Detours: A journey through small-town New Zealand
Summer, 1981. A youngish Neville Peat set out from Cape Reinga on his imported 10-speed bike ‘Blue’, aiming to cycle through small-town New Zealand from north to south, all the way to Stewart Island. The week before Easter, he reached his destination. He wrote a book about it, Detours: A journey through small-town New Zealand, which sold lots of copies and was broadcast on radio. Many times in the intervening years, usually on anniversaries of the journey – ten years, fifteen years, twenty years – he wished to try a repeat journey, but life held other challenges. Now, as a leading author and in the age of the personal computer and cell phone, a very different world, he has revisited many of the towns and regions, not on a bicycle, but by car. In Detours – A generation on, he reflects once again on how small-town New Zealand is doing.
Kiwi: The People's Bird
In this book, the author describes the kiwi from every point of view, from wild bird to national emblem. What is this biological oddity called the kiwi? Exactly how many species of kiwi are there? Where do they live? What do they eat? How are people helping them to survive? Why does this bird have such a major place in the Kiwi nation's life?
Queenstown: New Zealand's Adventure Capital
Queenstown is unlike anywhere else in New Zealand. It is the country's tourism mecca, for lots of good reasons: mountains, rivers, lakes, climate, snow sports, tramping, fishing, bungy jumping, whitewater-rafting - the list goes on and on.
Seabird Genius: The story of L.E. Richdale, the Royal Albatross and the Yellow-eyed Penguin
The first biography of Lance Richdale, who achieved international fame as the father of Otago's albatross colony from 1936 and for his research on the behaviour of the Yellow-eyed Penguin – Time magazine dubbed him 'The Dr Kinsey of the penguin world' – and the sooty shearwater, or muttonbird. Richdale grew up in Wanganui, took a tertiary course in agriculture in New South Wales, and returned to New Zealand to teach mainly in rural schools in the North Island for several years, eventually taking up a position with the Otago Education Board in 1928 as an inspiring itinerant agricultural instructor and nature study teacher.
Southern Land, Southern People
This book celebrates Otago Museum's major new Southern Land, Southern People gallery, opened at the end of August 2002. It offers a comprehensive insight into the character of the region - its astonishing landforms, lost fauna and flora, fossil record and boisterous climate - and the way people have explored this challenging landscape and utilised its natural resources.
Stewart Island: Rakiura National Park (Out of print)
Stewart Island is an increasingly popular holiday destination for eco-tourism and outdoor recreation, with many bush walks and a wealth of natural features to enjoy. Neville Peat introduces the attractions of the island – what to see and do, its walks and tramps, its national park, wildlife, history and magnificent scenery.
Stewart Island Rakiura National Park
Revised and Updated 2019 Edition. Stewart Island is an increasingly popular holiday destination for eco-tourism and outdoor recreation, with many bush walks and a wealth of natural features to enjoy. Neville Peat introduces the attractions of the island – what to see and do, its walks and tramps, its national park, wildlife, history and magnificent scenery.
The Catlins and the Southern Scenic Route
An out-of-the-way corner in the south-east of the South Island, The Catlins is now gaining the recognition it deserves as a beautiful, relatively unspoilt area with many natural attractions, including that rare thing on the east coast, native forest. Neville Peat introduces the history, geology and attractions of the region – its flora, wildlife, bush walks, caves and waterfalls – before tracing the journey along the stunning Southern Scenic Route linking Otago, Southland and Fiordland.
The Catlins and the Southern Scenic Route
Neville Peat introduces the Catlins region – its flora, wildlife, bush walks, caves and waterfalls – before tracing the journey along the stunning Southern Scenic Route linking Otago, Southland and Fiordland.
Wanaka: Lake, Mountain, Adventure
Neville Peat describes the scenic splendour of Wanaka and the myriad activities and attractions for visitors in this updated edition of a book that serves as both a guide to one of New Zealand’s tourism hotspots, and as a souvenir. The book covers the history of the Wanaka area and its progress into a contemporary centre renowned for an exciting range of outdoor activities and regular events, including the internationally recognised Warbirds Over Wanaka air show. Further material offers a guide to local walking and cycling tracks, local flora and fauna, and Mt Aspiring National Park.
Wanaka: The Lake Wanaka Region (Out of print)
Wanaka is a gem. In summer, visitors outnumber the resident population by as many as ten to one as boating, fishing, climbing, walking and cycling absorb large numbers of holiday makers into the terrain. In winter, snowboarders and skiers gather to take advantage of snow capped peaks.
Wild Central: Discovering the Natural History of Central Otago
For the people who know it, 'Central' Otago conjures up images of a diverse landscape - snow-clad peaks, rocky outcrops in a parched terrain, the mighty Clutha River carving its way through the land to the sea, and the wide, windswept Maniototo. Goldrush history, high country farms, Roxburgh apricots, skiing and bungy-jumping and the burgeoning wine industry all combine to give the region a unique flavour. While the region provides many attractions, its natural history has often taken a back seat.
Wild Dunedin: The natural history of New Zealand's wildlife capital
Dunedin city and its environs are home to an amazing range of habitats and landscapes, of plants, animals, birds, insects and geological features. From the ocean, with its albatrosses and penguins, to the high alpine zone of inland ranges, this book introduces a magnificent natural environment.
Wild Dunedin: The natural history of New Zealand’s wildlife capital (Out of print)
Dunedin city and its environs are home to an amazing range of habitats and landscapes, of plants, animals, birds, insects and geological features. From the ocean, with its albatrosses and penguins, to the high alpine zone of inland ranges, this book introduces a magnificent natural environment.
Wild Fiordland: Discovering the Natural History of a World Heritage Area (Out of print)
This is a paperback edition of this book, which was shortlisted for the Montana NZ Book Awards in 1997. It is a major work of regional natural history introducing a New Zealand World Heritage Area, Fiordland National Park.
Wild Rivers: Discovering the Natural History of the Central South Island
The story of the ever-changing landscape of the area bounded by the Waitaki River in the south and the Rangitata in the north, stretching from the Alps to the east coast. This is the first book to describe in detail the natural history of this large region. A main focus is the braided rivers, which in world terms are rare and remarkable. They occur only in New Zealand, northern India, Tibet, Siberia and Argentina. Two things make these rivers remarkable: their ever-changing nature, and their nurturing of a diverse and unique community of plants, birds, fish, lizards and invertebrate life.