Plan your long overdue holiday with our travel books
After a few years cooped up at home, you’d be forgiven for dreaming of an overseas holiday.
Read on to discover the intrepid journeys you could embark on, from the farthest reaches of the globe to right here in Aotearoa.
Cold winter weather naturally brings dreams of relaxing getaways to warm paradises in the Pacific. White sand beaches and quiet atolls are hard to say no to when frozen windscreens begin to greet us each morning.
In this “exotic and breath-taking” journey, Paul Theroux explores 51 Pacific Islands by collapsible kayak, starting with the rainforests of Aotearoa.
There are plenty of travel ideas alongside Theroux’s witty observations and exotic adventures.
Cold by Ranulph Fiennes
Or perhaps you feel that New Zealand’s winter isn’t cold enough?
While we would not recommend following exactly in his footsteps, ‘Cold’ is an intriguing chronicle of the more extreme adventures that can be had on our wild planet.
Sir Ranulph Fiennes famously amputated his own frostbitten fingertips after his wife told him he was being irritable. Now in his late 70s, this eccentric old aristocrat still shows no signs of slowing down.
A geek in Japan by Héctor García
There is more to Japan than anime, cherry blossoms and sushi. The land of the rising sun is a global cultural powerhouse – its visual arts, music, movies, fashion and food are admired and imitated the world over.
A geek in Japan encourages the reader to dive into the hidden gems of the country’s architecture, technology and arts and the unique values of its people.
The motorcycle diaries: notes on a Latin American journey by Che Guevara
Adapted into a movie in 2004, this iconic memoir was written by a 23-year-old Che Guevara as he rode his 1939 Norton 500 cc motorbike across South America. This nine-month period is often seen as a crucial period in the revolutionary’s life as he witnessed first-hand the hardship faced by the Latin American underclasses.
Eager to avoid the typical shallow tourist experience, Guevara visited hospitals and slums to gain a deeper understanding of life in the places he visited.
From the extreme poverty and desperation of Chilean miners to leper colonies in the Amazon, Guevara describes every grim detail of the harrowing sights that greeted him along the way.
100 things to do on Route 66 before you die by Jim Hinckley
One of the world’s quintessential road trips, Route 66 offers much more than just tumbleweeds and hairy bikers.
It is a trip through the USA’s automotive history, from rickety old Model Ts to the EVs of the present day.
This guidebook is ideal for the traveller who never wants to miss a single beautiful lookout, odd museum or historical spot.
Sustainable escapes by James Bainbridge
Keen for a getaway but concerned about your carbon footprint? The sustainable tourism movement is booming, and eco-friendly travel options are popping up left, right and centre.
Lonely Planet has put together this handy guide to guilt-free experiences across the world. Whether doing yoga in an eco-lodge on the shores of Lake Nicaragua, hunting and eating invasive species in Dominica or tracking rare black rhinos in Namibia, there are hundreds of ways to ensure that your holiday isn’t an environmental disaster.
Where the wild winds are by Nick Hunt
Nick Hunt’s whirlwind tour of Europe takes him down the coast of Dalmatia, across Britain’s wild northwest, to the heights of the Alps and the Rhône valley. He is pushed down this path by four of Europe’s legendary winds: the Helm, the Bora, Foehn and the Mistral.
In this book, he explores how the individuals and societies that inhabit Europe’s windswept corridors are shaped by these forces of nature.
Atlas Obscura: An Explorers Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders by Joshua Foer
Atlas Obscura is dedicated to the sights that aren’t found in brochures.
For those interested in the darker side of human history, attractions such as the bone museums of Italy are a must-see.
Some are simply eerie, like the graveyard of decommissioned ships off the coast of Bangladesh.
Others, like the leech-powered weather prediction device in a museum in Devon, are bizarre examples of scientific exploration.
But not all the locations listed are weird and wonderful. Our very own Waitomo Caves make the cut – a spectacular wonder just waiting to be discovered by the world.
Australian bush pubs by Craig Lewis & Cathy Savage
Whether you’re looking to get on the grog with some fair dinkum sheilas and blokes or just want to stop for a chicken parm, you’ll be mad as a cut snake if you miss any of these true-blue watering holes.
So, where the bloody hell are ya?
Wild journeys – Bruce Ansley
If you don’t feel comfortable travelling overseas yet, our own country offers wonders that are the envy of the world.
This book retraces the fascinating paths trekked across New Zealand’s wild and beautiful landscapes, from Māori prophet Rua Kenana’s track in the Ureweras to the ephemeral tramps of the Southern Alps that come and go with the seasons.
The vividly described accounts of these dangerous journeys make one thing clear – there is still much left unexplored in our country.
Start exploring
Join Auckland Council Libraries for free and start planning your adventure today!
Comments
Post a Comment