The latest selection of travel books offers a wide range for both armchair travellers and adventurous globetrotters, writes Jim Eagles.
I don't need a calendar to recognise that Christmas is not far off. Those in the know can read nature's signals. Warmer weather. The beginnings of pohutukawa blossoming. The call of the cuckoo. And the arrival of piles of fantastic travel books.
This year the crop is particularly rich with terrific reference books such as The Traveller's Atlas.
Whether you're an armchair traveller or an adventurous globetrotter there's bound to be something here you'd like to find in your Christmas stocking. (Though it might be hard to fit the atlas into a sock.)
Sicilian Summer
By Brian Johnston
Allen and Unwin $29.99
Don't read Sicilian Summer on an empty stomach because it will be rumbling from the first chapter, as author Brian Johnston reveals mouth-watering recipes inherent to Sicily.
His plan on arrival was to find out what makes the perfect cassata - and I don't mean the icecream variety dished up in Italian restaurants here - but his search proved a complicated affair involving both humour and sadness.
The result of that combination is a delightful little book with more than a little in common with cassata itself.
Take a dash of history, a dollop of food, a slice of religion, and of course spice with the Mafioso, and you get this mysterious Mediterranean island revealed in all its splendour.
Sadly, much of Sicily's heritage has been destroyed over the centuries, but enough remains for Johnston to get a good feel for a majestic past.
This is greatly helped by the fact he was able to accompany a good friend from Australia back to her Sicilian grassroots and to share her experiences.
Tina Calascione returned to the land of her family to honour a pledge to be the godmother of a young woman. The hullabaloo which ensues when the local priest is unco-operative in this matter provides a special insight into a society which may be attuned to today, but hasn't really changed much in attitude for a hundred or so years.
But the good news is that the old ways it has clung on to do include some fantastic food.
Traveller's Atlas
Dorling Kindersley
$59.95
This magnificent book is based on a great idea - an atlas specifically designed to help people plan their trips overseas - but I'm not sure it lives up to its aim.
The basic format is that for each country there is a two-page topographical map, plus a brief description of what it's like, a list of places to see and things to do, plus a couple of superb photos just to add some flavour.
In the reference part of the book there is also useful information about climatic phenomena and national weather patterns, the distribution of major diseases and vaccination advice, time zones, language, national flags, visa requirements and currency.
With each two-page spread measuring 33cm by 48cm it's a beautiful volume to leaf through.
If you judge the quality of the information by what it says about New Zealand - and I think that's a reasonable basis on which to make an assessment - then it also gives good advice.
"A country for the open-air enthusiast," from the endless beaches of the subtropical north to the rocky inlets of Fiordland in the far southwest, New Zealand can inspire its visitors with the unforgettable sight of great whales offshore, introduce them to its unique flightless birds and other wildlife, and leave them pondering the place of the indigenous Maori people and their particular cultural heritage in its contemporary society."
That's not a bad one-paragraph summary of the country from a tourist perspective, though it might have mentioned the scenery.
The activities recommended include whale-watching, bungy jumping, walking the Routeburn Track, doing the Tongariro Crossing, seeing the Waitomo Caves, watching an All Black game in Auckland and seeking out Lord of the Rings sites.
The list of places to see includes the Bay of Islands, the City of Sails, Rotorua's thermal activity, Wellington, Abel Tasman National Park, Christchurch, Westland National Park, Milford Sound, Queenstown, Dunedin, the Catlins and Stewart Island.
Again, those aren't bad suggestions on which to base a quick trip through the country.
Where it falls down, from my point of view, is that because the maps are topographical they are difficult to read and contain only a limited amount of information about places and routes. While it is useful to know if a road goes over a chain of mountains, it might be even more helpful to be able to find places such as the Catlins without the need for a magnifying glass, and I can't understand why they don't show the location of Devonport (yes, yes, that's a joke ... I think).
But perhaps I'm being a bit picky. There is only so much information you can fit in a single volume and the fact is that anyone planning a serious overseas trip is likely to turn to country guidebooks or a travel agent for the details.
The strength of a book like this is that it gives you a taste of all the amazing places there are around the world .... even if you'll never see them.
Maybe they should have called it the Armchair Traveller's Atlas because then it would be almost perfect (almost, because you'd still need a magnifying glass to find some of the places).
Sanctuary
By Eric Dorfman
Penguin $45
New Zealand has some marvellous wildlife reserves, places which should be on the itinerary of anyone wanting to understand the country, where you can enjoy a delicious taste of what it was like before the arrival of humans.
This book is a tribute to 10 of the finest, from Cape Reinga and North Cape in the furthest north, to Ulva Island, off the coast of Stewart Island, in the furthest south.
Eric Dorfmann's text and Antoine Gasperini's photographs celebrate the splendour of places such as Kapiti Island, Karori Wildlife Sanctuary and Egmont, Abel Tasman, Arthur's Pass and Fiordland National Parks.
It's a roll-call of the country's most special places, and I was particularly delighted that it included two of my personal favourites, the island of Tiritiri Matangi in the Hauraki Gulf, and the Miranda Wildlife Refuge on the Firth of Thames, which often get overlooked.
However, I must confess to being disappointed when I turned to those pages because neither the words nor the pictures do justice to either Tiritiri Matangi's extraordinary revival of both forest and birdlife or the amazing flocks of shorebirds from around the globe which assemble at Miranda each year.
It's an attractive book, and a great introduction to some of the places where you can see our unique fauna and flora at their finest, but somehow it fails to capture the qualities which make them so special.
New Zealand Driving Holidays
By Donna Blaber
Apex Car Rentals $24.95
"New Zealand," says Donna Blaber, in the opening sentence of her introduction, "is the perfect destination to tour by car."
That's true. Much as we love to grizzle about the roads - especially if you live in Auckland - our roading system is pretty good. With a few exceptions the highways are not particularly busy, and there is remarkably easy access to many of the finest beauty spots.
Whether you're a holidaying local or an overseas tourist, ours is a land best explored by driving yourself, and this book is an excellent guide on how to do just that.
I have to admit that on seeing it had been published by a rental car company, I approached the book with a degree of suspicion. Happily, that suspicion proved unjustified.
Apart from a couple of advertisements on the front and back covers, and a plug from Apex Car Rentals in the page on hiring a car, the content is all useful advice.
Anyone following Blaber's itineraries would get a good taste of the finest things New Zealand has to offer and should have a great time.
