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OK, here’s my deal. I’ve been a popular guidebook author in Oregon for the past 7 years (click on my profile.) I went to NZ in early ’06 to see the famed natural beauty—I’d heard all the hype in Outside and Adventure (just like you have). I was SO stoked to go for 3 months! I got a LonelyP-type book and an “adventure map”, but mostly I intended to find a Kiwi-written guide to NZ’s non-touristy “hidden” stuff. In NZ I looked everywhere, but there wasn’t one! More frustrating was that the “info sites” in every town often had no real info about the cool free places to see—they all specialize in commercialized touristy bookings. The neat places that I learned about were from other travelers, because, (as you’ll soon learn), Kiwis often don’t know much about their own NZ. Sometimes I’d learn of “hidden” places up ahead, but more often I’d learn what I’d MISSED along the way – places that were now behind me. I was frustrated…”nobody ever told me”…”I’d driven right by”…the stuff wasn’t in LP nor RG…my maps had icons for waterfalls, caves, hot sprgs, but they had no detailed directions or info to help me plan ahead. I spent WAY too much time quizzing less-than-helpful I-sites , I spent WAY too much time camping in crappy spots because it got dark and I just stopped where I could ……Finally, it took me 3 weeks to commit myself to writing this guidebook. Now, in four years I’ve spent 270 days camping on just the North Island. I did find “the stuff”…I did buy a mtn of books, got stacks of brochures, got old copies of Fromm, Moon, DK, …then I’d spend days pouring over all the info and mis-info to try to sort out the good from the crap. I walked plenty of crap trails and wasted heaps of hours and gas investigating “blah” waterfalls and beaches. I also found SO much that made my jaw DROP, my eyes BOGGLE, my heart SING. Oh my God is NZ cool…but not the NZ that I found in the popular guidebooks.
NZ Frenzy, a Travel Guide to New Zealand (North Island) Featuring Waterfalls, Beaches, Hot Springs, and Trails (Paperback)
Buy NZ Frenzy, a Travel Guide to New Zealand (North Island) Featuring Waterfalls, Beaches, Hot Springs, and Trails (Paperback) at Amazon
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My wife and I recently wrapped up a 5 month trip to NZ. I’d call it the trip of a lifetime except we’re ready to do it again! When we arrived in NZ we had one of the usual guide books, but by a stroke of luck ended up with a copy of NZ Frenzy. It changed our trip. While our Footprint guide was helpful for some things, NZ Frenzy became our primary source of information. The North Island of NZ is often overlooked by travelers–a huge mistake in my opinion. NZ Frenzy will give you all of the details on must see spots throughout the island. These are places that will not show up in other books, or places that only locals know about, or places that you would never get close to if you relied on inaccurate and vague information from another book. The level of detail in NZ Frenzy is incredible and useful. If you are interested in getting off the beaten path, swimming in waterfalls, exploring caves, hiking along secluded beaches, etc. this is the one book that you need for a trip to the North Island.
I’m from the US and lived on the North Island of New Zealand for two months in 2008 — travelling from Auckland to Wellington.
Before leaving the US, I browsed the selection of New Zealand travel guides and was very disappointed. They were all bulky (I didn’t want to forfeit 50lbs of my allotted luggage to 5lbs of guidebooks), and most of the information listed was for generic, expensive tourist stops, lodging / dining, as well as the bulk of the book info on the South Island. I was looking for discovery and nature adventures off the beaten path on the North Island. Having no other choice at the time, I purchased a copy of Lonely Planet. I had lodging with locals and scarcely made use of this book as I found it to be completely tedious and useless with each adventure I tried to plan.
I’m now considering going back because the north island was so fantastic and just purchased NZ Frenzy on Amazon. I can immediately tell that NZ Frenzy GETS IT RIGHT! NZ Frenzy lists all the local “hidden” spots that you won’t find in Lonely Planet — the stuff that you’ll only find if you actually live with a local in those areas, like I did.
For example, two of my favorite places in Taupo were the Spa park hot springs along the Waikato River and the Aratiatia rapids and the walk along the river that lead to the amazing, untouched cascade of hot springs that feed into natural rock formation pools and then directly into the cool, clear river. For the most part these places are completely overlooked by other books, but in NZ Frenzy they are highlighted with multiple pages and more importantly, PHOTOS with diagrams. You won’t want to miss these free places when you’re in Taupo, but the mainstream guidebooks hardly even give them a sentence.
Or take the areas around Rotorua. You’d never find the Waitangi hot springs on your own–only “locals” know about them…but here they are in NZ Frenzy. Or Waikite thermal resort south of Rotorua. These are by far my favorite hot pools–way better than the over-advertised, expensive, cheesy spots in downtown Rotorua, but you’d never know the difference from reading Lonely Planet, etc… NZ Frenzy tells it like it is–Waikite’s pools are fabulous, nestled down in the hills, and the spring that feeds the pools is an amazing natural wonder that will totally impress you. Don’t be worried about getting lost in what seems like a country road through pastureland on the drive there. NZ Frenzy will lead you straight to each spot.
I’m super psyched to go back and explore the North Island now that I know that NZ Frenzy will point out more super-cool free & low-cost spots along the way to everywhere. I won’t be going to the I-sites spending my valuable vacation time looking over all the pamphlets for Zorbing and bus tours.
I’m writing this review to try to help other NZ travelers. The North Island can be a confusing place. The author of NZ Frenzy has taken the time to find the awesome, breathtaking free places that will make your trip an amazing adventure. It will save you tons of time asking questions to locals who may or may not know these spots and most importantly HOW TO GET THERE. This book will also save you gas since you won’t waste time driving to places that aren’t any good.
In addition, I found the roads in New Zealand confusing and lacking signage for many of the places in NZ Frenzy. The roads on the North Island are long, tedious, twisting, and sometimes scary. The majority of the highways around the whole North Island are two lane roads, occupied equally by commuters, farmers slogging down the road on tractors and semis barreling around the corners. When driving on the N. Island you may want to multiply `normal’ US freeway driving time (60mph) by up to 2 or 3 times. You won’t want to waste time taking the wrong turn.
Plus, if you’re from the US, you will be disoriented from driving on the other side of the road! NZ Frenzy takes care of some of the unfamiliarity by giving you exact instructions on how to get there, and includes well marked photos with graphics, to boot!
I hope this review helps you–you’re going to have a great time in New Zealand, and I’m pretty sure that NZ Frenzy will make your vacation WAY better. This book shows you the adventures you think of when you think of the wonder that is New Zealand. Grab a copy of NZ Frenzy and a detailed roadmap. That’s all you’ll need to navigate around!
I spent 3 weeks touring the South Island in 2008 and went back in 2009 to spend another 3 weeks on the North Island. Most of my knowledge on what to see came from some pre-trip planning and talking to people in hostels along the way. About 2 weeks into my North Island tour I met Scott at the i-Site in Taupo. I was trying to get info on the Tongariro Crossing and looking at the maps on the wall. Scott and I began talking and he told me I could see most of the good stuff by just doing a one day climb of Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom for all you Lord of the Rings fans), and not have to arrange or spend money on the one way bus trip back to the start. This sounded great to me. We talked for a while longer and I was really impressed with this guy’s knowledge of things NZ. This was before he told me about “The Book.” I flipped through it and thought this is what I want. Nothing fancy with nice paper and high gloss pictures, but rather what you buy a book like this for…THE CONTENT. Just black & white photos, short notes, and hand sketches. More of a journal by a well experienced traveler. Its not just that he tells you the things to see that most people don’t know about, but he tells you how to see them to maximize your experience. I used NZ Frenzy for the sites around Taupo & Rotorua for several days until we had to head home. I was able to pack so many more really cool things into a limited time using his book. Of course, the bad thing was, going through the book and seeing the things I missed along the way the two previous weeks. NZ Frenzy is “The Book” to use for the North Island. Forget the rest, well… unless you have to see nice glossy color photos and maps in your guide. I’d rather see things through my own eyes.