Jim Eagles: Latest travel books

Himalaya
By Michael Palin
Allen & Unwin, $59.99

If you could choose anyone you wish as a companion on a world trip, who would you opt for?

When rental car operator Holiday Autos asked 1000 travellers that question, Michael Palin was the top choice, ahead of Jesus Christ and Elvis Presley.

That's hardly a surprise. In the 15 years since the former Python set off in the footsteps of Phileas Fogg to go around the world in 80 days his self-deprecating demeanour, gentle humour, enthusiasm and obvious friendliness has gained a vast international following for his documentaries and books.

Himalaya, which describes a six-month journey along the world's greatest mountain range, is the companion to the television series which has just finished screening on TV One.

Regardless of whether you saw the television version, this book is a delight.

It has stunning photos by Basil Pao, fascinating countries, ancient landscapes, unique cultures, complicated politics and extraordinary people, all recorded with the trademark Palin lightness of touch.

Consider, for example, this little vignette as he is struggling during a high-altitude trek to Machhapuchhre Base Camp: "I see a look of recognition and hear a gasp of excitement as I pass. 'Oh, my god.' I nod appreciatively, straighten my back and move on. 'It's Eric Idle.'

"This precipitates serious psychological collapse. A half-hour later, exhausted by the pain of swallowing and the increasing effort required to pull in oxygen at this height, I finally yield my backpack to Wongchu [his guide]. He takes it with a quiet smile, as if accepting the surrender of a garrison after a long siege."

Not only has this style made Palin the person people most want to travel with, it has also resulted in his footsteps - rather than those of, say, Phileas Fogg - being the ones people most want to tread in.

The travel industry talks of what it calls "the Palin effect" of a rush of bookings to wherever Palin has just been, although the average traveller is unlikely to be able to take tea with a maharaja, go on a Gurkha recruiting mission, attend a religious ceremony presided over by the King of Nepal, have an audience by the Dalai Lama, run shoulders with Pakistani film stars, discuss politics with Imran Khan, watch polo at Shandur Pass, or go bull racing with Prince Malik Ata in Taxila.

But all that merely adds to Palin's appeal. You might not be invited to Prince Malik's chateau in the wilds of Pakistan yourself but you can go along as a guest of the affable Palin and enjoy the fun.

And, hey, if you do later follow Palin to some of these captivating places, you're bound to have your own adventures.

Kiwis might fly: around New Zealand on two big wheels
By Polly Evans
Bantam, $26.95

Polly Evans claims to have been sitting at home in London when she read some daft story saying the real Kiwi bloke - whosoever that is - was about to hang up his gumboots.

So, naturally enough, she decides to get her motorcycle licence, fly to New Zealand, hire a 650cc bike and ride around the country to see if the story is true.

Well, you would, wouldn't you?

Of course, it is possible that the real reason for her outing is that our Polly has had some success with a book about cycling round Spain and is looking for an excuse for a follow-up.

Either way, off she wobbles on a bike that's too big for a wee learner, and a gimmick that's painfully thin, to explore the state of the Kiwi male, from Omapere and Waitangi to Oban and Bluff.

And she discovers that, goodness, Kiwi males don't conform to any particular stereotype, gosh, New Zealand is quite an interesting country and, heavens above, motorcycling is fun once you've learned how to do it properly.

All this may turn out to be entertaining to folk in Notting Hill, but I don't think it's got much to offer anyone on this side of the world.

The quest: a search for Hawke's Bay's best Bordeaux-style wine
By Paul Taggart
Hawke's Bay Today, $19.95.

Yummm. Journalist Paul Taggart - a long-time colleague of mine - sets out to explore Hawkes Bay wine country in pursuit of the best bottle of locally made claret.

As gimmicks go they don't get much better than this. I wish I'd thought of it.

It gave him an excuse to visit vineyards, meet winemakers and taste some amazing wines. Fantastic. By the time his journey was complete my mouth was watering and my tastebuds were twirling.

I'm not entirely sure I agree with his choice ... but who cares.

If you like red wine then you won't do much better than to grab a copy of the book, head for the Bay and go on your own quest.

Queenstown: New Zealand's adventure capital
By Neville Peat
University of Otago Press, $19.95

I'm not sure about Queenstown. It has a stunningly beautiful setting and serves as a base for some wonderful activities. But it's all a bit too ... kitsch? ... for my taste.

Still, if you're planning to go there, and especially if you're thinking of doing some of the great walks, then this booklet is a good guide to what is on offer.

Wildlands: Adventures in some of the most extraordinary places on Earth
By James Frankham
New Holland, $34.95

This is a veritable smorgasbord of thrilling places to visit and fascinating wildlife to experience.

The menu includes terrifying komodo dragons in Indonesia, beleaguered orang-utans in Borneo, hungry lions in Botswana, orphan chimpanzees in Gambia and charismatic kakapo in our own Fiordland.

Film-maker James Frankham was lucky enough to see all that and more in the course of a round-the-world expedition on the high-tech yacht Starship as a sort of PR exercise on behalf of endangered wildlife.

In this updated version of an earlier book he shares some of the most remarkable moments from what must have been a fantastic voyage.

But, more than that, he offers specific advice on how equally adventurous readers can visit these extraordinary places.

And for those who prefer to contemplate wild places from their armchairs, the book provides internet links (www.wildlands.cc) where you can download video clips of the highlights of the Starship's expedition and updates on how the wildlife projects he visited are progressing.

Frankham's commentary is sometimes irritatingly sanctimonious.

But his book is a wonderful introduction to some of the most special wild places on Earth.

The Frozen Coast: Sea Kayaking the Antarctic Peninsula
By Graham Charles, Mark Jones, Marcus Waters, with Sarah Moodie.
Craig Potton Publishing. $39.95

Kayaking in the Antarctic Peninsula? Yeah, right.

Well that's just what some Kiwi blokes did a couple of years ago and their book, The Frozen Coast, is a great adventure yarn. The photographs are cool, too.

It had to be Kiwis who decided to make this historic journey around the southernmost sea. I mean, who else in their right mind would want to paddle among ice floes, peer up at soaring icebergs - remember, one sunk the Titanic - and meet giant marine mammals while paddling a kayak.

But seriously, Graham Charles, Mark Jones and Marcus Waters, decided to go all out in a trip which took years of detailed planning, and only got off the ground thanks to people like Sir Peter Blake, sponsorship from AMP, and the creativeness of a New Zealand kayak builder. The guys also had to take their own video pictures in a film deal with an American adventure company.

Each of the authors narrates one leg of their epic journey, which produces an interesting contrast in writing styles and personalities and adds to the interest.

As an example of what I mean, at one stage Marcus is besieged by two leopard seals, large creatures with sharp canine teeth that can rip a small creature apart in moments, but instead of assisting him, Jones and Charles burst into hysterical laughter.

The kayakers' unplanned meetings with ships and other Antarctic dwellers - including humans - on the land mass are often funny, and sometimes dramatic.

That drama is reflected in the stunning photographs. Sure, the kayaks and their paddlers do feature rather a lot, but the scenery around them is breathtaking.

This is probably a book for the armchair traveller rather than the intrepid adventurer - though it could inspire you to take a cruise to Antarctica in something bigger than a kayak.

Jaywalking with the Irish
By David Monaghan
Lonely Planet, $29.99

A quality of life survey, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, rated Ireland as the best country in the world in which to live.

Maybe. I spent a few years in Dublin in the days before the Celtic Tiger started roaring and certainly found it a charming, witty, engaging place. But there was a dark side as well. (And there's the weather).

David Monaghan, an American of staunchly Irish ancestry, discovered both moods of the Emerald Isle when he took his wife and three children to live in the ancestral city of Cork.

On the one hand they were overwhelmed with the warmth and hospitality, endlessly entertained by the wonderful stories and hilarious parties, and greatly impressed at the results-focused education system.

But there was also a sadness at the damage wrought by the headlong economic development, frustration at the appalling bureaucracy, and shock at the occasional manifestations of an underlying xenophobia.

Most of the book focuses on the joy and humour - it's often laugh-out-loud funny - of life in Cork.

But in many ways the strength of the book is that it represents the totality of Ireland, not just the charming image, the dark as well as the glorious light.

Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes, is quoted on the cover as describing it as "a hard, beautiful book about Ireland, written with love but facing head-on the darkness that rode in on the back of the Celtic Tiger ... You won't find a better or truer depiction of Ireland than this one."

That's a big compliment but a deserved one.