With a route stretching from the dry mesas of the Baja Peninsula to the storm-swept Alaskan island of Kodiak, Tim Palmer and his wife embarked on a tour of North America's coastal mountains high above the Pacific. Palmer recounts that adventure, interweaving tales of exploration and discovery with portraits of the places they visited and the people they came to know along the way.
Life and Adventure in the South Pacific by John D. Jones: Embark on an unforgettable journey across the captivating South Pacific through the eyes of John D. Jones. In "Life and Adventure in the South Pacific," Jones shares his experiences, from lush tropical landscapes to encounters with diverse cultures. The book offers a rare glimpse into the enchanting beauty and rich heritage of the South Pacific, making it a delightful read for adventurers and armchair travelers alike. Key Aspects of the Book "Life and Adventure in the South Pacific": Exotic Destinations: The book takes readers on a virtual tour of various exotic locations in the South Pacific, celebrating its natural beauty and cultural diversity. Cultural Encounters: "Life and Adventure in the South Pacific" offers insights into the encounters with indigenous communities, capturing their unique traditions and way of life. Travel Memoir: Jones' personal narrative infuses the book with a sense of authenticity, making it an engaging travel memoir for those with a wanderlust spirit. John D. Jones was an intrepid traveler and adventurer who embraced the thrill of exploring uncharted territories. Born in the 19th century, Jones' passion for travel led him to the enchanting landscapes of the South Pacific. In "Life and Adventure in the South Pacific," Jones provides readers with an enthralling account of his explorations and encounters with the region's cultures and natural wonders. As readers delve into his travel memoir, they experience the allure and fascination of the South Pacific, making it a captivating read for both travel enthusiasts and cultural aficionados.
Twenty-five years ago, a young Australian museum curator named Tim Flannery set out to research the fauna of the Pacific Islands. Starting with a survey of one of the most inaccessible islands in Melanesia, the young scientist found himself ghost whispering, snake wrestling and Quadoi hunting in search of a small bat that turned out not to be earthshatteringly interesting. With accounts of discovering, naming and sometimes eating new mammal species; being thwarted or aided by local customs; and historic scientific expeditions, Flannery, now one of the world’s top environmentalists, takes us on an enthralling journey through some of the most diverse and spectacular places on earth.
Hidden guides combine unique travel choices, outdoor adventures and little-known locales into a guide where vacations meet adventures. Each guide includes detailed maps, complete internet information for each listing, highlighted author favorites, suggested itineraries, and walking and driving tours. While Seattle may be leading the growth in this red-hot region, there are still many unspoiled getaways to be found in the Pacific Northwest. This guide balances coverage of vintage favorites with new hot spots. Hidden Pacific Northwest takes travelers one step further by adding extensive coverage of outdoor activities, from windsurfing the Columbia River Gorge to climbing glaciers on Mount Rainier to sea kayaking the British Columbia coast. It details 333 places to hike and 726 campgrounds. Also described are distinctive lodging options - including 93 coastal inns - 18 covered bridges to write home about, 10 lighthouses to climb, and 45 places to shop for Northwest crafts. This edition features 53 maps.
The author of The Great Railway Bazaar explores the South Pacific by kayak: “This exhilarating epic ranks with [his] best travel books” (Publishers Weekly). In one of his most exotic and adventuresome journeys, travel writer Paul Theroux embarks on an eighteen-month tour of the South Pacific, exploring fifty-one islands by collapsible kayak. Beginning in New Zealand's rain forests and ultimately coming to shore thousands of miles away in Hawaii, Theroux paddles alone over isolated atolls, through dirty harbors and shark-filled waters, and along treacherous coastlines. Along the way, Theroux meets the king of Tonga, encounters street gangs in Auckland, and investigates a cargo cult in Vanuatu. From Australia to Tahiti, Fiji, Easter Island, and beyond, this exhilarating tropical epic is full of disarming observations and high adventure.
When Thomas J. Watson, Jr. retired as chief executive officer of IBM in 1971, he began to pursue sailing, flying and exploring adventures he had dreamed about during his successful decades in business. One of the sailing and exploring adventures was a Panamato-Fiji passage through the South Pacific, and in this book he writes a charming, candid, erudite account of that sojourn in a part of the world we all dream about. A book for sailors and travelers, Pacific Passage takes us to Cocos Island, the Galapagos, Easter Island, Pitcairn, the Gambiers and Mangareva, the Tuamotus, Tahiti and Moorea, the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. And 72 color illustrations bring the lush, exotic South Seas to this book's oversize pages with great impact.
At the age of twenty-six, Maarten Troost—who had been pushing the snooze button on the alarm clock of life by racking up useless graduate degrees and muddling through a series of temp jobs—decided to pack up his flip-flops and move to Tarawa, a remote South Pacific island in the Republic of Kiribati. He was restless and lacked direction, and the idea of dropping everything and moving to the ends of the earth was irresistibly romantic. He should have known better. The Sex Lives of Cannibals tells the hilarious story of what happens when Troost discovers that Tarawa is not the island paradise he dreamed of. Falling into one amusing misadventure after another, Troost struggles through relentless, stifling heat, a variety of deadly bacteria, polluted seas, toxic fish—all in a country where the only music to be heard for miles around is “La Macarena.” He and his stalwart girlfriend Sylvia spend the next two years battling incompetent government officials, alarmingly large critters, erratic electricity, and a paucity of food options (including the Great Beer Crisis); and contending with a bizarre cast of local characters, including “Half-Dead Fred” and the self-proclaimed Poet Laureate of Tarawa (a British drunkard who’s never written a poem in his life). With The Sex Lives of Cannibals, Maarten Troost has delivered one of the most original, rip-roaringly funny travelogues in years—one that will leave you thankful for staples of American civilization such as coffee, regular showers, and tabloid news, and that will provide the ultimate vicarious adventure.
