NZ Frenzy: New Zealand North Island

Quite satisfied, although it was not the most recent edition (but I wouldn't have expected that, given the price).Delivery was on time, given Amazon's time frame in that it was sent from the USA.There was a small coffee stain, but it will get worse treatment than that by the time we finish touring.

It's touted as the best guide to outdoor activities in the North Island and for once I can say that's indisputable. I suppose any sufficiently dedicated, talented and enterprising adventurer could have written a book like this and it's a bit surprising that there was no Kiwi who a) realised there would be a demand & b) put in the necessary legwork and research. As it stands, it took an American to produce this invaluable guide, which I've used on 2 trips to NZ already. I can think of only 1 case where a recommended walk was no longer accessible due to the landowner withdrawing permission. Also 1 omission of a most enjoyable trip/walk from Russell/Paihia : Urupukapuka Island. The author maintains web pages where you can view his photos of the locations covered. It's worth spending the money and buying a new copy from amazon.com, I can guarantee it'll be the best investment you make for your NZ trip. I have bought other walking guides & Lonely Planet guide, but they were hardly used. The guide doesn't just cover the best walks, but little known beaches, swimming spots, hot springs etc. Essential purchase really if you're going to make the most of the NZ experience.

Wow! We didn't know how much we needed this book. We absolutely love it. It has taken us to so many fantastic places in our campervan holiday on the North Island, that we would never have known about otherwise. And it has encouraged us to be more adventurous when we are at them - bending double to walk through caves to amazing glow worms, visiting beaches at low tide to get to special pools and coves, getting in and behind waterfalls! We loved the obscure-meter feature so we were prepared for how busy places would be. Scott also writes in an entertaining way so that it is a pleasure to read. We used his website related features as well that really added to our experience. It is an outdoors guide book, so don't expect much information on the towns and cities, but we loved it all. We were just sad we couldn't visit all Scott's recommendations. We are off to the South Island today and looking forward to using the NZ Frenzy book for that Island. Thanks Scott!

Absolutely all you need to see the real New Zealand. An honest review of popular cities to help gage your travel plans. We use the book on our spaceship holiday, being from NZ I didn't think I needed a book, but after been given NZ Frenzy we used it daily...always saying, "what does the book say/recommend"It took us to places I had never been and was amazed how some tourist attractions are not well documented in other books - thankfully easy to use format which was broken down by regions (including maps) and the best part of all, the obscure-o-meter!Also not to forget, this book gets you the view points for some expensive and iconic tourist attractions - for free! Including tips on safety, directions and walking routes.Can't say enough, fully recommend this book.

I can't rate these books highly enough. They transformed out NZ travels into the real adventure I hoped they would be. Many Many Thanks Scott!

We have been in New Zealand now for nearly two months and came across this book by complete chance in a hostel. Since picking up a copy ourselves our trip has completely changed. This is a great travel book, and better than anything rough guide or lonely planet could ever churn out. We will be buying the South Island book for certain! If you are coming to New Zealand, buy this guide!!

I bought both the North and South Island books with which to plan my trip . I am pretty dyslexic and tend to avoid reading but Scott has an amusing style and in the two days I've had them I can hardly put them down.The text is funny "Sandflies, unlike mosquitoes, are silent assassins" but very informative answering the very questions I want answered. [Hose] "yourself down with Deet, and then laughing as you watch the less-prepared tourists. hahahahaha."Scott intends his book to be a supliment to the standard travel books and as such focuses to a great extent on what most of the books and tourists miss. "Amazingly, along this track you may spot penguins just meters away""Te Paki Stream is scary the first time, but"... Scott dares us to to go beach driving, perhaps to find the sea lions, and then correctly points out the vehicle hire companies forbid it!The books are full of tips from how the locals react to free camping, through to which caves allow you to photograph the glow worms.I bought the down load versions for 7.50 Euro from[...] rather than the paper versions for 40 euros each. The process was easy with paypal.I will update this after the trip when I can comment on the accuracy and how well our tastes align. Meanwhile a good buy even if you are nt going to NZ!

We have been coming to NZ from UK for 6 years (their summer our winter) and travelling around in our converted bus. Thought we had pretty much covered NZ and found secret and hidden away places until... we met an American family on a little known beach site - how had they found it? NZ Frenzy was the answer. Couldn't wait to get our hands on the books, had to wait until we came back this year. They don't disappoint. Only been here 2 or 3 weeks so far but have followed Scott's exhortations to get off the beaten track and have seen some real gems in the North Island. Looking forward to travelling to the South Island and finding more places we didn't know existed! Fantastic - it is the first book we reach for and have already learned lots of new and interesting facts. Love them - they will become very well worn over the next few months and years.