New Zealand Books

My Aussie husband (before he was my husband) planned to return to Australia for a year to finish his degree. I had planned to go as well so I purchased this and other books to help me get an Australian work permit, etc. Six months before I was due to leave I sent away over 30 letters requesting LEGAL work in Australia. After I read the book I was confident I would be able to obtain a work permit; six months later I was confident I'd wasted my money. Unless you are Bill Gates or the like, overseas companies just don't want the hassle of hiring an American. You would probably be better off looking for cash-in-hand jobs once you get there.

The book has a lot of pertinent information and covers a lot of issues, from relocating (including pets) to finding work to finding housing. As it was written specifically for residents of the UK migrating to Australia or NZ, some of the information is not relevant to US-based readers, which was disappointing for me. Also, the edition I read in early 1998 had house prices from 1994, and the prices I've noted while doing some of my own research recently are much higher. All in all, however, quite detailed and descriptive of all the things one needs to think about if migrating "down under."

I purchased this book hoping that I would discover a more personal perspective regarding emigrating to New Zealand. The beginning of the book did touch on the reasons why Paul and his family left the UK which was of interest. However, I wanted more details about the whole process of emigrating such as the NZIS application process, actual packing of belongings which entails deciding what one should take and what one should leave behind, etc.

I also found that there was little detail in his experience with the education system. While I was thrilled that his daughter was doing well, I wanted more details such as course of study, academic standards, homework details, etc...information that people like myself are craving when embarking on such a huge life change. In addition, when Paul's son had to go to the MD for his arm, I would have liked to read more about the New Zealand healthcare process...particularly since Paul and his family did not have permanent residency status at the time.

I would highly recommend this book if one is going over to start a business. The book is primarily geared toward that experience. But if you are planning on working for a corporation or the government, and want to know the details of living in NZ, this book will not help you.

I agree with the above reviewer regarding the lack of editing on this book. There are spelling and grammatical mistakes, which may not bother most, but will bother many.

Paul Goddard and family picked up and moved from the UK to New Zealand to start a new life, slow down, and find a better place for their children to grow up. While in the process of emigrating, they became a feature family on the BBC TV Series 'Get a New Life', which followed them through the ups and downs of moving to a foreign country, dealing with homesickness and financial hardship, and having to make new friends and adjust to a new culture. Paul then wrote this book as a follow up to the series, to tell people in his own words what it was really like to emigrate, and to give people the sort of information you can't get by doing research and looking at facts and figures.

In theory, this all sounds like a wonderful idea, which is why it's a pity that this book falls flat very early on. I picked it up at the library, not so much because I was considering moving to New Zealand (although occasionally I think about it), but because I'm travelling there in a month and I wanted the perspective of someone who'd lived there but who wasn't necessarily a native New Zealander. I was specifically trying to avoid 'tips for tourists' type information, because there's a wealth of that already, and I know a lot from my parents and friends who have travelled the country extensively. So bearing this in mind, I never expected this to be a 'useful' book in that sense.

I suppose the earliest chapter or so was the most interesting: the reasons why they were attracted to New Zealand in the first place; how they decided on where to settle; their first impressions of the culture; and how they responded to the challenges of being in a new country. After that both the quality of the writing and the level of interest wanes, and Paul talks almost entirely about his struggle to get his business off the ground and make ends meet (he buys a Car Care franchise, and later tries to set up a rehearsal studio for local bands). While this is probably useful to those who try to start similar businesses, the book becomes less about trying to start a new life in a different country, and instead heads down the path of a 50-page whine about the fact that no one is signing up for the services he offers and that money is tight. It seems like a dozen or more times that he writes something along the lines of: 'I kept thinking it wasn't worth it and we should just give up and go back to the UK'. The point is well made; in fact, he beats the reader mercilessly with it, over and over again.

One thing that I would have found interesting would have been some discussion about his experience or understanding of Maori culture after having lived in New Zealand for a year. Yet he barely even mentions New Zealand's Indigenous population, and instead dismisses it by saying that he hasn't 'had any time to look into it'. I find this surprising given that he moves to Tauranga and takes a couple of jobs in Rotorua, both of which are small cities in the Bay of Plenty, an area with a huge concentration of Maori people. The influence of Maori culture is just about inescapable in much of New Zealand, but especially here. He even visits the Te Papa museum in Wellington and, instead of talking about anything to do with Maori history or culture (one of the museum's primary areas of focus), he talks about earthquakes. Apparently the most amazing thing about the museum to him is that it's free.

For such a short book (120 pages), I really think that only about half of what he says would be of any interest to someone wanting to either emigrate or travel to New Zealand. There are some useful tips, such as knowing the relative cost of living, a bit about crime rates, politics, road rules, and the Kiwi sense of humour, but ultimately it's a dry read. I read it in one sitting, mostly because there's little to engage with. He does list a considerable number of resources and organisations that one might find helpful, though.

The final point I have to make is that the book really could have done with a good editor. Many readers, of course, will neither notice nor care about grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, but if you're a stickler like me, you'll identify with the frustration of seeing apostrophes where they shouldn't be, dashes and commas in the wrong place and misspelt words ('addmission' and 'Antartic' are the two that spring to mind!) Yes, we see this sort of shoddy writing all the time in everyday life, but it really isn't acceptable in the publishing world.

Bottom line: If you're seeking to move to New Zealand, there may be some useful hints to be found here, but perhaps try to borrow rather than buy. If you're going for a holiday and want to read about the country in something other than a guidebook, I'd give this one a miss (although you may like Kate Llewellyn's 'Lilies, Feathers & Frangipani', for an altogether more insightful and better-written exploration of New Zealand).

I made the mistake of ordering this photographic record of some of New Zealand's species. I wanted a field guide to the birds of New Zealand, but Reed's book is more of an attractive picture book.

Geoff Moon's photographs are superb, among the best bird photos I have ever seen. But as a field guide, this book has serious limitations.

Photographs can never be as helpful as paintings in a field guide for two reasons. First, it is impossible to show similar birds in identical poses. Second, all indiidual birds and all photographs have individual quirks which can hinder identification in the field. Therefor, no photographic guide can ever be as helpful as one illustrated with good paintings.

The book is organized in the traditional way, by taxonomic order. Each entry, accompanied by same and facing page illustrations, contains six sections: name and size, habitat and distribution, characteristics, voice, food, and breeding. There are no range maps.

Not every species gets its own entry. Occasionally, Moon combines two similar species in one description.

The "Breeding" section gives detailed information on the bird's clutch size, incubation period, nest type, etc. While this is often interesting, it is almost never helpful in field identification, and therefor does not belong in a field guide.

The heart of identification is the "Characteristics" section, and it leaves much to be desired. Good field guides include a complete description of the bird, concentrating on its distinctive field marks. They also focus on how to distinguish it from similar birds with which it might be confused. Moon does neither. His descriptions are often sketchy and vague, and he never gives the reader keys to separating similar birds.

For example, the "Characteristics" section for the combined White-Capped and Buller's Mollymawk entry gives no basis whatever to distinguish the two species except to note that the White-Capped is larger. Since the size differential is as little as 10%, this is a distinction without a difference. In fact, there are ways to tell the two species apart, but you would not know it from Moon.

As another example, the entire description of the Shining Cuckoo is as follows: "Sparrow-sized, this cuckoo has rapid flight and is well camouflaged in foliage."

This is an interesting book, and the photographs make it worth the purchase price. But for spotting birds in the field, another source is needed.

Forced to read this for a project - couldn't. I made up stuff rather than finishing this. Not too pleasant experience. go buy a parot instead. Its probably less anoying.

A fascinating book about a fascinating parrot. New Zealand's kea is a highly social parrot that survives through its ability to learn instead of relying on instinct. It is the world's only alpine parrot and the only parrot that preys on sheep. Based on extensive field study, this book offers an indepth look at kea society and evolution. Although it is written by scientists, it is both easy and entertaining to read. It should appeal to parrot lovers, ornithologists, and anyone interested in island evolution and ecosystems in general.

As a naturalist and native of New Zealand, I was eager to purchase this book about one of my favorite New Zealand creatures, the kea. I must, however, express my disappointment. This book is not only flawed in places (especially concerning the kea's behavior), but it is also exceedingly dry.

The kea may be an interesting bird, but this book is not. As painfully tedious as a college textbook, this book lacks personality. If you need information on the kea, stick to your internet browser and spare yourself the time.

This was truly an amazing book. The author involves you in the very foundations that build up the Australian telegraph system - you become part of the history as she takes you through the life of her great-great-grandmother and grandfather. It reveals, once again, how many people gave up so much so that we can have a secure foundation in our society. Well worth owning.

I was fortunate enough to have the chance to live in Melbourne Australia for more than three years. I have experienced large parts of the journey Alice and her husband undertake in their quest to better understand her ancestor's experiences in creating the first telegraph line across Australia.

I found the book to be very Alice Thomson-centric. She seems to glorify all aspects of her journey while continually placing Charles Todd higher and higher upon his pedestal. I was hoping she would rekindle some of my own memories of the Australia outback. However, Ms. Thomson invariably spends paragraph after paragraph describing her husband's illness or her own tiny adventures driving the Land Cruiser or walking around Coober Pedy. Her descriptions of the local towns and environs is terse, quick, and dull. I do not recommend this book to anyone except Alice Thomson and her immediate family.

An interesting effort by a distant, if not vague relation to an historically insignificant figure, albeit one from whom myths form with their customary accuracy. What bits of research and experience are fairly presented are harmed, in my view to no benefit, by gratuitous asides regarding her apparently long-suffering companion, family and (soon to be former?) friends. One must wonder what would have been the book had the author not worked for a newspaper, which one might suspect arranged its serialization gratis. The photos beg for the book guillotine.

I bought this book because I am interested in the early explorers and travellers in to the Australian hinterland and because I was about to travel to some of the same areas the author had visited. I found the bits about Todd, the man who came to Australia to look at the stars and ended up connecting Australia to the outside world by a telegraph wire, quite interesting. Although I thought perhaps Alice Thomson was a bit confused as to whether the story was about Alice Todd (the great grandmother for whom she was named) or Charles Todd who laid the line. And I could see where she was coming from in trying to relate the story of her own travels with her husband in the same area and the Todds adventures. But again I'm not sure she pulled it off exactly. By exaggerating her own hardships, she underplayed the genuine difficulties the Todds endured and both stories lost credibility - for me, anyway. But what I really disliked about this book was its horrid comments about Australians and the way they live, in these so-called remote areas. She makes it sound as though one hour out of Adelaide she was alone in the world with people almost unrecognisable as human beings. Spare us the "don't come the raw prawn", "strewth cobber" cliches (which are always only used by the English, anyway). And I hope she feels ashamed at the way she treated people who went out of their way to help her, for a few cheap laughs. In great frustration (it was so nearly a good book) I eventually threw it on the campfire, unfinished, at Lake Eyre, halfway along the Singing Line.

I am using this map a lot- my friends say that I overthink things but I have 12 days on the ground to cram all that I can into- Not to mention covering LOTS of ground to cover. This map has been vital to planning my trip. I have not yet had the experience to tell you if it was accurate or not, but soon I will be able to tell you exactly how many miles are in an inch of this map.....and have photos of every one of them!

This map is useless if you plan on driving the North and South Islands. You are better off picking up free maps when you get there.

This map is an absolute waste of money. I didn't open it once
during my 3 weeks in New Zealand. The country map has roads on
it, but no markings indicating the road name or number - try
finding your way around without that information sometime.
You can get much better maps for free in New Zealand. If you
rent a car, they'll likely give you a good map with the rental
(at least Budget did). Jason's and AA (their version of AAA)
also put out free maps that you can pick up at the airport,
information centers, hotels, and various other places.

Desiring a travel map for the purpose of driving, I found this map inadequate. It was difficult to read because the towns were printed in very small print with little coordination of print size to size of town. Generally the city map inserts were good. The map legend or reference referred only to the city inserts so there was no description of roads, train routes, tunnels, hiking tracks etc. I prefer the Kiwi Pathfinder map series or the Wises maps.

It was a great extra to get sites from the lord of the rings marked. A little hard to follow while driving because of the size of map and so many locations mapped out, a little overwhelming. Not all city areas are shown in detail which makes it difficult to find hotels when smaller road names are not listed.

Lots of myths from different regions- all seem descriptive of things similarly/ repetitively and didn't take me anywhere deep or special enough. I was hoping for real accounts and medicine-wisdom; stories of the spirit world and dreamtime adventures, communicating with animals and creatures, adventuring/ questing/ saving/ healing, but its fables/legends are more just this is how the platypus got its beak sort but not even that interesting. There's a few legends and fables that I enjoyed and the immersion in some place so different and its peoples good spirituality but it didn't do much for me. It seems like the pretty jacket is bait and something a less interesting history course might have as its text. Immature-like, general, too comprehensive stuff an outsider without much initiation would receive and/or find through much time spent scanning archives and records- it makes closer to the Earth peoples sound dumb/ "childish"/ uneducated/ easily impressionable- lends itself to such false impressions. Funny in that- recalling the tricks natives play and distractions they give to those who have such an approach and level, at times, but really, not funny in that it was and is defense against wrongful invasion and similar behaviors and/or the wisdom of giving only what one is ready for. I've learned to understand what the title words meant better. As a whole, it's not something right to kill and process trees for.

Well, I'm always sorry when I need to write a negative review about the book - even more if the book is about the rail travel (perhaps books from Trailblazer spoiled me to much). Anyway, based on Amazon prediction that similar title "Australia by rail" from Trailblazer (by the same author, Colin Taylor) is soon to be published (January 2001) I postponed for awhile the decision to order this book. At the end I ordered this one because my deadline to departure was coming close and Trailblazer version was not published yet. Compared with Trailblazer rail guides this one was more or less useless during my preparation of itinerary for a trip from Perth to Cairns. There is way to much information on itineraries prepared by the author which are suitable only for those people willing to spend almost all vacation time on the train. Do you know anyone? I don't. Author included some very basic information and recommendation about the cities, sightseeing's, walks...but without some clear organization. You'll definitely need another, better organized guide to get some basic travel information about Australia or New Zealand.
I really hope that author will rewrite and most importantly reorganize the content for Trailblazer version of the guide because it would be pity not to share his vast travel experience with others.

This book is far too detailed (too much information) with facts not needed by a non-historian reader. It is very hard to read and boring. I donated it to the local library after struggling through 100 pages.