Oceania Books

I purchased this book as part of my preparation for a diving trip to Chuuk Lagoon. It contains many excellent colour photographs of wrecks, coral, artifacts and local inhabitants. I found the brief history that accompanies each of the wrecks featured especially interesting. Likewise the diagrams of some of the wrecks, along with their various inclinations on the lagoon floor is fascinating.

Invaluable for such a trip are the scale maps of the lagoon and islands which pinpoint the location of the wrecks and other major features/landmarks. Further, the book grades each of the featured sites using the Pisces Rating System for Dives & Divers and the Dive Site Icons, both of which I found gave an excellent feel for the dive.

Finally, the overview of the area given in the first few chapters is a nice touch. It contains a brief history of the area, information for travelling to Chuuk, items to bring, weather, food, shopping etc.

In this book, author Tim Rock, has improved greatly his previous work on Truk Lagoon in 1994. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone planning a trip to Chuuk, or, who simply wants to read about The Most Spectacular Wreck Diving in the World (In my opinion).

Rob Kay provides far more than just a survival guide in this wonderous creation. This book will take the reader on the most magical journey into Fiji's history, geography, language and art, and much much more.

Upon opening this book, the reader will never be able to put it down as each detail expand's the limits of one's imagination. The reader will lap up and hang onto every word as the mind enjoys its feast.

If you never traveled to Fiji, you definitely will want to after reading,or even skimming this incredible book.

I go to Melbourne fairly regularly for business (from Sydney). I am looking for some interesting things to do and this book meets that need. It is comprehensive, and in a plus for Lonely Planet, the maps are good. Real street maps, not out of scale, sketch maps.

I am taking the family there for a holiday soon and this book will be invaluable.

Recommended.

This book is the best I have found about New Caledonia. It is so hard for Americans to find good accurate info on New Caledonia but this book does it all. I knew more about some places than many of the locals. It helped me understand where I was going and helped me better integrate into the society there. Wonderful book. I am a lonely planet person now. :-)

We just got back from a trip where we traveled some on our own in NSW. It seemed that there was helpfull info for every place we hit.

how to avoid breaking my ankle--which I did! The guide, like all Lonely Planet publications I've used to date, is ecellent.

If you're planning a holiday...this is the book for you!

I just returned from a whirlwind trip to Sydney -- only one week, and I wouldn't have seen half the things I did without this guide! It's small and portable, with a nearly indestructible cover. More importantly, it hits the highlights with some detail and gives little interesting things to see and do, not just the standard touristy stuff. Great maps and helpful phone numbers and even business hours for some places...I will definitely get a similar guide for future trips.

Having just got back from Tasmania with this book in tow I can highly recommend it to everyone, from locals, all Australians and the overseas visitor. This book has not only the history of this State but everything thant you could want to know about the flora and fauna, where to stay including the very basic accomodation through to the most luxurious, there are in depth maps, where to do the best shopping for your souveniers, where to eat whether it be fish and chips, vegetarian or a steak. This book was my bible and did not let me down once. We even found some short cuts with some lovely hidden treasures of nature displayed for us just by following the maps. The good thing was that the book does not only give information for the big towns but also many of the smaller ones hidden away,by visiting some of the smaller places It made my holiday that bit more personal and memorable. Read the book and you'll want to come and visit this wonderful isle.

Last summer, a friend and I went on a road trip in WA. We hadn't made any plans for accommadations when we got there and all we had was a 4X4 camper and our trusty Lonely Planet Guide! We were able to plan out our whole trip using this book as we went along. I suggest it to everyone going, even if you want to plan before. It also has a lot of historical and everyday information, that can complement a trip. TAKE THIS WITH YOU!