australia

In this visually stunning book the authors detail every endemic frog, reptile, bird and mammal found in Australia’s Kimberley region of Western Australia. This book brings up to date the list of unique animals found only in the Kimberley, showcasing them in a spectacular collection of full colour photographs. Beautifully presented, somewhere in between a field guide and a coffee table book, this title will be invaluable for all those interested in Australia’s endemic fauna and this region.

A photographic voyage through the islands of Bass Strait and around Tasmania.

Peter Hendrie sailed to destinations that are rarely visited such as the Kent Group in Bass Strait and the Davey River Gorges in the South-West wilderness.

The book is a compilation of photographs from the perspective of the water and from the air of the coastal regions, islands and river systems of Tasmania.

Getting together a crew that at times comprised experienced sailors and other times complete novices he sailed from his base in Melbourne to King and Flinders islands, as well as the little known Kent Island Group in Bass Strait.

Gaining experience and confidence with every voyage into the notoriously gale prone waters of Bass Strait he sailed down Tasmania’s isolated west coast and into Macquarie and Bathurst Harbours in the South-West wilderness and up the Gordon, Franklin and Davey Rivers.

Sailing across the bottom of Tasmania through the waters known as the Roaring 40’s and into the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, past the stunning cliffs of the Tasman and Freycinet Peninsulas he captured images of a side of Tasmania rarely seen.

Hailed by David Attenborough and proclaimed a second Charles Darwin, Charlie Veron has lived up to his namesake. Even as a toddler, he had a deep affinity with the natural world, and by school age he knew more about some sciences than his teachers did. This didn’t prevent him failing in a system that smothered creativity, and it was only by chance that he went to university. And only by chance that he became a marine biologist, through his love of scuba diving. But once he found his specialty he revolutionised it. He generated a new concept of evolution that incorporates environmental change and a radical idea of what species are, matters which lie at the heart of conservation. He has identified more coral species than anyone in history, and in the process become known as the Godfather of Coral. Charlie has dived most of the world’s coral reefs, revelling in a beauty that few others have seen. In this engaging memoir he explains what reefs say about our planet’s past and future, and why it’s critical they be protected. And also why it’s critical that scholarly independence be safeguarded.
For it was the freedom he had as a young scientist, to be wayward, to take risks, a freedom barely imaginable in today’s world of managed academia, that allowed his breakthroughs. Exhilaratingly eye-opening, provocative, funny and warm, A Life Underwater is an inspiration to the young and the young at heart.

An essential guide for those travelling to Australia’s Top End. Written and compiled by renowned naturalists and photographers, this book is split into two parts, one covering the region’s natural history and the second part a field guide to the fauna and flora commonly found in the area. This is an extraordinary and beautiful companion for living in or visiting Australia’s tropical north.