Lonely Planet Northern Territory & Central Australia (Regional Guide) [Paperback]

Paul Harding (Author)

Book Description

Series: Regional Guide | Publication Date: March 1, 2006

Welcome to the ‘real Australia’. Be captivated by the lush, tropical Top End, with iconic Kakadu National Park, cosmopolitan Darwin and unique Tiwi Island culture. Head south to Australia’s spiritual heart, Uluru, in the arid Red Centre and engage with vibrant Aboriginal culture, from the ancient to the modern. Swim in secluded rockpools, explore the desert by camel or 4WD, and yarn with some outback characters – there’s nowhere on earth quite like the Territory.

Great Accommodation – We cover it all: comfortable retreats in Darwin, campsites from Kakadu to Uluru, swags under the stars and outback pub stays

Fine Dining – barbecued barramundi fresh off the line, gourmet bush-tucker feasts under the night sky and the myriad delights of Darwin’s beach market

Indigenous Culture – Expert art and culture chapters are only the beginning: Australia’s ancient and multifaceted cultures pervade our guide from cover to cover

Editorial Reviews

Review

Best for curious and independent-minded travelers' --Wall Street Journal

Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet; 4 edition (March 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1741042240
• ISBN-13: 978-1741042245
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,187,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Growing up in regional NSW, Australia, George Dunford hitched a ride to the big smoke of Canberra to go to the Australian National University. The smoke wasn't quite big enough, so he took off overseas to do the Australian rite of passage that is backpacking in Europe in between working in the UK. He worked at Raasay House off the Isle of Skye, which remains one of his favourite places in the world (though it's in stiff competition with Singapore's long Bar). He lived and worked (illegally ? shhhh!) in the United States, and travelled to countries from Finland to Thailand with few other lands in between.

After returning from overseas, George worked in pubs and libraries before settling on the compromise of both that was Lonely Planet's Trade and reference area. He lurched sideways into a unit that changed its name from New Media to Digital Publishing Unit before finally settling on Those Web Guys, where he rose to a title that nobody knew what it was. After patenting the word "solutioneering" George jumped the fence to research Australian and New Zealand on a Shoestring. While on this trip he kept the first blog for Lonely Planet.

As a freelancer web producer/writer/editor/information leafblower he's worked on projects for seek.com.au (Australia's largest job site) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth site www.rollercoaster.com.au, as well as doing reviews for Melbourne's Cheap Eats and Good Food Guides, and writing freelance articles for the likes of Meanjin, The Age, Australian Traveller Magazine and The Big Issue. He contributed to the Rough Guide to Melbourne. For Lonely Planet he's worked on various freelance projects including bestseller The Travel Book, The City Book and The Big Trip.

He writes fiction with publications in Going Down Swinging (www.goingdownswinging.org.au), Verandah and SBS' Cornerfold site. He's a founding member of the short fiction collective Cardigan Press (www.renewal.org.au/cardigan), which published new short fiction by Australia's freshest writers.

He blogs at www.georgedunford.com
And has written two apps for Sutro Media - a guide to Melbourne (http://sutromedia.com/apps/Melbourne_Essential_Guide) and a guide to Sydney's Harbourside Walks (http://sutromedia.com/apps/Sydney_Harborside_Walk).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Especially for those seeking more depth than the usual Australia-wide coverage can offer, October 6, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet Adelaide & South Australia (Regional Guide) (Paperback)

There's a lot to do in South Australia: so much that it deserves a book of its own separate from just a generic travel guide to the entire country - and Adelaide & South Australia serves just this purpose, allowing the visitor to focus on the region's many offerings. Excellent small maps accompany clear descriptions of accommodations, eating, sightseeing, and natural wonders. With its information-packed pages, it's a 'must' for any destination-oriented traveler planning a visit to the region; especially for those seeking more depth than the usual Australia-wide coverage can offer.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Outdated and lacks research, October 29, 2008

By 

C. R. Friar (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lonely Planet Adelaide & South Australia (Regional Guide) (Paperback)

Unfortunatly, this is perhaps the only book widely available in the US specifically on Southern Australia, which has many wonderful opportunities for the nature and/or wine loving tourist. This book, however, is sorely outdated and in many instances just wrong. I am speaking specifically about the portions written on Kangaroo Island and the south coast. From my experience thus far it seems likely that the author never even visited these places, but is simply working off of word of mouth and other "primary" sources. I generally swear by Lonely Planet guides, but this one is an exception. I hope Lonley Planet puts out a new edition soon with a new author.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A handy guide and a good overarching idea, August 14, 2010

By 

Paul Lawrence "'EJL'" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet Central Australia: Adelaide to Darwin (Regional Travel Guide) (Paperback)

The idea of driving from Adelaide, in South Australia, right 'up the guts' of the Australian continent through to Darwin in the Northern Territory is a pretty nifty one. I've been lucky enough to do exactly that spread over two different trips - the southern half with a tour group and the second as a father & son road trip around a year ago. As such I can attest that this guide book to Central Australia is quite useful as a primer and does discuss a great many point of interest in a fairly factual style. One reviewer decried the lack of accuracy regarding parts of South Australia and in particular Kangaroo Island but I cannot comment on that as I've not been to KI since around 2003.

Much of the format of this work follows the basic LP layout so you shouldn't have any dramas finding what you want. Also the way the book follows in chronological order a one way trip through the centre of the country makes it an easily digestible work. A clutch of photographs at the start of the book add a touch of colour and all I up feel that this book - or any updated version when they get around to it - would make a good companion for anybody considering such a journey. Along with detailed road maps of course and hey, do yourself a favour and DON'T rent a 4WD as just about all the roads you'll be driving on are bitumen (I see so many tourist paying high rental fees for these gas guzzlers when you are almost certain not to need one, and they are easily rented at places like Alice Springs if you ever really really want to go somewhere that 4WD is necessary).

So that's my two cents worth!