No comments about Feasts and Festivals: A Celebration of Pacific Island Culture in New Zealand.

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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!

5 comments about Lonely Planet Australia.

1. Having recently returned from Australia I must heartily recommend this title for the excellent advice on all the areas I visited.

   One word of warning, however. When visiting Mission Beach, avoid Mackays motel on Porter Promenade. The grubby rooms and surly service spolied what was otherwise a highly enjoyable visit to Queensland. All the other Lonely Planet reccommendations were top notch!




2. The new 11th edition (May 2002)of this Lonely Planet Guide is excellent. I grew up in Australia and travel back frequently. The publisher is based in Melbourne, so this book has unique "at the source" information and tips. This updated edition solves most of the problems of previous editions. Yes, things change -- so always refer to the most recent edition available. Australia is a fascinating island continent.



3. This book had excellent maps to use while in the country. It was also very useful when planning because it had phone numbers for everything so I was able to book in advance. It had very good advice when it came to planning itineraries. I especially liked that it had all the main tourist attractions as well as numerous off-the-beat-and-track (and wonderful!) suggestions. Use THIS book to plan in advance and to guide you while you're there. It covers EVERYTHING.



4. This edition is a very poor effort by the Lonely Planet series. Year after year they get a lot of information completely wrong and no one seems to update it with the correct information. For example this edition lists Surfers Paradise, Coolangatta, Burleigh and practically every other suburb of the Australia's sixth largest city Gold Coast as towns. Obviously they are getting confused with the region north of Brisbane which is known as the Sunshine Coast which is made up of a lot of individual towns. Obviously the editor has never travelled to southern Queensland or this error would be corrected. The misleading thing then about this book is that it implies it is written by backpackers who have visited these places when clearly with such obvious mistakes someone just read a mistake somewhere while researching and reprinted it.

   This book also does not contain the majority of hostel listings in Australia which is the main reason most people purchase these books. There are many free backpacker publications in nearly every Australian hostel so I would recommend not purchasing this book.

   It does have some background information (although not entirely accurate) and some colour photographs. There are better books to buy to do research on Australia if planning a trip here then this mistake riddled thing.




5. This is the crown jewel of the Lonely Planet series. It's no wonder since Lonely Planet is based in Australia. This guide is much more comprehensive than any of the other Lonely Planet guides I have used. To get an idea, the Lonely Planet Australia guide is about the same thickness as the Lonely Planet Western Europe guide. Is there really as much to see in Australia as in Western Europe? I don't think so, but I'm not complaining. I just wish the other guidebooks were as complete as this one. This guide goes into great detail for every region of Australia. There even listings for minor towns with populations of 200 or 300. I don't think anything is left out.

   As is usual with Lonely Planet guidebooks, this give great listings for reasonably priced hotels and restaurants. Also it gives you great information on how to reach each location. Oh, and it covers all the main sights, and a lot of the minor ones as well. Basically, if you're going to go to Australia, you should pick this up. You won't regret it.

No comments about Long Ride for a Pie: From London to New Zealand on Two Wheels and an Appetite.

5 comments about The Lost Tribe: A Harrowing Passage into New Guinea's Heart of Darkness.

1. This was an author I had hoped would deliver something that many travel-writers don't - a sense of the freedom and anguish of the way we once lived, portrayed through the experiences of the living. In review, he largely managed this. But I still felt strangely unsatisfied when finishing the book. A feeling that emerges from the fact that you leave the story without actually knowing all that much about the tribe. You see, in truth this book is more about a series of events along a storyline than an expose of a 'lost' tribe. Of course this has much to do with his difficulties in communicating with the tribe, but nevertheless it is a shame.

   I did though feel that this story highlights the gulf still existing in the world across the spectrum of human cultures. It is for the reader to decide (or not) the value in maintaining or trying to close such a gulf, and for whose benefit - ours or theirs. For example, the impact of western religion on such tribes is shown in the book to be thoughtless and combattant in the way it is taught. Perhaps to be expected in the 18th or 19th century, but quite disturbing when it is in the present day.

   In conclusion, I think Marriot has done the Liawep justice with this story, but the damage he did during the course of his stay will probably haunt him and the Liawep for many years to come.




2. This was a great book, it read like a novel. It was fascinating and honest, Edward Marriott weaves a mystical story of the indigenous tribespeople of New Guinea, the Liawep. It at times seems too fantastic to be true, but the amazing thing about it is, that it is true. I hope he will write a follow up if he ever goes back! He's a great writer, never lingering too long on any episode, just enough to keep the reader interested. I read a lot of non-fiction and I must say that I recommend this one highly! An amazing book!



3. From the very start of the book, this author has gone out of his way to slam the missionaries working in Papua New Guinea. In doing so, he has thrown out some "facts", startling mostly in their complete inaccuracy. For the record, the Summer Institute of Linguistics does NOT forbid all books but the Bible; there are no books. The whole point is that they are working to create a written language where one did not previously exist. There ARE no written texts in the languages with which SIL work.
   
   Given that I spent 8 years in Papua New Guinea growing up, reading this book is painful. The author's interpretations of cultural mores are naive at best, intolerably patronising at worst. When one of his contacts balks at the prospect of getting into a PMV (not a "minivan", Mr Marriott) on payday Friday, the tone of the narrative is ever-so-slightly scathing, as if he can't believe this person is afraid of a few noble savages. As a former resident, I can assure you that payday Friday was the day each fortnight when violence and drunkenness were endemic, and no Westerner or female of any persuasion would voluntarily put themselves in any sort of vulnerable position on that night.
   
   There is a clear overtone of life being viewed and interpreted through a certain ?cultural? ?moral? ?anti-religious? filter; while the events the author describes may well have actually happened, his interpretation of their meaning leaves much to be desired.
   
   I am slightly horrified to see that the author has written several other "my true tales of adventure" type of books set in Nicaragua and other places, and I can only imagine what sorts of nonsense those contain.



4. I am no native English speaker, but I spent some time in New Guinea. And I know that there are no emus in New Guinea, but cassowaries. Apart from that, a rather good account of contemporary New Guinea, although too superficial for my taste.



5. As travel adventure this is a walk in the park. Really light stuff. So, why the four stars? What the reader runs in to, is the plight of the indigenous people, caught up in a free market of evangelicals and their "products." There must be some law against committing cultural genocide. The native people appear to be lost in their own land, drowning in an alien culture.

No comments about Cruising Japan To New Zealand: The Voyage Of The Sea Quest.

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