Rating: 
Summary: Worth carrying the half kilo
Review: An excellent example of Lonely Planet's output. Detailed, accurate and helpful, the only real critisism is that it
doesn't really reccommend places to go - you have to know the things you want to do. A book for using while traveling round - not for armchair browsing. Their web site is impressive too. (www.lonleyplanet.com)
Rating: 
Summary: Great Historical and cultural information
Review: Better than the Fodor's book we also brought along. This Lonely Planet guide gave us a great background on the culture of New Zealand, in terms of the Maori, etc. It matched up closely with what we found when talking with the locals. Very up-to-date. Good, intelligent writing. Unlike other books which tell you what you do, this one forces you to decide for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent - up to date, complete, and accurate
Review: Don't go to New Zealand without this book! I found it an excellent reference, with very complete listings of campgrounds and hostels. All the information, including prices, was very accurate. Good coverage of background information, too.
Rating:
Summary: A Definite Must!
Review: I found this book quite helpful while traveling throughout the North and South Islands of New Zealand. I quickly picked out the places and sites I wanted to see and just went. The maps included in the book are essential. The information was up to date and accurate. I only found one thing this book was missing (as with all Lonely Planet guides)-- area codes for phone numbers.
Rating:
Summary: lonely planet new zealand
Review: I FOUND THIS BOOK TO BE MOST HELPFUL IN PARTS, AND SCARES OF INFORMATION IN OTHER AREAS.
ITS CLEAR AND EASY TO READ, WITH A LITTLE HUMOR TO KEEP YOU SMILING AS YOU READ.
I FOUND IT MOST ANNOYING WHEN READING ABOUT CERTAIN AREAS AND NOT HAVING A STREET/AREA MAP TO FIND THE PLACE, BUT OTHER WISE OVER-ALL A VERY THOUGHT OUT, PLANED BOOK FOR THE LONE/GROUP TRAVELER(S).
INFORMATION ON SAFETY COULD BE UP-GRADED !!!!
Rating:
Summary: New Zealand--or bust!
Review: I looked at and compared this to all the other guides from Frommer's, Eyewitness, Footprint, Rough, Insight, Moon, and Fodor's, and I thought this one was the best.I used this guide on an intensive, 3-week trip to New Zealand several years ago in which I drove over 6000 kilometers and got to just about every part of the country except Ninety-Mile Beach on the tip of the north island. I visited spots ranging from Stewart Island, Doubtful and Milford Sound, and Queenstown in the south, to the Coromandel Peninsula in the east, to the Franz-Josef glacier and the small western town of Greymouth in the west, to Lake Taupo and the capital city Auckland in the north. I crossed the southern Alps several times, and got to just about every major city and town, and I found the book very useful and accurate and a very valuable resource on my trip. New Zealand is one of the most beautiful and delightful places you can visit, and there is something here for everybody. There is still quite a lot of wildlife, and in the south I saw lots of Tui birds, who are like myna birds in that they can immitate just about any noise, and shellducks, which are larger than any American ducks I've seen. One of them even raced me in my car on a road crossing the Alps for a while, until he surprised me by flying under my car and losing all his feathers. Oh well, I hope he grew back those feathers. If you're into wildlife, another fun activity is to see the little blue penguins and the yellow-eyed penguins in the southeast coastal town of Oamaru. But watch out for those big shellducks. The big Kea parrots in the southern mountains are surprisingly bold. They come right up to you and you can get great pictures. A famous kea was the one that lived in a park in Sydney, Australia. This might be the only world-famous bird I've ever heard of. He would let the air out of automobile tires while people watched and laughed, which he seemed to do for the fun of it. As the New Zealanders say, they're cheeky little buggers. Another thing not to miss is the New Zealand Wildlife Refuge on the main road north of Wellington on the way to Auckland. Several of the other things that I enjoyed that I learned about first from the book were (on the south island) the Te Anau glow- worm caves, the big boat tour of Doubtful Sound, the boat tour of Milford Sound (the wettest place on earth at sea level, with 25 feet of rain per year), and (on the north island) the Maori cultural town of Rotorua, which smells like rotten eggs everywhere because of all the volcanic steam vents containing sulfur dioxide. In fact, the steam comes out of the ground just about all over the city. If you're the adventurous type, don't miss Queenstown in the south, the self-styled (and rightly so) adventure capital of the world. There you can do things like bungee-jump from a helicopter, and fly this interesting plane around which is tethered to a central pole. I don't know how many people do those things, but a popular attraction here is a jet-boat tour up one of the rivers. The aerial tramway in Queenstown up to the top of a local mountain gives you a spectacular view of the entire area. There is a decent restaurant at the top, which makes for a popular dining spot with a great view in the evening. On the north island, another interesting and fun thing I did in Auckland was to take the Rangitoto Island tour in Auckland Bay on my last day there, which takes you around this small, volcanic island in the middle of the bay. Also Waiheke Island made for an interesting overnight stay in Auckland bay before flying out the next day. Kelly Tarkington's Arctic Experience is worth seeing. And last but not least, Auckland has some surprisingly good restaurants and dining. Overall, an excellent and well-written guide and worth the price. New Zealand is one of the best and most enjoyable countries I've ever visited, and this guide was an important part of that experience on my trip.
Rating:
Summary: Review
Review: I read quite a few travel books on NZ before I went, including Fodors. This one was by far the most helpful in the preparation as well as during travel. When I was in NZ, this was the only book I carried with me. It was also very helpful in finding places "off the beaten track".
Rating:
Summary: Review
Review: I read quite a few travel books on NZ before I went, including Fodors. This one was by far the most helpful in the preparation as well as during travel. When I was in NZ, this was the only book I carried with me. It was also very helpful in finding places "off the beaten track".
Rating:
Summary: Dense, Informative, Indispensable, and a dash of humor
Review: I used the Lonely Planet travel guides in my other adventures again and again, and love the pithy, been-there-done-that tone. This guide did not disappoint me. When I booked my flight to New Zealand, I did as I always did - a round trip ticket, a reservation for one night at a hotel (to get over the jet lag), and a desire to see the country. For the first two weeks I relied on the LP guide exclusively, and referred to it periodically whether I was on the North Island or the South Island. I had the added benefit of a local friend to make suggestions, as well as the guidebook. Some destinations (which are well worth a visit) are not included in the book, but it didn't stop me from shark diving, whale watching, hiking (tramping as the locals call it), and otherwise running around the country. This guide gives a fundamental, non-commercial impression on what, where, and how to get there. It also offers some historical/cultural information, and a lot of information about towns, attractions, restaurants, hotels (of various price ranges), and a few rough maps. As an added bonus, when I got back, the book became a memento of the trip. My bookcase contains LP travel guides from the countries I have visited, and when nostalgia strikes, I have been known to pull it down. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is about to travel to New Zealand for the first time, or anyone planning a trip.
Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: I've been around New Zealand twice with this book, and found it useful, accurate and fun at the same time.
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