Travel book review: New Zealand guides

The release of the latest New Zealand editions of 'Lonely Planet' and 'Rough Guides' give a feel for just how good they are likely to be when it comes to places we don't know.

The New Zealand guide is important to Lonely Planet. It is second in popularity only to their Australian guide. The Economist magazine recently rated it as one of the 10 best-selling travel books of the past year. So it's hardly a surprise that a lot of effort has been put into this latest version.

Like all the new editions it has a lot more scene-setting material for the first-time visitor, including maps, a selection of beautifully photographed highlights, a range of possible itineraries and useful basic information. It's a good idea and seems to work well.

Then there are essays on our history, by historian James Belich; our culture, by media commentator Russell Brown; and the remarkable development of New Zealand cuisine, by food writer Julie Biuso.

There's even an extraordinary article by Green MP Nandor Tanczos telling the world how ungreen New Zealand really is and advising travellers to do their bit by constantly asking for directions to the nearest recycling centre, expressing surprise at the amount of water used and demanding organic food at every restaurant. Sounds like the recipe for a very entertaining holiday!

Still, even if it's all a bit cloyingly politically correct for my taste, most of it is the sort of background I like to get about a country I'm visiting for the first time. So let's get down to the basic travel information.

The book starts where most visitors start, Auckland, which is helpful because I know about Auckland. I reckon there's pretty much everything you would like to know to get the best out of the city.

And there's not too much to disagree with in the suggested highlights: Auckland Museum, Ewelme Cottage (hmmm, maybe), Parnell, Maritime Museum, sailing on the Waitemata, a ferry trip to Devonport, Kelly Tarlton's, maybe a visit to Rangitoto, Waiheke or Tiritiri Matangi (definitely, I'd say), dinner at one of the Viaduct Harbour restaurants, canyoning in the Waitakeres and surfing on the West Coast.

There is good advice on transport, where to stay, where to eat and what to do. I was impressed.

But, of course, there is life outside Auckland, so I also asked long-time Christchurch resident Canon David Morell to provide a southern perspective.

His sharp eye picked up a few mistakes, such as a reference to the election of a new federal parliament - due, no doubt, to the fact that an Australian is the co-ordinating author of this guide - but overall he, too, enjoyed the book.

Indeed, David paid Lonely Planet the ultimate compliment of deciding to buy a copy after seeing what it had to offer.

Finally, I road-tested the guide by taking it on a trip to Fiordland. It was helpful on arrival in Queenstown by suggesting the Super Shuttle as a good way to get to our accommodation, but lost ground by failing to even mention the hotel we were staying in.

There was plenty of useful information about Queenstown - including good tips on where to eat - Milford Sound, Te Anau, Manapouri and Doubtful Sound, but to my disappointment there was nothing about the extraordinary history of places such as Dusky Sound and Preservation Inlet, which was where we were going.

Still, there's only so much you can fit into a single volume and this guide is certainly packed with information about everywhere from Stewart Island to Cape Reinga.

Overall, I thought the New Zealand guide was well-aimed, very accurate and extremely useful. It is definitely a good advertisement for the quality of Lonely Planet's 117 other country guides.

And, if you get a few visitors from abroad or travel round the country a bit yourself, the New Zealand guide would be a valuable acquisition.

*****

"Rough Guides are taking over from Lonely Planet as the tourist's best friend,'' says a quote from New Zealand teen magazine Jetmag on the cover of the latest Rough Guide to New Zealand.

Not, in my opinion, if the two companies' new guides to New Zealand are anything to go by. I had only just finished my review of Lonely Planet's New Zealand when the new Rough Guide turned up and made a comparison inevitable.

I have to confess I've usually relied on Lonely Planet guides when I've travelled overseas, so they are old friends, and I think their new format is a distinct improvement. The Rough Guides, by contrast, are only casual acquaintances so it would always be harder for them to win me over.

But, even trying to make allowance for that, I found the Rough Guide version harder to find my way around, less user-friendly and, really, duller than its leaner rival (the Rough Guide has 1024 pages against 724).

It's also perhaps a bit unfortunate that the Rough Guide people don't seem to care much for Auckland, describing it as having "a modest small-town feel'' and suggesting visitors could be forgiven if they stay long enough only for "a quick zip around the smattering of key sights''.

Not, of course, that I'm the sort of narrow-minded, small-town journalist who would take umbrage at such comments, but since I was using Auckland as one of the bases for comparison, that attitude was a bit of a handicap.

The Rough Guide thinks the key sights you should zip around are Auckland Museum, Kelly Tarlton's, Devonport, Rangitoto, Great Barrier Island, Tiritiri Matangi, K Rd, Ponsonby Rd and Otara Market. That's a reasonable enough selection, though if I was being snide I might wonder if the Rough Guide had taken its own advice and not hung around long enough to discover the attractions of the Waitakere Ranges and the West Coast beaches, or sailing on the Hauraki Gulf and living it up at the Viaduct Basin (though there is information about them).

Certainly in Devonport, where I live, its report seems based on a quick sprint round the village, ignoring any cafes or pubs further afield, and is seriously out-of-date in a couple of respects.

To assess the guide's merits when it comes to Christchurch - which the book is a bit kinder about - I approached devoted Cantabrian Janetta Mackay who described it as "a handy, thorough guide, but nothing too surprising that you wouldn't find in a free giveaway".

She was pleased to see it "goes beyond the cliche of Christchurch being more English than England, but not much beyond'' and that it advised tourists that "there is life beyond the four avenues".

On the other hand, it got a small black mark for neglecting the plethora of cheap Asian eateries and several of the best upmarket restaurants, and a big black mark for some very bad editing which, among other things, had Christchurch as the nation's capital (God forbid).

The Rough Guide did, however, do better than the Lonely Planet in providing information I could have used during a recent trip to southern Fiordland. There's still not much about the wonders of Dusky Sound but it's a lot better than nothing. And the coverage of Queenstown and surrounds is extremely thorough and useful.

Overall, I'd say the Rough Guide would be a useful piece of equipment for anyone visiting New Zealand, or any New Zealanders keen to see more of their own country.

Personally, I will stick with Lonely Planet. That may be simply because I'm more used to the way their guides operate. Or it may be that Rough Guides are more targeted to the youthful backpacker end of the market, while the Lonely Planet appeals to the, er, more mature traveller. Or it just may be a better formula.

*****

Route 6: A Classic South Island Bike Ride
By Roy Sinclair
New Holland, $29.99

Roy Sinclair is an inspiration. Not for his writing, which is just a little pedestrian (pun intended). Rather for his story, which is absolutely uplifting, especially if retirement is looming on the horizon.

When he retired from his job as a photo-journalist, Roy didn't sit back and take it easy. Instead he decided to fulfil a long-term dream of cycling Route 6 - otherwise known as State Highway 6 - from Blenheim, down the West Coast, to Invercargill.

This is the story of his dream ride, the intriguing mix of places he stayed, the wonderful sights he saw and the fascinating people he met.

If you like the idea of following in his tyre tracks, the book has masses of practical information.

And if you think such a ride is beyond you, then Sinclair has a message for you: "It is not necessary to be an athlete or a mega adventurer to take off on a multi-day bike ride. A comfortable bike, the minimum of equipment and a few local training rides will set up most cyclists to ride, say, 60 to 100 km a day.

"Some people will laugh and tell you, 'You're crazy!' If it has been a difficult day pedalling against a strong wind or in soaking rain, it might be tempting to agree with them. But, even when they laugh, you know they are also just a little envious."

And, of course, he's right. So, read the book, get the bike out of the shed and start pedalling.