A memoir about two trips to New Zealand, twenty years apart: first for Skyring's honeymoon, then another trip with his wife and two teenage children. This is a fun and friendly narrative, with plenty of rich detail. I especially enjoyed the little historical anecdotes, like the toilets on ships and the Maori's sound defeat of the British. Skyring's side comments, particularly when dealing with language, are often quite funny. (One such example: his assurance that Wakatipu is not widely pronounced "Wakkity-poo", especially by locals.) As an American, Australia and New Zealand are quite closely connected in my mind, but Skyring's adventures reminded me that they are indeed two separate countries. However, amidst all the humor, there is no mistaking Skyring's abundant awe and respect for the beautiful land and people he encounters. I nearly salivated at some of the scenery he describes. I would recommend this thin book to other BookCrossers, of course, but also to anyone who enjoys travelogues. This certainly whetted my appetite for New Zealand.

Registered in Centreville, Virginia, USA.

This book will be released at the 2011 BookCrossing Convention.

Picked up at the BC in DC convention. Looking forward to the read. Thanks Pete. Really enjoyed this travel monologue, brought NZ travel and Bookcrossing to life. I think you could become a travel writer Pete. Hope all BCers get the opportunity to read this book.

Taking to a meetup today, to pass onto meganh, who is attending convention in NZ later this year.

Caught at today's meet-up, will pass it on to meganh at the next meet-up.

I enjoyed reading this well written, candid memoir. It brought back memories of my first trip to New Zealand (very first 'overseas' trip) in 1977. It was a great adventure for our family...the magic of the Waitomo Caverns ...exotic Rotorua with all that bubbling mud...the unforgettably rough boat crossing of Cook Strait from the North Island to the South Island...the mystical beauty of Milford Sound... the fun we had in Queenstown etc etc. Thanks for the memories Skyring.

Will pass this back to meganh at the meet-up today.

And snaffled by me at the meetup! This one is getting bumped up Mt TBR (as soon as I finish the massive tome that is 'Wolf Hall' anyway!) and will then continue its travels!

I was actually a bit nervous about reading this memoir by Skyring. What if I hated it??? Would be embarrassing in the extreme as I will be seeing him at the BC Unconvention in Queenstown this weekend!
Luckily... I DID enjoy this! And will be taking it back to its roots to continue its travels!

To be released... somewhere.. some time.. during the Queenstown Unconvention!

To the finder of this book:
Hello and congratulations! You have not only found yourself a good book, but a whole community of booklovers dedicated to sharing books with each other and the world at large. I hope you'll stick around a bit and get to know BookCrossing --maybe even make a journal entry on this book. You may choose to remain anonymous or to join (its free!) And if you do choose to join, I hope you'll consider using me, lmn60, as your referring member. Feel free to read and keep this book, or to pass it on to a friend or even set it out "in the wild" for someone else to find like you did. If you do choose to join and journal, then you can watch the book as it travels- You'll be alerted by email each time someone makes another journal entry. It's all confidential (you're known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address), free, and spam-free. Happy reading!

Oddly enough, criticism is always valued. I think the book is deeply flawed, and I could have differentiated the two trips better. It's also more of a we-did-this-then-we-did-that-gosh-wow book rather than the sort of travel book I actually enjoy reading.

The only thing saving it is the footnotes. IMHO.

And here I am back in Queenstown.

Just skimming through the book, I'm reminded of the glorious fun I've had in New Zealand, in BookCrossing, and in my own life. The friends I've made, the times we've shared, the sights we've seen. Maybe I'll retrace my steps one more time in years to come. It's hard to fail to be enchanted in such a magic land.

My BookCrossing friends are a little bit mad, I think. Not 90%, but certainly at least 10%. That's why I love them so much - our crazy hearts call to each other, and when we wrap a book up in plastic, drop it into a fountain, or hand it to a stranger who smiled, or drop it into a passing punt, we are linked in our literary lunacy.

BookCrossing has definitely changed my life. It's full of joy. And smiles. And friends. And books.

Thanks, lmn60! You added another highlight to an already fantastic day when you handed me this in the middle of our release walk.

I'll have to pass it on to someone special.

Picked it up off a Winnies' Pizza table while at the Queenstown unconvention, and managed to get Skyring to sign it, thus increasing its value magnificently.

Am I special? Quite definitely. People point at me and say that. "That man's special" they say.

Anyway, after reading it I hope to pass it on to my brother in Brisbane so that he can see what he missed out on because of the appalling weather during his visit.