Driving Scenic New Zealand: A Guide to Touring New Zealand by Road

Rating:
Summary: Superb travel aid
Review: If you tour New Zealand, you will probably spend many hours in a car on rural 2-lane highways with lots of opportunities to stop and meander. Unlike most guidebooks, which focus on destinations, this book tells you what to look for while you're getting from one place to another. During a 4-week tour I found the author to be a consistently reliable guide and I saw and did a lot of great things that I would have missed otherwise. This book is also tastefully and intelligently designed and spiral bound for easy use. It was published in 2001, so I hope the publishers will eventually put out an updated version.

Rating:
Summary: A must-have for anyone planning a road-trip in New Zealand
Review: My wife and I recently made a two week motor-home road-trip across the North and South Islands of New Zealand. I'd picked up a copy of "Driving Scenic New Zealand", second edition, quite by chance at a small book-store in Auckland just prior to beginning our road trip. I didn't fully appreciate it until we were on the road.

The book focuses on, in addition to popular destinations, road routes, and invaluable details such as rest stops, information centers, and other amenities along the way. The color maps and travel time estimates are extremely helpful. The author displays a good knowledge of some of the roads less traveled and a genuine love for the scenic beauty of New Zealand.

New Zealand is a country best traveled by road and this book is absolutely essential for anyone who plans to do so. I highly recommend it.