Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Full-colour guide to plan a perfect wildlife holiday, 26 Oct 2001
By A Customer
Forget about the toilet-paper, black-and-white Lonely Planet style! This book is printed in full colour on glossy paper. And more than any other LP-guide I have seen, however useful they may be, this one lends itself as much to preparing the trip and enjoying memories afterwards as to getting information when you are actually there. I would say it can even be enjoyed just by reading it and marvelling at the strange creatures.
The book consists mainly of three parts. First there is a general part on the evolution and diversity of Australian animals, on wildlife watching and photographing and on the different landscapes to be found down under.
Then there is a major part in which each state is presented separately, starting with a two-page general overview of the particular state and some highlights, followed by a section about the wildlife in and around the state's capital. The main part of each state description consists of presentations of national parks in quite a lot of detail (typically two pages per park), concentrating on what wildlife to find there. Of course not every park can be presented this way, but the ones chosen represent the most interesting for wildlife-interested tourists. Useful addresses and telephone numbers are given.
Finally there is a section in which the animals are described in more or less taxonomous groups (monotremes, carnivorous marsupials, kangooroos, rodents, etc) with a heavy focus on mammals and birds and, to a lesser extent, reptiles. Frogs, fishes and invertebrates are treated more briefly. This section includes not only zoological information, but, maybe more importantly, also gives hints as to where to have the best chance to see the animals in the wild.
If you are planning a trip to Australia and want to see wildlife, this book is a great help. I first concentrated on the animals I found most interesting (to get a rough picture of which parks would be worthwile), and then went to the geographical part for getting more detailed information on the park and finding interesting parks nearby.
This book won't beat a real field guide when it comes to identifying animals, and it won't beat the National Park information brochures when it comes to local information. But it gives you a great opportunity to plan your trip so that you have the best chances to see the animals you want to see.
Highly recommended!
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A lot of dissapointment out in the field, 24 Jul 2002
...the book is a far cry from the black and white LP's of the past, but so are quite a few of the new guides being turned out by LP. If it takes more to impress you than glossy paper, this might not be the guide you want to spend your dollars on. After using the book for three weeks in the Northern Territory and Queensland, it felt like a waste of luggage space when returning home. The guide is too shallow, and quite common birds and snakes are missing. You know your guide is under par when you start using the information leaflets given to you at park entrances as a "field guide". This was my first visit to Australia, and the only one on which this "wildlife guide" will accompany me. I'v done a fair bit of wildlife watching in Africa, and pulled up a copy of the "Wildlife watching: Southern Africa" in a bookshop, and just by pageing quickly I found a picture of a Reticulated Giraffe. A species not present on the sub-continent. This species can be found in East Africa only. On the upside, the guides layout is very good, and the maps give you a quick overview of the parks. Especially for a first timer like myself. It might be worth looking out for a second edition, where more of the "holes" in the guide have been filled.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Only One - could be more accurate though, 22 Jun 2006
This book is the only one available that describes Australia's national parks from a wildlife-watching point of view - other guides available in Australia concentrate on scenic spots and facilities for holidaymakers.
As such, I found it invaluable in pointing out which parks to visit to see a good cross-section of the continent's unique wildlife, and where to try and spot any particular species.
It describes both parks and selected species of Australian wildlife very attractively, with colour illustrations and inspiring text.
Now for the shortcomings:
The information given often turned out to be wishful thinking, making local park rangers laugh.
Just to give two examples: this book claims common wombats are "abundant" in Giraween National Park of Queensland while rangers there said they were so rare they have only seen one in 10 years; it also claims koalas are "common" in Royal NP near Sydney when in fact they are extinct there. And these are two very popular, frequently visited parks!
In general, the book tends to make seeing much of Australia's unique wildlife sound much easier than it actually is.
My other complaint would be that there is almost no practical information of the sort generally provided by other Lonely Planet guides in this book: no information on public transport [hasn't everyone got a car? ;-)], and none on the costs of accomodation or tours.
Then again, since as I said it is the only guide of its kind to watching wildlife in Australia, anyone interested in the topic is well advised to buy a copy. Just don't put too much trust into its accuracy - something that will hopefully improve in a next edition...
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