5 TRAVEL BOOKS EVERY AUSTRALIAN MUST READ

Australians are known for their love of travel. There’s nothing a fair-dinkum Aussie larrikin likes more than hoisting his travel bag over his shoulders and make for the great open outback. We bring you a list of five great travel books that you should read to keep that wanderer’s spirit alive.
1. In a sunburned country – Bill Bryson
Published as ‘Down Under’ in its Australian edition, this account of Bill Bryson is perhaps the most popular travelogue about Australia. The land of the friendliest people, the hottest and driest weather, and a most peculiar and lethal wildlife to be found on the planet. If that’s not a great recipe for fun, then what is? Just like the inhabitants of Australia, Bryson’s book is cheerful, obliging, charming, extroverted, and forever filled with sunshine. Bryson’s love for the place despite its dangerous wildlife comes through in every page – no, in every sentence of his prose.
2. Tracks – Robyn Davidson
This is an account of a woman’s solo trek across 1700 miles of Australian Outback. It begins with the words: “I experienced that sinking feeling you get when you know you have conned yourself into doing something difficult and there’s no going back.” Robyn Davidson’s perilous journey across the hostile Australian desert to the sea is undertaken with only four camels and a dog for company. From the book jacket:
Enduring sweltering heat, fending off poisonous snakes and lecherous men, chasing her camels when they get skittish and nursing them when they are injured, Davidson emerges as an extraordinarily courageous heroine driven by a love of Australia’s landscape, an empathy for its indigenous people, and a willingness to cast away the trappings of her former identity. Tracks is the compelling, candid story of her odyssey of discovery and transformation.
3. Lonely Planet Australia
This is a proper travel guide for all those bitten by wanderlust. It is your passport to Australia: what to see, what you can afford to miss, and what hidden treasures conceal themselves under which stone. Whether it’s the Sydney Opera House, the Great Barrier Reef, or Ayers Rock, this book will have all you need to know to get to those places, have a great time, and get back. Colour maps, inside tips, honest reviews, budget breakdowns, cultural insights…you will not miss a single detail in this book. A must buy!

4. National Geographic Traveler: Australia
Another official travel guide. It differs from the Lonely Planet guide in that the amount of detail is not as high, but the book is smaller and easier to carry around. This is more practical in nature than Lonely Planet, which means you won’t get that personal touch as much. It has great photographs, though, and it has all the information you need to have a hassle-free trip to wherever you wish. The best thing about this guide is the recommended experiences section, where tips are given for swimming among dolphins and riding on camels, among other things.

5. Chasing Dreamtime – Neva Sullaway
This is another personal narrative. What begins as a seafaring journey quickly become land bound, and author Neva Sullaway finds herself pedalling a ‘pushbike’ 2000 kilometres along Australia’s northeastern shoreline. From there she ventures inward, into the great outback, where she comes face to face with the elusive Abogorinal concept of Dreamtime, where her reality changes. Travel and spirituality come together in this gripping book.