Jack Absalom   Safe Outback Travel (Five Mile Press Aus). A new edition of the bible for Outback driving and camping, full of sensible precautions and handy tips for preparation and repair.

 

Jean-Paul Bruneteau   Tukka: Real Australian Food (Angus & Robertson Aus). The chef, who arrived in Australia in 1967 as a child from France, is passionate about the use and understanding of native Australian foods. This is more than just a cookbook, being a wide-ranging combination of well-researched history and botany as well.

The Great Barrier Reef (Reader's Digest UK). A complete rundown on the Reef, lucid and lavishly illustrated. Available in coffee-table format and in a slighter, more portable, edited edition.

Leigh Hemmings   Great Australian Bike Rides (Mountaineer Books UK, US; Simon & Schuster Aus). A detailed illustrated guide, with gradient profiles and maps plus sections on packing and maintenance.

Tim Low   Bush Tucker: Australia's Wild Food Harvest (HarperCollins Aus) and Wild Food Plants of Australia (Angus & Robertson UK). Guides to the bountiful supply of bushtucker that was once the mainstay of the Aboriginal diet; the latter is pocket-sized and contains clear photographs of over 180 plants, describing their uses.

Mark Shields and Huon Hooke   The Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide (Penguin Aus). Released every year in Australia, this is a handy book for a wine buff to buy on the ground, with the best wines and prices detailed to help navigate you around the bottle shop.

Peter and Pat Slater   Field Guide to Australian Birds (Weldon Aus). Pocket-sized, and the easiest to use of the many available guides to Australian birds.

Tyrone Thomas Regional bushwalking guides (Hill of Content Aus). A series of ten local guides (often updated), which make excellent trail companions.

Mark Warren   Atlas of Australian Surfing (HarperCollins Aus). A comprehensive guide to riding the best of Australia's waves.