• TWO IN ONE - No other guide covers both Australia and New Zealand, let alone from a backpacker's perspective
• GET THE LOWDOWN on where to go for nonstop parties, and where to find a little space all to yourself
• EAT CHEAP AND SLEEP EASY with our fully updated coverage of the best local eateries and great-value accommodation
• TAKE YOUR LIFE IN YOUR HANDS - get your thrills from the best scuba diving, bungy jumping, skiing and jet-boating that Oz and NZ has to offer!
Discover how to make the most of a visit to this outdoor adventure mecca (whether you're hiking, kayaking, rock climbing, skiing, snowboarding, sailing, caving, biking, or simply strolling). This guide provides a 20-page, full-color flora and fauna section, as well as listings on where to stay (from farms to resorts), background on the Maori people's history and culture, and 113 maps including national parks and ski areas. --Kathryn True
Experience the infinite variety of New Zealand: Sample the cafés and bars of Auckland, take a gravity-defying bungy jump pr tramp through some of the world's most spectacular wilderness areas with this bestselling guidebook. <ul>
exhaustively researched accommodation listings </li></ul>
Customer Reviews:
Don't travel without this guide!.......2004-06-10
If you're going to New Zealand - and want to enjoy the country to the fullest - DO NOT LEAVE WITHOUT THIS GUIDE! I embarked on a 6-week long trip last June with this edition of 'Lonely Planet New Zealand' and fate as my only guides. I was impressed to the max! The only other guide I needed was a road atlas I picked up at the airport in Auckland (and since I was touring some of the Lord of the Rings film locations, Ian Brodie's lovely 'Lord of the Rings: Location Guidebook'). I do recommend renting a vehicle - as someone under 25 years old, Budget was a good bet for rental. Just remember, "Left, left left." It's a cinch! With the US dollar exchange rate favorable, we cheaply rented a top notch 4WD SUV for the entire time based on the recommendation of this book. I love the Lonely Planet series for the sheer fact that it gives you pointers on fantastic locations that may be slightly off the beaten path while at the same time informing you of the best of the best in those tourist meccas. It's a lovely balance. My only regret is that 6-weeks is far too short a time to see everything there is to see in New Zealand!
The top 5 places you shouldn't miss on the North and South Islands:
North Island
1) Take the short ferry ride from Auckland to Rangitoto Island and hike to the summit - otherwordly!
2) Do a touristy bus tour to Cape Reinga out of Paihia - on the bus to Cape Reinga you'll get to: learn a lot about the Maori culture, hug a Kauri tree, stop and surf down sand dunes, wonder in awe at the northern most point of the North Island where untouched white beaches are visible as the Tasman and Pacific Ocean meet and clash (an amazing scene), and to top it all off you'll cruise down 90-mile beach as waves lap the wheels of the bus (yeah, the beach is actually a registered roadway).
3) Drive around the gorgeous Coromandel Peninsula - leave the Thames area just before sunrise and the landscape will just take your breath away! You will come to understand the meaning of Aotearoa/New Zealand: land of the long white cloud.
4) Wander the volcantic parks of Rotorua - Wai-ti-pau was a highlight! Don't forget to sign-up for a traditional Maori concert and haka at the Tamaki Maori Village for a cool cultural experience!
5) Cruise Cuba Street in Wellington for food and shops, and don't forget to visit Te Papa - the national museum of Wellington.
South Island
1) Plan a kayaking trip out of Motueka: the Tonga Island wildlife option is cool - we saw wild Orca and New Zealand Fur Seals up close and personal and then lunched on a secluded beach reached only by kayak!
2) Take a helicopter ride up to Fox Glacier and do an afternoon hike - see where semi-tropical rainforest meets glacier meets the Tasman Sea.
3) Go white water rafting on the Shotover River in Queenstown (be sure you get an option with the Oxenbridge Tunnel)! Then go jet boating, then bungy jumping, you name, it they do it there! Don't miss Deer Park Heights either - say hello to the free roaming buffalo for me!
4) Head to the beautiful city of Kaikoura for whale watching and a dolphin swim.
5) If you love wildlife - head to Dunedin and take a tour out to the Otago Peninsula (you'll see albatross, fur seals, sea lions, yellow-eyed penguins and a variety of bird life up close and personal - by up close I mean walking on the beach less than 10 feet away from a Hooker Seal Lion twice your size). While in Dunedin, visit Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world, and don't miss the Cadbury Factory! It's well worth the admission price!
There is so much more to see and do that I haven't listed - and this guide helped me find it all and point me in the right direction every step of the way. The only thing the guide failed to mention was the abundance of rainbows in this enchanted country - I don't know about you, but where I come from rainbows are a special once in a great while occurance. In New Zealand you see them on a daily basis. I guarantee that with the help of this guide you will leave New Zealand with enough fantastic memories to last a lifetime. Kia ora.
new zealand is a beautiful place.......2004-03-19
new zealand is a beautiful place
The only decent Lonely Planet book.......2003-05-13
This book is a lot better than the other Lonely Planet books in that it is the same size as the others but as it is only about one small country, it can fit most (not all there's still work to be done) of the towns and attractions backpackers want to see in New Zealand.
The main difference between this and Let's Go is that this is written for a North American audience whereas Let's Go is more for your British, European, Australian, South African and the like markets. This means those not from North America may find a lot of the information as common knowledge, especially historic things and would prefer to have more further detailed information which is contained in the competitor Let's Go. Since the American education system doesn't teach this stuff American audiences will find it fascinating and will have a need for it maybe.
A fair amount of the hostels in New Zealand actually do appear in this book which is very surprising for a Lonely Planet as they usually miss about 75 per cent of them. Be aware that there are other hostels out there though, so don't completely rely on the book and use the best method word of mouth from other backpackers as well. Of course the price information is out of date as usual.
If only Lonely Planet could achieve as good a book for their other country/continent versions then they might be a worthwhile purchase. I'd say buy this if you're a North American but get Let's Go if you're not. Well actually I'd say don't bother with either as you're just reliving someone else's experiences and it's better to explore for yourself but for hostel listings and background info if you don't know much about New Zealand then this is useful.
New Zealand--or bust!.......2002-10-24
I looked at and compared this to all the other guides from Frommer's, Eyewitness, Footprint, Rough, Insight, Moon, and Fodor's, and I thought this one was the best.
I used this guide on an intensive, 3-week trip to New Zealand several years ago in which I drove over 6000 kilometers and got to just about every part of the country except Ninety-Mile Beach on the tip of the north island. I visited spots ranging from Stewart Island, Doubtful and Milford Sound, and Queenstown in the south, to the Coromandel Peninsula in the east, to the Franz-Josef glacier and the small western town of Greymouth in the west, to Lake Taupo and the capital city Auckland in the north. I crossed the southern Alps several times, and got to just about every major city and town, and I found the book very useful and accurate and a very valuable resource on my trip.
New Zealand is one of the most beautiful and delightful places you can visit, and there is something here for everybody. There is still quite a lot of wildlife, and in the south I saw lots of Tui birds, who are like myna birds in that they can immitate just about any noise, and shellducks, which are larger than any American ducks I've seen. One of them even raced me in my car on a road crossing the Alps for a while, until he surprised me by flying under my car and losing all his feathers. Oh well, I hope he grew back those feathers.
If you're into wildlife, another fun activity is to see the little blue penguins and the yellow-eyed penguins in the southeast coastal town of Oamaru. But watch out for those big shellducks. The big Kea parrots in the southern mountains are surprisingly bold. They come right up to you and you can get great pictures. A famous kea was the one that lived in a park in Sydney, Australia. This might be the only world-famous bird I've ever heard of. He would let the air out of automobile tires while people watched and laughed, which he seemed to do for the fun of it. As the New Zealanders say, they're cheeky little buggers.
Another thing not to miss is the New Zealand Wildlife Refuge on the main road north of Wellington on the way to Auckland. Several of the other things that I enjoyed that I learned about first from the book were (on the south island) the Te Anau glow- worm caves, the big boat tour of Doubtful Sound, the boat tour of Milford Sound (the wettest place on earth at sea level, with 25 feet of rain per year), and (on the north island) the Maori cultural town of Rotorua, which smells like rotten eggs everywhere because of all the volcanic steam vents containing sulfur dioxide. In fact, the steam comes out of the ground just about all over the city.
If you're the adventurous type, don't miss Queenstown in the south, the self-styled (and rightly so) adventure capital of the world. There you can do things like bungee-jump from a helicopter, and fly this interesting plane around which is tethered to a central pole. I don't know how many people do those things, but a popular attraction here is a jet-boat tour up one of the rivers. The aerial tramway in Queenstown up to the top of a local mountain gives you a spectacular view of the entire area. There is a decent restaurant at the top, which makes for a popular dining spot with a great view in the evening.
On the north island, another interesting and fun thing I did in Auckland was to take the Rangitoto Island tour in Auckland Bay on my last day there, which takes you around this small, volcanic island in the middle of the bay. Also Waiheke Island made for an interesting overnight stay in Auckland bay before flying out the next day. Kelly Tarkington's Arctic Experience is worth seeing. And last but not least, Auckland has some surprisingly good restaurants and dining.
Overall, an excellent and well-written guide and worth the price. New Zealand is one of the best and most enjoyable countries I've ever visited, and this guide was an important part of that experience on my trip.
Don't Buy This Edition.......2002-10-20
The Guide is very informative, but there is a new edition that has come out in October, so wait to buy the new one!!
Average customer rating:
- Tramps in New Zealand
- Where is New Zealand heading?
- I'm not a fan of travel writing, but ...
- A wonderful personal diary of a New Zealand vacation
- Exciting Country, Depressing Author
|
Lonely Planet Kiwi Tracks: A New Zealand Journey
Andrew Stevenson
Manufacturer: Lonely Planet Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Travel
| Writing
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
New Zealand
| Australia & South Pacific
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Essays & Travelogues
| Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Lonely Planet
| Guidebook Series
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Adventure
| Specialty Travel
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Outdoors & Nature Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Travel Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
- Straying from the Flock: Travels in New Zealand
- In a Sunburned Country
- Fodor's Exploring Australia, 6th Edition (Exploring Guides)
- A Traveller's History of New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands (Traveller's Histories Series)
- Australia Travel Map (Globetrotter Travel Map)
ASIN: 1741046793 |
Book Description
Many of us dream of escaping from everyday life, tossing a few possessions in a backpack and travelling light in far-off lands. Andrew Stevenson did more than dream: he packed his rucksack and went.
Andrew's destination was New Zealand, the island nation famous for its pristine wilderness, from sandy beaches and fast-flowing rivers to glacial mountains and primeval forests. In a hiker's heaven, he treks along the Milford Track, the Kepler Track, the Abel Tasman Track and other famous walking routes. Along the way he gets caught in a blizzard on a mountain path, spends time in a Maori settlement and tries hugging a tree.
With insight and a gentle humour, he explores the spirit of this spectacular land at the southern end of the Pacific, its indigenous and non-indigenous peoples, and provides an illuminating view of his fellow backpackers and twilight world they inhabit, forever between destinations. He also reveals that, however much or little you may have in you rucksack, the heaviest baggage is what you carry inside.
Customer Reviews:
Tramps in New Zealand.......2004-10-24
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.
Where is New Zealand heading?.......2004-04-16
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.
I'm not a fan of travel writing, but ..........2003-12-31
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.
A wonderful personal diary of a New Zealand vacation.......2003-05-04
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!
Exciting Country, Depressing Author.......2003-02-13
Being that I am preparing to spend the next two years of my life in school in New Zealand, I have been looking for books that can help to prepare me for what my experience in the country will be. That said, I found this book a valuable read. The author presents a good picture of an outsider's view of New Zealand, at least from a traveller's perspective. I think the overall picture, of a beautiful country with an old fashioned mindset, is an interesting one, and I'm looking forward to experiencing it for myself. His descriptions of NZ's natural offerings are the strong point of the book.
Unfortunately, the author is leaving behind a life in Norway that was apparently, in his mind, quite tragic, and he drags the reader through his problems. He's gone to NZ to think about his life, and apparently tramping alone through the wilderness doesn't perk him up much. Reading about how depressed and lonely he is becomes an annoyance from the first chapter, and negatively impacts the entire book. The country he describes sounds beautiful in itself, but with his constant crying, you can't help but feel down about the whole experience. It's like taking a vacation with a friend who's going through a rough divorce.
Overall, the book was good when it stuck to any issue other than the author's relational troubles. I'd recommend it if you can pick it up secondhand, or at the library, as I did.
Average customer rating:
- Hard to finish with dry eyes.
|
From Nothing to Zero: Letters from Refugees in Australia's Detention Centres (Lonely Planet Journeys (Travel Literature))
Janet Austin
Manufacturer: Lonely Planet Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Emigration & Immigration
| Administrative Law
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
Emigration & Immigration
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Human Rights
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Travel
| Writing
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Australia & South Pacific
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Travel Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
ASIN: 1740596684 |
Book Description
From Nothing to Zero presents edited extracts from letters written by asylum seekers held in Australia's detention centres. These letters provide a rare glimpse into the world of refugees who have fled war and persecution in their own countries. Several of the contributing detainees have been held for more than three years, often with no end to their incarceration in sight.
This compelling book gives voice to people whose thoughts and experiences are only rarely heard.
Customer Reviews:
Hard to finish with dry eyes........2003-12-24
This is a collection put together of letters from refugees in Australian detention centres. For those of you that don't know this - Australia has a policy of taking in only 12,000 refugees a year - this is nothing compared to many other countries. If they arrive here without a visa they are immediately put into a detention centre, in the most harsh, remote places in Australia and kept there until their applications are 'processed' - the process drags on and on and the Australian government is particularly cruel to refugees and has had the UNHCR criticised the processes and procedures used.
This book provides an amazing insight into their world and what it is like for them to be locked up in a detention centre with their rights void.
This is what one refugee has to say:
'This place is not for human being. This is refugee zoo. The government keep me in zoo without crime. Here in the centre not good things to do. Just thinking and thinking. I came here for safe life. But the government put me in prison. They do not want to here my problem. They just want to pass the time. This is no justice. They want to make me crazy. Now I'm crazy. Dead is much better than this zoo.'
The proceeds for this book go towards helping the refugees - for this reason alone I urge people to get this book and see into their world.
Average customer rating:
- nearly useless
- This book needs to be updated!!!
- Good information, excellent presentation
- Dangerously Inaccurate
- Bicycle At Your Own Risk
|
Lonely Planet Cycling New Zealand (Lonely Planet Cycling Guides)
N. Wells , N. Irvine , and I. Duckworth
Manufacturer: Lonely Planet Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Cycling
| Individual Sports
| Sports
| Subjects
| Books
New Zealand
| Australia & South Pacific
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Australia & South Pacific
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Guidebooks
| Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Lonely Planet
| Guidebook Series
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Cycling
| Adventure
| Specialty Travel
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
- Bike New Zealand: Cycling from Cape Reinga to Bluff
- Lonely Planet Tramping in New Zealand
- Lonely Planet New Zealand
- The Rough Guide To New Zealand 4 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)
ASIN: 186450031X |
Book Description
This informative guide steers you along 34 of the best cycling routes in New Zealand. Explore spectacular coastal roads, rugged mountain passes and rich dairy country with rides ranging from leisurely one day trips to challenging extended tours. <ul>
nearly useless.......2005-07-29
