No comments about Wild New Zealand.

5 comments about Two Wheels Around New Zealand: A Bicycle Journey on Friendly Roads.

1. Cover describes book as a "light hearted adventure story", should have been "a travel ordeal". Showed how lack of training and improper equipment can turn what should have been fun into drudgery. Choose biking as a cheap mode of transport rather than doing it for the pleasure of cycling which effected narrative. Constant whining and complaining made it hard to enjoy. Use of local NZ slang got old and author trying to force his personal views on locals seemed inappropriate. I have biked in NZ and it was nothing like the book described.



2. AUSTRALIAN CYCLIST--"Here is an engrossing tale...Scott writes entertainingly and perceptively of the idiosyncrasies of the population and areas he and Katie passed through...If you have ever wanted to go cycling in New Zealand, you could do far worse than to read this book first. If you never want to go there, don't read it-it will probably change your mind!"

   KLCC PUBLIC RADIO, Eugene, Oregon--" Today I have the pleasure of reviewing a marvelous book for you...The avid bike rider will be thrilled with the detailed and fascinating descriptions...TWO WHEELS AROUND NEW ZEALAND reads as if you were sharing travel yarns with old friends. Scott Bischke has a very informal tone, and he really brought me into his confidences as he shared his moods, fears, and hopes before and during this incredible year...Wouldn't this book make a great film!"

   BACKROADS CYCLING-- "I did enjoy the book....the tone was nice, there were good illustrations, the descriptions of the difficulties encountered added to the story without resorting to the whining all too common in literature these days."

   BOOKLIST--" ...Bischke offers insights into the pleasures of biking, fly-fishing, and just living."

   BILLINGS GAZETTE--"Bischke has a fluid, chatty style..."

   As the author of TWO WHEELS, I'm more than a little shocked at the first review posted. That I did not connect with that reader is apparent, though I have never heard the book described as anything but light-hearted and enjoyable (if the first review engendered a rating of 2, I'd hate to see his or her 1!). Wishing you happy pedaling, Scott Bischke




3. This was a great read - especially if you are interested in biking as an adventure. I just returned from New Zealand and agree with most of what he wrote!



4. This book packs in a lot as Scott and his partner, Kate, cover several thousand km of NZ bike touring, racing storms, pedaling up grueling roads, meeting all sorts of locals and travelers alike, and exploring natural and beautiful New Zealand.
   
   Parts flew by too quickly for me, but other parts were described in fun, insightful detail. I feel I gained some good knowledge and insight into NZ after reading this book, especially in the areas of NZ weather (lots of rain, wind, and sun), how NZ treats foreigners (mostly good), and what bike-touring is like (tough and rewarding but mostly tough). Oh, and as a bonus, it really perked my interest in fly-fishing!
   
   The book won't knock you out of your chair, but I doubt that is it's intention. A great read if you are planning a trip to New Zealand or planning a bike-touring trip; especially with a significant other! I hope to report soon as to how accurate this account is. The trip occurred in the late 1980s so I imagine NZ might have changed a lot since then, but maybe not.



5. This is the first of two books written about this couple. The second book is called Crossing Divides: A Couples Story of Cancer, Hope, and Hiking Montana's Continental Divide. You might enjoy reading about what happened to them after their marriage and their encounter with cancer and hiking the Continental Divide.

No comments about 2 To 22 Days in New Zealand: The Itinerary Planner/1994 (2-22 Days).

No comments about Australia and New Zealand: Volume 1.

2 comments about Insight Pocket Guide New Zealand (Insight Pocket Guides).

1. This is a colorful book with lots of pictures about New Zealand. Its first couple of chapters include the history and culture of New Zealand are especially interesting. They were very useful for visitors to the Kiwi country. However, its lack of large street maps, area maps and detail route maps are disappointing as well as annoying. Although the front cover has an overview map of both the north & south island, I think it will improve the ease of reading and research if various level of district maps and street maps are provided, especially when a traveller was deciding which hotel/motel to book reservations and how far he/she needs to drive from one scenic spot to the next. Without this, it is disasterous for travel planning. Other things to include will be web sites for driving directions such as www.wises.co.nz etc. For a backpack traveller like me, I will even be willing to pay more if road maps/ street map of Auckland are included with the book (which some of the publishers are already doing).



2. great information on new zealand cities and points of interest,historical & commercial. excellent itineraries with photography to give you a true sense of the trip, including physical requirements. recommend it highly for a first-time visitor!

5 comments about Kiwi Tracks: A New Zealand Journey (rejacketed) (Travel Literature).

1. Andrew Stevenson has successfully accomplished what very few others are able to do.
   He has written a travel guide that is actually enthralling to read. From its pages you will gain a wonderful sense of the flora, fauna and people of "The Land of the White Cloud."
   Although the title suggests it to be a book on hiking... it is not. It is a personal account of his time in New Zealand, where he spends 4 months marching through some of the most beautiful places on earth.
   The casts of characters that he introduces us to are not "over the top" hard to imagine people, but... simply the everyday folks of New Zealand and the foreigners that are vacationing there too.
   I look forward to reading all of Mr. Stevenson's works.
   Andrew... if you ever need a hiking buddy... drop me a line!



2. I found this to be an interesting book. If you want to learn all about New Zealand, its flora and fuana, or great "tramps" (hikes, for you and me), this isn't the book for you. However, it is an enjoyable light read, giving the reader interesting snapshots of life in NZ. Stevenson meets some interesting people along his journey and I found the way in which he shares their stories much more engaging than most of his descriptions of his walks in the woods. Yes, at times the book strains credulity and some of the characters may seem a bit cliche, but I, too, stood in wonder of many of the situations he encounters. Ultimately what comes through is that New Zealand is a land both unlike any other and exactly like home, too.



3. I very much recommend Andrew Stevenson's "Kiwi Tracks," equally well for those who do and do not know personally New Zealand's natural and cultural landscape and her Great Walks. I myself fall somewhat in between these categories - having explored the South Island only, during some six visits in the last 20 years, always tramping, always in awe.
   
   He tells well how the Great Walks (the term had not existed in my early tramps) have turned from a few persons in lonely huts to nearly hundreds of packed-in campers on solo or guided tours -in just a few short decades. Also his South Island walks were unusually impaired by a massive snow storm and so come across a bit off-putting.
   
   Stevenson gave me the best-yet view of what I have been missing in the North Island ("away from the Mainland," as he quips).
   
   Overall, his book is a beautiful, honest, and detailed travel narrative (thank goodness for someone taking the time to name by name the many fauna and flora experienced). But it is markedly canted by his own ah, delicate emotional state during the journey. The book's dust jacket warns us: "... whatever you have in your rucksack, the heaviest baggage is what you carry inside." Stevenson's emotional center of mass during his trip clearly is located a bit outside himself and he is prone to tip over emotionally during the journey. His honesty about this both hurts and helps the narrative - it does give the reader a reference point: The author is working hard to discover that which is truly important to himself in his journey, as well as puzzling over that same question for New Zealand - the colonist vs. native Maori views of national politics, natural heritage, and future directions.
   
   While relating the pristine and inutterably amazing natural beauty of this land, not the least being the almost inconceivable human innocence and generosity of its citizens, he gives us a tutorial in NZ's basic dilemma. When he asks a fellow tramper to quote the best and worst of his travels: [I paraphrase] "The worst is to see the landscape so corrupted by commercialism so quickly." (You can guess - the bus tours, helicopters, jet boats, egregious mountain re-landscaping.) "The best is that New Zealand is still so unbelievable beautiful." This echoed within me, watching once-quiet towns transformed at the snap of a dollar into teaming Disneylands.
   
   Stevenson shows us, by example(s), of how New Zealand transforms and helps its visitors. A German therapist suggests that tramping holds more value than health insurance premiums. I am inclined to agree.
   
   Of the highest value to me in the book is that Stevenson gives us some great insight into the NZ national values debate (still-ongoing) contrasting (via his hitchhiker's car-cabin testimonies) the views of the progeny of the more recent Western, rough-hewn pioneers against the natural spiritualism of
   Maoris, who also gave him rides, and to whom he related more. He shows us that the people of New Zealand must finally listen to the Maori, and strive to preserve their naturalist vision (in the face of adventure bungee-jumping tourism). Between the lines, he shows us that the dialog must go both ways,
   especially when facing the World's money, foreign buyers and the touristic denizens of the new millennium.



4. First off, I loved this book. I have a great desire, if not budget, to see New Zealand. This has only increased my longing to visit this country. Stevenson's writing is very subtle in its humor. I laughed more reading this book than any other travel book I have read before. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in travelling and especially in New Zealand.



5. I have travelled to New Zealand many times. When in bookshops I always take a peek in the section they have for NZ, and enjoy travel literature on the topic. Reading a book on one's journey through this country is like taking a mini trip back there again, a place I am very fond of. I've never had a bad experience there. It's a place I have gone alone for months at a time, and a place I have gone with family and friends. This book however, was so negative! He spends most of the story whining about his recently ended relationship, complaining about the weather, and his health problems. He seems to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder, which results in poor experiences with locals as they don't appreciate his negativity (and sometimes rude demeanor). There are points when he complains about the eco-tourism and the lack of environmentally friendly tourist attractions (jet boats and such), yet fails to have a bigger picture that New Zealand is much more advanced than most countries in limiting this activity thanks to it's citizens voting for preservation and supporting their Department of Conservation. No place is perfect, but in the bigger picture, NZ is far more ahead in this subject than most countries, and I mean MOST. I am saddened that he tends to place himself in situations where he invites negative experiences. Finally, if you are reading this book having little experience in NZ, please keep these things in mind, as it is an amazing place with some of the most kind and interesting people you'll ever meet. Aside from 2-3 tourist towns, which cram the typical stuff down your throat, it's one of few places you can go that is safe and you can get happily lost on a beautiful beach or mountain, all your own.

5 comments about Slipping into Paradise: Why I Live in New Zealand.

1. This book isn't about New Zealand, it's about the author and his laundry list of intellectual and professional accomplishments. It's self-important drivel disguised as a travel book and his pretentious rhetoric is anything but New Zealand.



2. It's not that it's a terribly _bad_ book, just hopelessly mislabeled. A better title would be "A Dull Exposition of the Flora, Fauna, and Native Peoples of New Zealand". It's not a total loss, the author gives some insight on the pros and cons of other places (e.g.: Hawaii - too confining, London - too expensive and dirty). He also gives a nice itinerary at the end of the book, even giving directions to his beach-side house.
   
   Several times he points out the tendency of Kiwi's to cut pretentious people down to size, which is especially ironic since the author appears to be pretentious in the extreme.
   
   If you're looking for a book to give solid information about emigrating to New Zealand, this isn't it. If you're looking for practical day-to-day advice from someone who has done it, this isn't it. If you want a heavy dose of whining and pontification - this is the book for you.
   
   My recommendation: "Browse" the book at a local bookstore (you can read the 1-2 worthwhile chapters very quickly) then save your money and put it back on the shelf.



3. Speaking as an American living in New Zealand (indeed, a Berkeleyite, just like Masson), this book really got under my skin, and not in a good way. Masson arrives in New Zealand with all his Berkeleyan world-explaining ideas (The Despoiling White Man, The Noble Savage, The Oppressed Native Peoples ) intact, needing only a smattering of experience to trot them out and apply them to his adopted country. There is next to no learning in this book, remarkably little writing of charm, insight or wit--just an endless litany of "I did...", "I felt...", "I was affected by..." paragraphs, interspersed with the kind of factual material that a high-school student might include. As journalism it is far too slapdash. As memoir, its self-regard and -indulgence far outweighs its meager helping of resonance. In short, I can't believe that this book had an editor.
   
   This is clearly a book that was written on his veranda, for people who already take him for an intellectual/empathetic figure of note. Not having ever read anything else of his, I found nothing here to justify that standing, which makes it only the more irritating that he is so "up himself", as the Kiwis would say.
   
   New Zealand is indeed a wonderful, wonderful places, for some of the reasons Masson describes, and for many others as well that he never notices. Even when he says something I sort of agree with, I start mentally arguing with him. GAHH!



4. But about the author himself. Obviously an intelligent and well-traveled man. You can't miss that point , as he reminds you of such every other paragrah. I do , though , actually enjoy his writing style and enjoyed the book despite him. More on the actual state of living in NZ would be called for. After reading the book , I know little of how the common Kiwi spends his day , week or year. How the children grow through school and society. The state of business and commerce. I know much much more of the author's political beliefs (Michael Moore is courageous, American Blacks are entitled to reparations etc etc) that have no connection with , or bearing on , New Zealand. I know that he and his wife are well read , well traveled , well met(oh the name dropping!) and certainly , well off. I know that, with broad brush strokes , and 'not quite right' fellings in his gut, he paints entire countries and cultures - not as inferior to new Zealand's - but as unworthy of his residence. And thus Mr. Masson's book , in it's essence, is not really more than so much of the same pseudo-intellectual fluff that he so casually , yet specifically, dismisses.



5. I picked up Slip into Paradise in advance of my first trip to New Zealand, later this year (2008), and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was looking for something that was more than the run-of-the-mill guide book or history book (both of which I also acquired and are helpful). I was not disappointed at all with Jeffrey Masson's account of his experiences in New Zealand.
   
   This book added a third dimension to my travel preparation. I feel like I got a great flavor for what inspired his love for his adopted country, and confirmation of why I have been so interested in traveling to that country. I am not one to travel and sit in a tour bus or hang out where all of the other tourists go, and I greatly appreciate Jeff's personal itinerary that identified specific places that he found to be fun, interesting and not the local tourist sites.
   
   I experienced the book as having been written by someone who is not afraid to get out there, enjoys meeting with people in many venues, learning a lot about himself and a new place, and sharing these experiences in an engaging way. I totally recommend it and look forward to my trip to New Zealand and hope that I can experience the richness of getting to know New Zealand to the extent that Jeff has experienced. If I come away with this kind of adventure I will not be disappointed and will have stories to share with friends and family.

1 comments about Gumboots, Lesson Plans And Hot Rugby Nights: New Beginnings in New Zealand.

1. Fantastic "Dear Diary" tale of the author's trip overseas to pursue a teaching assignment. Try to keep up, if you can, as she takes you through the streets, trails and beaches, local eateries, museums and sightseeing highpoints of many New Zealand cities.
   
   Planning a trip to New Zealand? Read this book first! Enjoy cooking? Try the wonderful recipes included, such as this one (pg.209); Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce. Yum!

No comments about Cool Places: Geographies of Youth Cultures.

4 comments about Living and Working in New Zealand, Third Edition: A Survival Handbook (Living & Working in New Zealand).

1. I thought this was a good, thorough book that contained all the info you might need to know if you're considering moving to New Zealand.



2. I bought this book about a year ago, just as I was beginning to think of a move to New Zealand. Well, here we are, one year later... and I'll be there in four weeks time!

   This book helped me so much that I simply had to write a review of it before leaving. There are only about twenty books on my list to take with me to NZ, and this is one of them. I can't recomend it highly enough.

   I've been to NZ a handfull of time now. I find this book to be right on the mark. It captures just about everything you need to know about living and working in NZ, and many thing you don't need to know... but are entertaining in their own right.

   Mr. Hempshell touches on everything that a prospective migrant would want to know, with a great deal of humor as well (I love the little cartoons). I also bought books which were supposed to be about immigrating to NZ. Steer clear of these books. They tell you nothing that you can't find out for yourself on the NZ immigration web site.

   If you are thinking of moving to NZ this is the book for you. Of all the books about NZ I've bought this year, this is the only one I still refer to. You'll not go wrong, trust me.




3. I read this book before i went on a vacation to New Zealand last year. It was fairly informative. If you have absolutely no knowledge of the country, this book will be very helpful. However books such as this one are not extremely useful, even if they were updated each year. (which this book isn't) The section about Television in New Zealand was outdated. This book makes it seem that even the best satellite service will not compare to even cable in the US. In other words, their television offerings are scarce. However, I found that to be untrue. Sky TV offers many channels and has good variety. This is just an example of how this book cannot possibly keep you informed about a rapidly changing country like New Zealand. The point is, if you really want the scoop on living in New Zealand, ask your friends who've visited for information. An even better way is to search on the internet. Go to a chatroom that has New Zealand inhabitants and ask them. They are very friendly.



4. I found thins book to be not at all helpfull to me in moving to New Zealand. In fact I found it to be very out of date and the back section that talks about the Kiwi people and their way of life seemed depressing to me. I found the book to be constantly stereo typeing Kiwis. Sheep, beer, rugby etc. I think that the information in this book was true 10 years ago but a lot has changed in New Zealand in that time, especially in the cities. The information in this book is all available on the internet and it is constantly updated there.