Drive-About
Jeff Green (Guest Reviewer - Bill Carn)
2003 Curly Books
ISBN: 0972577858 Amazon's price is: $13.95
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A Road Trip Through New Zealand & Australia.
Guest Reviewer Bill Carn writes:
This book is about a couple from the USA, & their 4 month driving tour of New Zealand & Australia. The story is refreshing, amusing, sometimes screamingly funny, and definitely enjoyable. Jeff Green has provided all this and more in his delightful Down Under travel book, Drive-About.
Jeff & Karen decided to make this trip because, well, Jeff blames the motivation for the trip squarely on Karen. The book shows her as the quieter & stoic member of the team.
Having made a similar trip 25 years ago, I was very curious. I was surprised to find in the first chapter, this was no travel book, but an entertaining description of the adventures, epiphanies, culture clashes, learning Australian English, & driving on the other side of the road.
Jeff writes with humor as he conveys their ruefulness about some of the self-imposed challenges. Good fun to read about, & perhaps experience, especially after the event.
Starting in New Zealand's North Island, was a bit rough, but there are enough events & action to keep the reader enthralled at the going on. In the South island thing are a little more majestic. Spectacular scenery, great walks, presented with enthusiasm. As Bungee Jumping originated with the Kiwis (Jeff's basis for his generalization “crazy Kiwis”) so you know they had to try that. & they did; with pictures.
White water rafting provided sufficient scary moments to keep the adrenalin high. Helped buy the too-nonchalant manner of their guides, instructors, & designated rescue teams. They found New Zealand has a very hospitable climate, very friendly people & beautiful scenery. Their walk of the Milford Track in the rugged country of the south west brought fond memories to this reviewer. Everyone who walks the Milford Track retains an indelible memory of the majestic beauty of the land, & a distinct dislike of sand flies.
Their travels to Queenstown, Kaikoura, & the Abel Tasman areas are described in captivating manner. But this reviewer was hoping for more of my home town Christchurch. Readers will be impressed with the information about the Maori people, the original settlers of New Zealand around 700 A.D.
Arriving in Australia & being dumped in the Kings Cross area of Sydney (the Combat Zone) will bring back many memories to US servicemen who spent R&R time there. For Jeff & Karen it was culture shock. Buying a vehicle & getting prepared shows their skill as used car buyers. Readers will empathize with these events.
So the adventures continued in Supercar, the affectionate (& optimistic) name for their home on wheels for the next four months.
Food seemed to be the first big change for our travelers. A wide range of ethnic food was a pleasant & tasty surprise. The visit to the Sydney Opera House reveals the history & controversy of this landmark.
In Melbourne, Australian Rules football captured their imagination. Jeff may have become a diehard fan. Not hard to do in Melbourne.
Tasmania is home to The Tasmanian Devil, the Platypus, & the nastiest prison since Devil Island where Papillon suffered. Can you envisage the ghosts? There are great stories about all of this.
Southern Hemisphere Winter was a good choice for the trip. The temperatures in the Australian Out Back are very uncomfortable & not conducive to meandering tours. Driving across the Nullabor (no trees) plain from Adelaide to Perth, bouncing over the Western Australian desert, hoping against hope that wheels would not fall off, & mechanical failure doom their progress. The reader will laugh out loud at the actual Supercar problems that did arise.
Visits to Opal mines, a “beneath ground” level hotel, Ayers' Rock now known by its Aboriginal name ‘Uluru', Alice Springs. Their interest in the Aboriginal peoples finds a people of the Stone Age era & their pressures in a modernizing country.
Most readers will have heard of the Great Barrier Reef. Jeff & Karen share a 7 day diving tour that includes swimming with sharks. These are probably the most interesting days of the book. No doubt Jeff & Karen were delighted to spend time in the beautiful, crystal clear waters, exploring coral reefs, sea life & those sharks.
A surprisingly good read, & never dull. Besides reading about some of the most interesting places on earth, you will also learn that Vegemite® is disgusting, “G'day” means “Hi” in Kiwi, “Fair Dinkum” is not swearing, & Red Dust does get into every nook & cranny.
(04/13/03)
RebeccasiReads.com
