**The number-one bestseller**The story of how an extraordinary childhood shaped an extraordinary lifeOn the West Coast of the South Island, past deep fiords and snow-capped mountains, Chris Long grew up two days' hike from the nearest road. He was born into the country's most isolated family, his parents committed to freedom from capitalist society and connection to the natural world.In this inspiring memoir, Chris describes a child...

On the West Coast of the South Island, past deep fjords, glassy lakes, forested valleys and snow-capped mountains, lies the Long family cabin. It was here that Chris Long spent the first 17 years of his life, two days' hike from the nearest road. In this heartfelt and captivating account, Chris describes childhood with nature on his doorstep – helping his father catch crayfish and his mother grow vegetables, dreaming of helicopter visits, playing with toys crafted from driftwood and jade a...

Alone in the wildernessShortlisted for the General Nonfiction Award at the 2026 Ockham Book Awards2026 Book Industry Awards NZ Audiobook of the Year FinalistAward-winning journalist Naomi Arnold spends nearly nine months walking the length of New Zealand on Te Araroa, fulfilling a 20-year dream. On her own, she traverses mountains, rivers, cities and plains from summer to spring, walking on through days of thick mud...

Life with New Zealand's remotest family in a follow-on from the bestselling A Life on Gorge River by Robert Long. In 2010, New Zealand met its remotest family, through the writing of Robert Long - aka Beansprout - and we were intrigued. Now Beansprout's wife, Catherine Stewart, tells her story, and answers many of our questions. Why did she decide to join him on the wild West Coast, two days' walk from the nearest road? Why and how did they raise their family there? Was it terrifying to be...

Robert Long and his family - wife Catherine, and children Christan (17) and Robin (14) - live in complete isolation, in a hut two days' walk south of Haast in South Westland. Robert has lived there for nearly 30 years; Catherine for 20 and the kids all their lives. Their only contact with the outside world is a helicopter or plane once a month, and two trips a year to the 'outside world'. This is the story of how and why Robert - known locally as 'Beansprout' - came to live at Gorge River,...

What would you do if you realised that you had finally become too fat to wear your dad's pants? Pete Hepworth got his bike out and hit the trails of New Zealand, promptly suffering the indignity of being overtaken by some Danish pensioners. Along the way he met the cast of the Lord of the Rings movie in a seedy tattoo parlour in Wellington and many small marsupials with poor road sense.

An extended stay in New Zealand determined the content of Gillian Orrells first book. NEW BOOTS IN NEW ZEALAND is a humorous, first-hand account of walking the nine Great Walks of New Zealand, encompassing many additional facts, anecdotes and insights about New Zealands culture, history and peoples. Deciding to go solo, Gillian accomplished all nine walks in the space of a few months, not only learning all she needed to know about tramping but also a huge amount about New Zealand. This sup...