the book (281) to locate Christchurch!
   A minor point (page 181): "It is not the largest wooden building in the southern hemisphere, although that claim is often made; the largest is the Todaiji Temple in Japan." The author does not appear to be aware of the fact that Japan is in the northern hemisphere .... !?



2. I spent about three months in New Zealand earlier this year and found this guide great to have around. I would certainly purchase it only in addition to a more detailed and thorough guidebook for New Zealand (I went with Rough Guide to New Zealand, which I found very detailed and helpful), as it doesn't give you nearly the amount of detail on places to stay and eat and visit as one of those guide books does.
   
   However, for planning scenic drives, it's excellent. We were able to modify its suggestions and itineraries to fit our interests and time constraints- this was made very easy by the detailed maps. I would agree that an overall map of the North and South Island would come in handy, but the detail provided in the numerous smaller maps was much appreciated all the same.
   
   The author goes in detail over several places of interest, and many places that I'm sure I would have missed if they hadn't come up in the guide. It was easy to read, the directions are easy to follow, and it thoroughly added to my experience of New Zealand. A great buy if you are planning a driving holiday through that gorgeous country!

No comments about New Zealand's South Island from Above.

No comments about New Zealand from Above.

No comments about New Zealand Map by Nelles (Nelles Maps) (Nelles Maps).

No comments about Introduction to New Zealand (Odyssey Guides).

3 comments about New Zealand Bed & Breakfast Guide, 2006: New Zealand's Leading Guide To Accommodation With Character.

1. This book was very helpfull, especially with the pictures of the B&B's, in making our desicions where to stay. We have been to New Zealand before, but this was a great help. If one is going to travel NZ on their own, I would recomend this.



2. A good book with lots of information on B&B's throughout New Zealand.
   Also small enough to take with you.



3. The guide is organized geographically, even within a region, which is not especially helpful to those who don't know their way around. Properties are not listed alphabetically within a town. Alphabetically by town then name within a region would be more useful. The blurbs for each property are written by the owners so there's a wide range of value in the text. Addition of a set of ideograms to describe basic amenities would also be a great help in identifying a property meeting one's criteria.

3 comments about Great Escapes : A Guide To Motorcycle Touring in New Zealand.

1. Peter Mitchell, in his GREAT ESCAPES, motorcycle touring guide to New Zealand has raised the bar in the domain of motorcycle tour guides. I should know.

   It was 1995, I got sucked into a bet and the next thing I knew I was riding a Buell S-2 Thunderbolt or a leisurely tour of 37 of the United States. Sure, I saw a lot. But, I also learned alot and if I had a book like Peter Mitchell's GREAT ESCAPES, the fantasy trip of a lifetime would have been much more graceful.

   The first thing that strikes one about GREAT ESCAPES is that Peter KNOWS of what he speaks. This is revealed, not in words, but in the physical construction of the book. We'll get to content in a moment, but those of you who ride (and who among us has not dreamt of riding New Zealand) will appreciate the 6"wx8"t size of the book, coupled with the spiral binding. Ever tried to fit a "normal" book in the top of a tank bag? Mitchell makes it easy, in fact convenient.

   In the book, New Zealand is divided into the North Island and the South Island. Mitchell does a neat transition between the two by, you guessed it, by turning page 90 into a primer on "Crossing Cook Straight". Frankly, this book threatens to make even the most unseasoned motorcycle tourer look like a pro.

   The rides (23 North Island / 22 South Island) are described in precisely the kind of detail I want and need. Where to start, distance, time, when and where to plan fuel stops, suggested diversions, safety considerations weather, hotels, and the one item that makes motorcycling so special to me. . . FOOD. This is not book, this is a valuable tool that I hope Mitchell comes to the US (like so many of my riding makes from his Homeland) and replicates the book.

   To insure you've little else to pack when headed to New Zealand, GREAT ESCAPES is packed full of information on "What makes a motorcyclist", basic riding skills , accommodations (lodging for you Yanks)and enough weather information to qualify you for a job at the Channel 4 Meteorologist here in New York City.

   The book has imbued me with a list of 3 things I must do:

   1) Learn more about the fabulous country of New Zealand 2) Ride more 3) Consider a tip to New Zealand to explain to Peter Mitchell what we call "stock effluent" in the United States.

   Bottom line: Don't even think about leaving the USA without reading GREAT ESCAPES cover to cover.

   Courtney L. Canfield New York City

   I've got hundreds of motorcycle books, this one goes on top.




2. Three trips to New Zealand on a motorcycle. First two without "Great Escapes" and 15,000km, saw a lot. Using an American authors book was just barely ok. The third trip this last time for 10 weeks, did 12000km. Using the "Great Escapes" book I experienced New Zealand up close and personal. It's a GREAT book and an absolute must in order to get "inside" what I consider one of the great countries of the world!!



3. A plug for the "local talent" !! I just took a couple of weeks off to travel from Auckland down to and around the South Island, using Peter Mitchell's book "Great Escapes" as part of my routing.
   
   I had put together a general itinerary and then incorporated excerts from about a dozen of his rides into my travels so that, instead of just going directly from Point "A" to Point "B", I would purposely detour to take advantage of recommended roads from the book and, when time permitted, would take off altogether on some of his suggested "diversions". Worked out terrifically !! The descriptions and directions are "spot on" (particularly his description of the Takaka Hill as "tortuous"), and the information and suggestions provided were fabulous for an impressionable immigrant such as myself.
   
   If you're heading off into an area that you're not that familiar with, and want to really enjoy the ride like the locals might, pick up a copy of this super little book and stick it in the tankbag. If you don't get your money back in grins, then shame on you!
   
   Victor Solomon
   K75RT with substantially less tire tread than before it left!

No comments about On Top of the World: The Conquest of Mount Everest.

No comments about In Tasmania.

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

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