New NZ Lonely Planet Celebrates Kiwi Hospitality

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EMBARGOED UNTIL: 00:01, THURSDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2010

Lonely Planet’s New NZ Guide Celebrates Kiwi Hospitality

Lonely Planet’s new edition New Zealand Travel Guide, released today, salutes the welcoming warmth of New Zealand’s people – even in the face of economic and sporting challenges.

“Despite the country’s growing profile on the international stage,” the guidebook says, “there’s one dimension of a trip to NZ that you probably haven’t counted on: the extent to which the average Kiwi will genuinely want you to have a really, really good time. “ (p. 17)

The guide does concede, however, that not “everyone wanders around with Prozac grins, hugging trees. A short drive on Auckland’s motorways will quickly dispel that notion.” And it recognises the less-than-festive economic situation: “New Zealanders, like the rest of the world, are still struggling to shrug off the gloom of the global economic crisis, which pushed the economy into recession and sent unemployment soaring.” (p. 17)

The new guidebook also comments on the Kiwi obsession with rugby, and on next year’s Rugby World Cup: “In 2011, NZ will play host to the Rugby World Cup (RWC) and chances are, whether you travel before, during or after the tournament, you’ll be thoroughly sick of hearing about rugby by the end of your stay.” (p. 17) For anyone planning a visit in spring 2011, the guide warns: “if NZ dips out of the RWC in the finals rounds for the fifth consecutive time ... come armed with enough tissues to console a nation, but expect mass hysteria in the event of a victory.” (p. 18)

A notable new feature in this 15th edition of Lonely Planet New Zealand is an eight-page, full-colour section showcasing the personal NZ highlights of 14 prominent Kiwis: Footrot Flats cartoonist Murray Ball, stuntwoman & actor Zoë Bell, writer-director Jane Campion (The Piano), actor/comedian Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords), chef Peter Gordon, former NZ cricketer Sir Richard Hadlee, adventurer Peter Hillary, writer Keri Hulme, poet Sam Hunt, The Amazing Race presenter Phil Keoghan, singer-songwriter Anika Moa, Dr Farah Rangikoepa Palmer (former captain of NZ’s women's rugby team, the Black Ferns); former All Black captain Tana Umaga, and singer Hayley Westenra.

Another addition is the inclusion of a bonus pull-out touring map – ideal for the two-thirds of travellers who rent a car or van during their New Zealand visit.

The guide contains the trademark honesty and opinion for which Lonely Planet is renowned. While it says Auckland “can justifiably respond to its detractors, ‘Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful’” (p. 93), it also points out that “while geography has been kind, city planning has been less so. Unbridled and ill-conceived development has left the centre of the city with some architectural embarrassments.” (p. 95)

Christchurch, now recovering from the 4 September earthquake, is recognised for “embracing the increasingly multicultural nature of urban NZ society” (p.519), while Wellington is hailed as “the city that’ll blow the cobwebs away” (p. 394), despite being “infamous for its weather... And negotiating the inner-city one-way system is like the Krypton Factor on acid.” (p. 395)

New Zealand (15th edition) is the first of four new guidebooks to NZ that Lonely Planet is releasing in 2010. New Zealand’s North Island (1st edition) and New Zealand’s South Island (2nd edition) will be available in October, with Discover New Zealand (1st edition) following in November. Lonely Planet also publishes Cycling New Zealand, Tramping in New Zealand and an Auckland City Guide for iPhone.

“The expansion of the Lonely Planet range of New Zealand guides reflects how important the country is to us,” explains Lonely Planet’s Australia-Pacific Commissioning Editor Errol Hunt. “We've been doing the New Zealand guidebook for 33 years now, and we know the country really well. As well as always making the New Zealand guide itself better and better, we also wanted to find better ways to get that information to different groups of travellers.”

“The two single-island guides, for, example are a response to a need that our readers identified for us, particularly Australian travellers,” Errol continues. “A number of travellers pick one of the two islands and then stay there, which allows them time to explore off the beaten track a lot more – so an in-depth guidebook is perfect for them. The two individual island guides mean that travellers who aren't planning to cross the Cook Strait don't need to buy the full country guide. We had a really great reaction to the South Island guide that we put out last year, which is why we're expanding this to cover the North Island as well.”

Meanwhile, Discover New Zealand, like the other guides in Lonely Planet’s new Discover series is, “a full-colour, highlights-based guidebook that focuses on the best the country has to offer. Discover New Zealand is aimed at those travellers who don’t want to miss out on any of the highlights, but who still want to get to the heart of a place.”
Lonely Planet books are now distributed in New Zealand exclusively by Nelson-based Craig Potton Publishing.

Lonely Planet New Zealand Country Guide (15th Edition)
Released 16 September 2010
RRP: NZD $55
lonelyplanet.com/new-zealand

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ABOUT LONELY PLANET
Lonely Planet’s authors are independent, dedicated travellers. They visit every destination in the guide, and don’t take freebies. They personally visit thousands of hotels, restaurants, cafés, bars, galleries, palaces, museums and more – and they take pride in getting all the details right, and telling it how it is. Lonely Planet started in 1973 and has gone on to become the world’s most successful travel information provider, recently printing its 100 millionth book.

What Lonely Planet New Zealand says about…

Auckland: “the rest of the country loves to hate it, tut-tutting about its traffic snarls and the supposed self-obsession of the quarter of the country’s population that call it home. With its many riches, Auckland can justifiably respond to its detractors, ‘Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful’.” (p.93)

Auckland Museum: “magnificent … Its comprehensive display of Pacific Island and Maori artefacts on the ground floor deserves to be on your ‘must see’ list.” (p. 99)

Devonport: “Quaint without being sickeningly twee, it retains a village atmosphere, with many well-preserved Victorian and Edwardian buildings and loads of cafes.” (p. 105)

Great Barrier Island: “Although only 88km from Auckland, Great Barrier seems a world – and a good many years – away.” (p. 137)

The Hauraki Gulf: “gives the Bay of Islands some rather stiff competition in the beauty stakes.” (p. 129)

Helensville:”A smattering of historical buildings, antique shops and cafes makes village-like Helensville a good whistle-stop for those taking SH16 north.” (p. 145)

Hotel de Brett: “Supremely hip, this lavishly refurbished historic hotel has been zooshed up with supercool stripey carpets and clever designer touches in every nook of the extremely comfortable rooms.” (p. 117)

Leigh: “Appealing little Leigh … has a picturesque harbour dotted with fishing boats, and a decent swimming beach at Matheson Bay.” (p. 149)

Matakana: “suffers from reverse alcoholism – the more wine gets poured into it, the more genteel it becomes.” (p. 148)

Orewa:”Locals have fears that Orewa is turning into NZ’s equivalent of Queensland’s Gold Coast, but until they start exporting retirees and replacing them with bikini-clad parking wardens that’s unlikely to happen.” (p. 146)

Parnell: “likes to think of itself as a village, although the only tractors to be seen are the SUVs driven by the affluent suburb’s soccer mums.” (p. 105)

Puhoi: “Forget dingy cafes and earnest poets – this quaint village is a slice of the real Bohemia.” (p. 147)

Titirangi: “Once home to NZ’s greatest modern painter, Colin McCahon, there remains an artsy feel to the place.” (p. 141)

Waiheke: “93 sq km of island bliss only a 35-minute ferry ride from the CBD.” (p. 131)

Waiwera:”This pleasant river-mouth village has a great beach, but it’s the wai wera (hot waters) that people come here for.” (p. 147)

Warkworth: “makes for a pleasant pit stop, its dinky main street retaining a village atmosphere.” (p. 148)

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