AUSTRALIA & PACIFIC - TRAVEL GUIDES

“Australians are very unfair in this way. They spend half of any conversation insisting that the country’s dangers are vastly overrated and that there’s nothing to worry about, and the other half telling you how six months ago their Uncle Bob was driving to Mudgee when a tiger snake slid out from under the dashboard and bit him on the groin, but that it’s okay now because he’s off the life support machine and they’ve discovered he can communicate with eye blinks.”
- Bill Bryson, In A Sunburned Country

TOP LOCATIONS & TOPICS

photo of two Koala bears
Australia
photo of mountains reflecting on a lake
New Zealand
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South Pacific

A5 RECOMMENDATIONS

Lonely Planet 

One of the world’s most prominent travel guide publishers was based in Australia, perhaps appropriate given that nation’s love for extended world travel.  Lonely Planet was started in the early 1970s by Tony and Maureen Wheeler, and the company for many years was based in Melbourne.  Today, Lonely Planet has sold over 100M guidebooks to hundreds of destinations around the world.  The company has published numerous collections on travel writing, a magazine, mobile app guides, and a number of great travel books for kids.  Click here to learn more about Lonely Planet.

The Lonely Planet Story: Once While Travelling

Those who love the Lonely Planet guidebooks will definitely enjoy the story of how the company was started.  In 1972, newlyweds Tony and Maureen Wheeler set out from London on a year-long trip through Asia.  Little did they know that this trip, and their passion for travel and exploration, would lead to a self-published book for friends called Across Asia on the Cheap, and the start of what would eventually become the leading travel publishing business in the world.  Click here to see our review of The Lonely Planet Story: Once While Travelling.
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