Our Story
A beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies. Lonely Planet was born.
Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Franklin, London, Melbourne, Oakland, Beijing and Delhi, with more than 600 staff and writers. We share Tony’s belief that ‘a great guidebook should do three things: inform, educate and amuse’.
Our Writers
Brett Atkinson
From his home in Auckland, Brett Atkinson has travelled to many of the islands in his South Pacific backyard. For this extended research trip to the Cook Islands, he snorkelled and scootered around Aitutaki, drank bush beer and organic coffee on 'Atiu, and explored Rarotonga on two and four wheels with his wife Carol. Brett has covered more than 50 countries as a guidebook author and travel and food writer. See www.brett-atkinson.net for his most recent work and upcoming travels.
Charles Rawlings-Way
As a likely lad, Charles suffered in school shorts through Tasmanian winters: ice on the Hobart puddles, snow on Mt Wellington… He dreamed of one day exploring tropical isles with a more humane climate. After dropping a windsurfer mast on a Texan tourist’s head in Fiji in 1985 and chasing rats around an Aitutatki guesthouse in 2005, a trip to see what Tonga had to offer was well overdue. Charles has penned 30-something Lonely Planet guidebooks, and remains pathologically fixated on the virtues and vices of travel.
Tamara Sheward
Despite a hearty dislike of heat and humidity – not to mention that pesky mango allergy – Tamara not only lives in the tropics, but enjoys travelling them extensively. While researching the South Pacific, she rode in 50-plus boats, 14 aeroplanes, umpteen rattly open-air buses and one submarine; alas, no similar tally was kept on kava and coconut consumption. In addition to the islands in this book, Tamara has covered an incongruous miscellany of countries for Lonely Planet, including Serbia, northern Australia, Bulgaria and Russia.
Stay in Touch
Australia
Levels 2 & 3, 551 Swanston St, Carlton, Victoria 3053 %03 8379 8000, fax 03 8379 8111
Ireland
Unit E, Digital Court, Rainsford St, Dublin 8, Ireland
USA
124 Linden Street, Oakland, CA 94607 %510 250 6400, toll free 800 275 8555, fax 510 893 8572
UK
240 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NW %020 3771 5100, fax 020 3771 5101
Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd
ABN 36 005 607 983
8 edition - November 2016
ISBN 9781786577313
© Lonely Planet 2016 Photographs © as indicated 2016
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