Crossing Continents with Top Deck: The Travel Revolution of the 70's-90's by Trevor Carroll

$29.95 AUD

Category: Travel

Crossing Continents with Top Deck, the travel revolution of the 70's-90's is a story through the eyes of a tour leader travelling overland between London and Sydney in the late 1970s. The heady days of the 1978 Afghan coup and the Iranian revolution were on the itinerary for adventure seeking colonials. The journey from Sydney to London crossing three continents and through 21 countries took 20 weeks. An adventure alternative for young Aussies and Kiwis getting to and from Europe, aboard Top Deck's alternative mode of travel in caravan style converted Bristol Lodekka double deck buses. The Top Deck Sydney to London tour described in this book, perhaps one of the lengthiest and most arduous of its time departed Sydney in March 1980. The first hop crossed Australia to Perth in two old Sydney era double decker buses with 30 passengers. A series of flights, trains, buses, ferries carried them to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Burma to Kathmandu. Guesthouses and budget hotels provided roofs over their heads. In Kathmandu this group grew to 60, where they boarded three double-deckers, Casper, Tadpoles and Dinger bound for London. The 1955 model Bristol Lodekkas fed and housed 20 passengers each from Nepal through India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Greece, Yugoslavia, Italy, France and to London over ten weeks suffering major breakdowns, collisions, illness and the US hostage crisis in Iran. This book is a page-turner, written in a humorous witty style and tells of the author's exciting adventures in 1978, 1979 and 1980 in Asia. The stories will interest: baby boomers and those who travelled in the camping tour 'boom time' of the 1970s. Travellers in general who want an exciting entertaining read, in particular those who experienced the 'hippy trail' between London and Kathmandu. This book provides an insight into the turmoil of Iran and Afghanistan from 1978 to 1980, an eyewitness account. Skroo Turner the founder of Top Deck and today's Flight Centre provides an introduction to these stories, his foresight has continued his travel revolution from those lumbering old buses to today's conglomerate, The Flight Centre Group. ...Show more

Spinoza's Overcoat - Travels with Writers and Poets by Subhash Jaireth

$29.99 AUD

Category: Travel

'It starts to rain as I step out of my hotel ....' So begins Subhash Jaireth's striking collection of essays on the writers, and their writing, that have enriched his own life. The works of Franz Kafka, Marina Tsvetaeva, Mikhail Bulgakov, Paul Celan, Hiromi Ito, Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza and othe rs ignite in him the urge to travel (both physically and in spirit), almost like a pilgrim, to the places where such writers were born or died or wrote. In each essay a new emotional plane is reached revealing enticing connections. As a novelist, poet, essayist and translator born into a multilingual environment, Jaireth truly understands the power of words across languages and their integral connections to life of the body and the spirit. Drawing on years of research, translation and travel Spinoza's Overcoat - and its illuminations of loss, mortality and the reverie of writing - will linger with readers. 'Eloquent and original, Jaireth's meditations on the lives-of-poets are full of astonishing details, tender connections and the magnificent melancholy of devotion to words. Encompassing matters of translation, love, mortality and homage, this is a rare model of what might be called "literary philosophy" and an utter joy and surprise for anyone interested in the reading and writing life ?' GAIL JONES, author of The Death of Noah Glass ...Show more

Around the World in 80 Trains: A 45,000-Mile Adventure by Monisha Rajesh

$22.99 AUD

Category: Travel

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER AWARD FOR BEST TRAVEL BOOK 'Monisha Rajesh has chosen one of the best ways of seeing the world. Never too fast, never too slow, her journey does what trains do best. Getting to the heart of things. Prepare for a very fine ride' Michael PalinWhen Monisha Rajesh announced plans to circumnavigate the globe in eighty train journeys, she was met with wide-eyed disbelief. But it wasn't long before she was carefully plotting a route that would cover 45,000 miles - almost twice the circumference of the earth - coasting along the world's most remarkable railways; from the cloud-skimming heights of Tibet's Qinghai railway to silk-sheeted splendour on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Packing up her rucksack - and her fiancé, Jem - Monisha embarks on an unforgettable adventure that will take her from London's St Pancras station to the vast expanses of Russia and Mongolia, North Korea, Canada, Kazakhstan and beyond. The ensuing journey is one of constant movement and mayhem, as the pair strike up friendships and swap stories with the hilarious, irksome and ultimately endearing travellers they meet on board, all while taking in some of the earth's most breathtaking views. From the author of Around India in 80 Trains comes another witty and irreverent look at the world and a celebration of the glory of train travel. Rajesh offers a wonderfully vivid account of life, history and culture in a book that will make you laugh out loud - and reflect on what it means to be a global citizen - as you whirl around the world in its pages. ...Show more

Bondi to the Baltic by John McCombe

$32.95 AUD

Category: Travel

Brisbane's Best Bush, Bay and City Walks 3E by Dianne McLay

$29.99 AUD

Category: Travel | Series: Woodslane Walking Guides

Explore 35 of Brisbanes most picturesque and interesting walks, with walks for all ages and fitness levels. A bestseller in the first and second editions, this fully-updated version includes detailed walk information, full-colour photos and comprehensive maps. Brisbanes subtropical climate and relaxed o utdoor lifestyle make it the ideal city to explore on foot. Brisbanes Best Bush, Bay and City Walks helps you explore Brisbanes urban villages, bushland and wildlife reserves, streets rich in history and art, the shores of Moreton Bay and lush riverside parklands. Walks range from leisurely strolls along the riverside to more rugged tracks in the citys bushland areas. ...Show more

Byron Trails - 50 walking adventures in Byron Bay and beyond by Mairead Cleary

$29.99 AUD

Category: Travel

Byron Trails is the first and only comprehensive guidebook of coastal and hinterland walks accessible from Byron Bay. This simple one-stop guide spans Byron, Tweed, Ballina and Nightcap National Park. The book features an easy-to-use 'Choose your trail' table that allows you to select your walk based on length, difficulty, type of walk and location. Most importantly it lists the cafes closest to each walk for a well-deserved cuppa after! With information about the area as well as tips for staying safe in the bush, this is a complete resource for the novice and the avid hiker.A perfect companion for those who already know and love the area as well as those discovering it for the first time, Byron Trails offers unique insights into the natural treasures that exist in Byron Bay and beyond. ...Show more

Camino de Santiago Journey 2019 - Helps, Hints and Tips for Peregrinos by Tex Lang

$19.95 AUD

Category: Travel

Due North: An Expedition Through Australia from Tasmania to the Gulf by James Viles

$39.99 AUD

Category: Travel

An Australian food adventure, from the stark beauty of Tasmania due north through red earth to the Gulf of Carpentaria. This is award-winning chef James Viles' photographic journal of his road trip due north, from Tasmania to the Gulf of Carpentaria. His focus is real food, where it comes from, how it' s grown, tended and harvested, and how it sometimes flourishes in the most hostile and breathtakingly beautiful parts of Australia. James describes the people he meets along the road and the conversations he has with foragers, food producers, fishermen, tribal elders, local farmers, all of whom are knowledgeable and passionate about Australia and Australian ingredients. James also discovers that sleeping in a swag under the stars reminds him about what matters and reconnects him to his creative self. With exquisite imagery from Adam Gibson, this is an extraordinary portrait of a country.  ...Show more

Hanoi Pocket Precincts by Juliette Elfick

$19.99 AUD

Category: Travel | Series: Pocket Precincts Ser.

Hanoi is a picturesque mix of the old and the new, with the fading grandeur of its French colonial history juxtaposed against modern architecture. It's a city where early-morning tai chi is followed by the rush of noisy mopeds as they cruise up wide, tree-lined boulevards. It's also a travel hotspot off ering inexpensive shopping locations and a mouth-watering array of unique things to eat and drink.   Hanoi Pocket Precincts lists the best of the city - restaurants, bars and cultural sights - in each of the four main districts of urban Hanoi. In the center there's Hoan Kiem, which contains the Old Quarter crammed with elegant shophouses and temples; to the south there's the fashionable nightlife and shopping district of Hai Ba Trung; to the west there's Ba Dinh with its mix of French colonial villas, modern skyscrapers, squares and parks; and to the north you'll find genteel, upmarket Tay Ho. The book also includes suggested field trips outside Hanoi, including an overnight stay in Ha Long Bay as well as a fold-out map of the four districts of inner Hanoi. ...Show more

Heritage Guide to teh Scenic Rim

$11.95 AUD

Category: Travel

History of the World in 500 Railway Journeys by Sarah Baxter

$39.95 AUD

Category: Travel

History is everywhere, and is never as complete as when it can be accessed on a part of history itself.  The locomotive is one of the great steps in progress of civilisation that undoubtably connects us to land and history that was shaped by the machine itself. Although a basic form of railway, or rutwa y, did exist in Ancient Greek and Roman times - notably the ship trackway between Diolkos and the Isthmus of Corinth around 600 BC - it would take several thousand years before the first fare-paying passenger service was launched in the early nineteenth century. Some two hundred years on, it is possible to travel by train to some of the world's most remote and remarkable destinations, and track the many wonderful legacies of the Earth's extensive history - man-made and otherwise.   From prehistoric rock formations to skyscraper cities, slow steam engines to high-speed bullet trains, let A History of the World in 500 Railway Journeys be your guide. Through its beautifully illustrated pages, and 500 awe-inspiring railway journeys, you can chart your own transcontinental itinerary through time. Chug through canyons, steam past ancient monuments, speed through cities, luxuriate in the railcars of presidents and queens, or make express connections between key historical moments or epic eras, A History of the World in 500 Railway Journeys has it all. A must-read for travellers, railfans and history buffs alike, offering inspiration and information in equal measure.   ...Show more

Make Trax Australia Atlas by AFN Compilation

$24.99 AUD

Category: Travel