Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
OUR STORY
A beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and
a sense of adventure. In 1972 that's all Tony and
Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime
- across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It
took several months, and at the end - broke but
inspired - they sat at their kitchen table writing
and stapling together their first travel guide,
Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they'd sold 1500 copies. Lonely Planet was
born.
Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Melbourne, London and Oakland, with more than
600 staff and writers. We share Tony's belief that 'a great guidebook should do three
things: inform, educate and amuse'.
OUR WRITERS
Charles Rawlings-Way
Coordinating Author, Taranaki & Whanganui, Rotorua & the Bay of Plenty, The East Coast
English by birth,
Australian by chance, All Blacks fan by choice: Charles' early understanding of Aotearoa
was less than comprehensive (sheep, mountains, sheep on mountains...). He realised
there was more to it when a wandering uncle returned with a faux-jade tiki in 1981. He
wore it with pride until he saw the NZ cricket team's beige uniforms in 1982... Mt Taranaki's
snowy summit, Napier's art-deco deliverance and Whanganui's raffish charm have helped
him forgive: he's once again smitten with the country's phantasmal landscapes, disarming
locals, and determination to sculpt its own political and indigenous destiny. Charles also
wrote the Plan Your Trip section, and the Directory and Transport chapters.
Brett Atkinson
Auckland, Bay of Islands & Northland, Waikato & Coromandel Peninsula
Resident in Auckland, Brett leapt
at the chance to research his home town for this edition. Highlights include exploring the
city's emerging restaurant scene around Wynyard Quarter, and journeying to the diverse is-
lands of the Hauraki Gulf. Excursions further afield to Northland and Coromandel echoed
family holidays in an earlier century. Brett's contributed to Lonely Planet guidebooks span-
