Australia

Let's face it...that long haul flight is certainly worth it.

Not only that, any Australian will gladly tell you that there is so much more to see and do than what you just see in the brochure!

That's why it's so important to get your travel plans sorted out properly - whether it's Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, or even the Great Barrier Reef - Australia has it all!

Title : Living and Working in Australia: A City by City Guide
Author : Roberta Duman
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Can't do without it...

this is really useful and a must have for anyone planning a trip out down under for a substantial length of time - it includes all the small things you would never think about but you should know about - truly indispensable..

Title : West Coast Australia (Footprint Travel Guide S.)
Author : Andrew Swaffer
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : A useful guide to Western Australia

The guide's information on the places we visited was first rate and the information on eating out was particularly helpful. We took three guide books to Western Australia in January 2005 (one each) but soon found that the Footprint book gave the best information on restaurants. The restaurant reviews were very accurate and there was only one that did not live up to expectations.

Title : Australia (Lonely Planet Country Guide S.)
Author : Paul Smitz
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Starting Point

No single guide to an entire continent could ever be comprehensive, but the Lonely Planet guide has a good stab at it.

The guide is well presented and well organised, being divided up by state. City and Town sections are presented in the standard Lonely Planet way, with an introduction, maps, lists of places to sleep, shop, eat, drink etc. For me the standout feature is that the guide supplies a web address (where there is one) for every listed establishment, museum, tour company etc. This provides a great starting point to find out if what they suggest might really be for you or not, and to plan your trip. Crucially all of the information that I have relied on is up to date.

Having also looked at the Lonely Planet East Coast, Queensland and Sydney guidebooks I would say that there is enough information in the Australia guide book to preclude purchasing a more specific one.

The only major problem, as I believe with all Lonely Planet books, are the awful town and city maps. While they are just suitable for establishing if a bar you're interested in is anywhere near your hostel, they don't really provide a means of getting you there with much chance of success. The tiny versions of the public transport networks for Sydney and Melbourne are a nice idea, but not practical unless you were to go to the effort of making an enlarged photocopy version. In contrast however, the larger scale maps are quite deceent and fairly useful.

In conculsion I was extremely pleased with this guide, which made an excellent starting point for deciding what to see do and experience in Australia.

Title : Rough Guide Map Australia (Rough Guide Map S.)
Author : Rough Guides
Rating : 2 Stars out of 5.
Summary : A brief outline...

This book gives a brief insight into many areas but, tries to do too much and fails miserably. The content is generally ok but in some cases outdated. You will not find the information that you need to plan your itinerary in this guide

Title : Down Under
Author : Bill Bryson
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Bryson's best

This is my favourite of Bill Bryson's travel books as it offers an endearing portrait of Australia and its people. It is full of hilarious observations and moments, such as Bill's attempt to outrun two dogs which are chasing him, and oddball facts like the nuclear bomb that was detonated in the Outback which nobody seemed to notice. Lastly, its very educative, and makes this reader, who has never been to Australia, want to visit the country more than watching Neighbours for 15 years has made me want to! A brilliant read!

Title : Getting a Job in Australia: A Step-by-step Guide to Finding Work Down Under
Author : Nick Vandome
Rating : 3 Stars out of 5.
Summary : informative but dated

there is alot of informative information in this book from healthcare to workplace issues, tax implications to useful addresses. I found it perfect for starting to get my head around all the differences to what I am use to in the UK BUT IT'S OUT OF DATE on alot of things. The book has been revised and updated on some things. However, they have not put any notes on other sections to say if it is still the same today, e.g. is it still the same as what was quoted in 2000 on the tax law???

Overall it is a good starting book to get a feel for what you need current information on before you travel.

Title : Ashes 2005: The Full Story of the Test Series
Author : Gideon Haigh
Rating : 2 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Very Disappointing Ashes Book

Gideon Haigh the writer of this book tells us that he has English parents but was born and raised in Australia. He claims to support England during the Ashes but by his constant mocking of the England cause one suspects that this claim is more to satisfy his English readers. The articles in this book are those written throughout the Ashes for the Guardian and Cricinfo. They are well written, though somewhat awkward to read at times, and are of a much higher standard than most sports writing. You get the sense that Mr Haigh does not view English cricket with very much respect and indeed at times he obviously finds English cricket laughable.

The fact that on page 51 of this book it claims that Australia won the second test at Edgbaston shows that somebody didn't do their job. This is terribly wrong as millions of people in this country and around the world will testify. How this has gone unnoticed by the publisher is staggering and should surely result in the proof reader facing the sack and reprints being rushed out to sooth the dismay of their shocked customers. On the other hand, given the constant mocking of the England team, maybe Gideon Haigh wanted to stir things up by putting this score, because as a closet Aussie fan this is a result that would have surely warmed his heart.

Though Gideon Haigh claims to support England this really is the grudging Aussie point of view at the end of the day. Don't buy this book if you want beautiful images of the Ashes because there are many other books with far superior images. But if you want to read intelligent articles about the Ashes from a man who knows his stuff then this book is for you. Gideon Haigh may be the most annoying writer on the planet, because of his awkward style, but at least he has something intelligent to tell us.

Australia Camera Shopping and Australia online resources.