Adventures across Aotearoa

By Ray Salisbury

Published by Exisle Publishing

ISBN 9781991001399

Epic is the perfect title for this book as Ray Salisbury takes readers along the footsteps and intrepid water voyages of fifteen, including his own hardcore adventurers exploring spectacular New Zealand.

These are people who are motivated to push their boundaries and go beyond. Way beyond to discover what they can do.while enjoying and appreciating seeing the remarkable New Zealand wilderness on land and at sea.

If you have ever hiked or tramped as it is called in New Zealand, climbed mountains or gone kayaking it will be easy to understand what these adventurers do and the often massive obstacles they have to overcome.

Each chapter focuses on remarkable adventures and the adventurers. The explanation about each adventurer and the environment is easy to imagine and quite wondrous, especially when reading about tramping in knee deep or higher snow. While many years ago I used to hike, I cannot comprehend something like this.

We begin reading with Graeme Dingle and Jill Tremain attempting the first traverse of the Southern Alps, following through until we get to the nineteen year-old wild boy who lived off the land as he paddled, walked and swam 8000 km of the country's coastline. Most of these adventures include a cross section of pursuits such as hiking, walking, climbing, kayaking and cycling.

The thoughts around goal setting by Steve Gurney and Gordon Dingle ring true and no doubt as to how they could achieve their own. something that carries through in everyday life.

This book is well written using everyday language, but bear in mind the author calls a spade a spade with some humorous tones. The detailed maps at the beginning of each chapter are useful for understanding the sheer scale of these adventures and I found myself referring to the maps quite often. It is also offers more meaning and is helpful including the photographs including within each chapter, rather than as a seperate section.

It is worth noting that the feel of this hardcover bound book with better quality paper makes it more enjoyable to read and one that could be referred to from time to time. Each chapter is quite different and could be read separately without needing to read the book cover to cover.

The Author

Ray Salisbury began a lifelong passion for photography and tramping in the early 1970s. He was introduced to camping, hiking and kayaking by the Boys’ Brigade. In 1977 he walked the Heaphy Track in Northwest Nelson with his father. Later, he qualified with a degree in graphic design and photography at AUT in Auckland.

During the 1990s Ray began leading trips into the backcountry, accompanied by his friends. These private adventures culminated in a solo 80-day traverse of the North Island mountain ranges, starting at East Cape and ending at Cape Egmont. This epic formed the narrative of his first book, Cape to Cape, self-published in 1997.

Ray currently works as a photographer, videographer and writer as well as teaching photography. He continues to write about epic adventures in New Zealand.

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