Andy Cockroft, Tuesday 26 June 2007 - 17:52:48
My Books  > The book that started it all:
 Volume I was published way back in 1997, but of course the planning went back well before, when Ken Silby first contacted me about two years earlier with the germ of an idea.
Ken sold this idea to the publishers, Shoal Bay Press, in Ken's home town of Christchurch. From then as they say, the rest is history. The South Island book of 77 Off-Road Adventures was first onto the bookstalls, with my North Island version 80 Off-Road Adventures following about a year later.
With tracks a-plenty down South, Ken and his co-author Mark, quickly came up with their second offering of 93 New Off-Road Adventures, and they really laid down the gauntlet for me. Sadly though, the North Island is just not so well endowed with such places, and for the second North Island book, I had to look to more of a Soft-Road edition. This then was how book II came into being:
 Here I set out to tempt more of the Remuera Tractor brigade out into the North Island's back blocks.
Whether that's being a true purist or not is arguable, but volume II sold well, and continues to sell well today.
If you haven't explored the delights that soft-road adventures have to offer, then perhaps you're missing out on some of the truly wonderful places our Island has to offer by way of stunning views, magnificent country trails, idyllic picnic spots and secluded little hideaways.
 Now we come to the latest volume to join the stable. This time, some high-tech was brought in to help enhance the pleasure you can gain from revisiting the places I certainly had the greatest pleasure exploring on your behalf.
With over 1500 photographs shoe-horned onto the CD, some 101-style tutorials, not to mention all the GPS plots, software and links to useful Web sites, I really pulled out all the stops to get as much information to you as I possibly could.
This format may well be repeated in future years as we revise the North Island volume I, and also have a look at the South Island series in cahoots with Ken and Mark.
Till then, I just hope you get even one-tenth the pleasure I took in visiting these truly wonderful places.
Andy |
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