Jim Eagles: Transport by the book

As the icy wind rattles the windows and the rain pours endlessly down, it's a great time to be heading overseas to somewhere warm and dry.

The south of France, maybe, the azure seas of the Riviera or the sunbaked vineyards of Languedoc. Doesn't that sound dreamy?

Alternatively, if you can't get away, you can always draw the curtains, turn up the heater, pour a glass of rich, warm merlot, and leap into a good travel book with photos that make you feel as though you were really there.

Colours Of Wine
By Denis La Touche
Calisso ($69.95)

Denis la Touche and his wife Sarah didn't just holiday in the south of France, they lived there for 12 years, running a guest house called Les Mimosas in the historic village of Roquebrun.

During that time they immersed themselves in the culture of French food and wine, Sarah even running cooking classes in South French cuisine and Denis holding wine appreciation courses for visitors.

But, more importantly, Denis spent his time taking photos of the region, and especially of the wine industry: in winter when the vines are bare and the fields glitter with frost; in spring when the bright green vine leaves appear and wildflowers blossom; in summer when the sun ripens the grapes and pickers labour in the heat; and in autumn when the vine leaves turn orange and tasters give their verdicts.

The result is a wonderful portrait of the terroir, its soil, its climate, its vineyards, its people, its landscape, its history and the marvellous wine it produces.

If you can't go yourself then the next best thing would be to savour this book with a glass of the Saint-Chinian wine the region produces.

I have to admit I have very mixed feelings about France as a nation but there's no doubting the magnificence of its countryside or that it produces some superb wine and food. Kim Goldwater, the doyen of Waiheke Island winemakers, once observed to me: "It's no wonder the French are so arrogant,. they've got such a beautiful country."

Colours of Wine shows just how beautiful it is.

It's All About Australia, Mate
By Denis Gregory
Exisle ($29.99)

Of course, when most of us head for the sun we don't have the time or money to get to the South of France so we nip across the ditch.

Interesting country, very different to New Zealand, and there's certainly plenty of sunshine (well, maybe not in Melbourne). But the people have some strange ideas and they're often difficult to understand.

So if you're planning a trip to Australia it might be a good idea to read this little introduction to the country by veteran journalist Denis Gregory.

It's a humorous and sometimes self-mocking, but always affectionate, portrait of the self-proclaimed Lucky Country, covering everything from Captain James Cook to horse trainer Bart Cummings, from meat pies to Vegemite, from pubs to the Sydney Opera House, and from cricket to "Aussie kulture" (no need to say anything).

There's also some good jokes and a bit of unconscious humour (including a section on Australia's great racehorse Phar Lap).

Riviera: the rise and rise of the Cote D'Azur
By Jim Ring
John Murray ($29.99)

The Riviera. The Cote D'Azur. The very names conjure up pictures of beautiful people sipping champagne under a clear sky on the shores of an azure sea.

Jim Ring had this image, too, until he went to see for himself some 25 years ago and found an "agglomeration of tower blocks, dilapidated Edwardian hotels, estate agencies, fast food restaurants and shopping centres" lining "a coast that seemed little more than a strip of polluted sea, bordered by a few yards of burning human flesh, a railway and an autoroute".

When he next returned, 20 years later, it was not as an eager tourist but as a historian interested in recording the story of the Riviera and, in particular, how it was created by none other than the despised English. The result is an intriguing saga embracing scandal and treachery, beauty and disfigurement, painters and pop stars, royalty and billionaires.

It stretches from the days when the Cote was an enclave of wealthy well-bred foreigners through Nazi occupation to its post-war recapture by ordinary French people.

And it includes magical names like Edward and Mrs Simpson, Somerset Maugham, F. Scott Fitzgerald, J. P. Morgan, Picasso, the Rolling Stones, Brigitte Bardot, Princess Grace and Princess Diana.

And what of the Riviera today? After exploring many of the region's secrets Ring hasn't changed his mind about its deficiencies. But now he sees that in a way it doesn't matter.

"Despite the way in which it has been developed and degraded, the Riviera will always be a place outside time, beyond sadness, illness, death and sorrow - not to mention bad weather - where the normal rules governing human existence are miraculously suspended.

"Whether it exists or not, it is the place, the promise and the dream everybody needs."

Sing and Don't Cry: A Mexican Journal
By Cate Kennedy
Transit Lounge Publishing ($35)

Mexico is another great place to go for a holiday in the sun, but Australian writer Cate Kennedy discovered a different side to the country when she spent three years in a small community as a volunteer worker.

Sing and Don't Cry describes the difficulty of an outsider trying to adapt to a society where respect and dignity are the locals' only defence against the terrible poverty of their lives.

Employed by an organisation which basically ran a people's bank, Kennedy and her veterinarian husband found their first attempts to help hampered by all their Western attitudes. But those beliefs were slowly shaken off as the Campesinos invited her to share their meagre food and humble way of life.

The realities of that life, she discovered, include underweight children and houses where a family of four or more live in a single room without plumbing. But the burden of these hardships were lessened by the joy, good humour and affection which every family seemed to have in abundance.

Kennedy pulls no punches as she gives her views on the reasons for such poverty and who should shoulder the blame. However, her account also offers many moments of laughter, such as women trying to whiten their faces to be like Americans, the hilarious evenings spent at firework parties and the Campesinos' love of partying.

She also found time to enjoy the country which, while it can be unforgiving, is wildly beautiful, and her descriptions of native flora and the seasonal changes in the desert can only whet a reader's appetite to see more of Mexico.

Two for the Road
by Shirley Hardy-Rix and Brian Rix
Macmillan ($34.95)

It's the sort of thing we all dream of doing but rarely act upon. Motorcycling policeman Brian Rix and his pillion passenger for life, Shirley, left their comfortable Melbourne home to motorcycle round the world.

The couple shipped their BMW to Britain and then spent a whole year riding it back home by way of Europe, the Middle East, Asia - with a hop by air from Kathmandu to Bangkok - and finally across Australia.

Along the way they rode through 27 countries, clocked up 56,761km and had some extraordinary experiences.

Among the highlights were riding the famous Isle of Man racing circuit on open day, the beautiful coastline and policemen looking for bribes in Montenegro, crazy drivers and friendly people in Iran, gunmen and Ricky Ponting fans in Pakistan, and makeshift repairs and incredible carvings in India.

Unfortunately it is not a particularly well written book, and the device of alternating between two authors doesn't really work. But it is certainly a story to inspire others to live out their dreams before it is too late.

Coastal Sea Kayaking in New Zealand
By Kerry Howe
New Holland ($29.95)

More and more people are discovering the joys of kayaking around the coast. It's a great way to avoid the masses by paddling to bays with no road access or exploring shallow estuaries where even the boaties can't follow.

If you've bought a kayak and feel ready to move beyond paddling round your local beach, this is the ideal book to learn from.

It has masses of practical information about planning trips, choosing equipment, the weather, safety and free camping on the beach.

Read, pack up your kayak and head for some secluded beach. Then, as Howe says, "You set up your tent, swim, wash, cook the best meal you have ever tasted, and fall asleep, deliciously tired. Moreporks call in the night ... "

Sound like you?

The Man Who Married A Mountain
By Rosemary Bailey
Bantam Books ($27.95)

If you like adventure books, especially one about an idiosyncratic Irish-French explorer, then The Man Who Married A Mountain should be right up your alley.

Rosemary Bailey, who lives in a restored monastery in Mosset, set out with her young son Theo to travel the Pyrenees to discover what it is like today, find out about its colourful history and, in particular, to learn the stories of the pioneers who made those mountains a popular destination for 19th century tourists, especially the British.

But her journey, and her account, are dominated by Count Henry Russell-Killough, the most famous of the mountaineers.

He comes across as an extraordinary man, a superhero with enormous strength and a fearless traveller who went around the world in search of excitement.

Bailey reveals that he even visited New Zealand and, in fact, one of the few times he feared for his life was when he got lost in the Kaikouras.

In all likelihood it was on Russell-Killough that Jules Verne based his character Phileas Fogg when he wrote Around the World in 80 Days.

But, no matter how widely he roamed, he always returned to his beloved Pyrenees, which run from the Atlantic ocean to the Mediterranean and divide Spain and France. He was often joined there by famous writers who, captivated by its beauty, were moved to praise the landscapes in poetry and prose.

It is clear from Bailey's own writing that the Pyrenees are just as fascinating today.