Books published by publisher A Maverick Traveller Ltd

“THE first thing I saw at the border was a man’s butt as he stuffed smuggled cigarettes down his trousers. I met prostitutes whose profession was sanctioned as temporary marriage by clerics. I was offered alcohol and all the drugs under the sun in the north, and saw illegal pubs with people drinking. And I saw the most fabulous crown jewels and palaces anywhere.“All this I experienced travelling overland and learning tips to pass on to you. I saw Tehran, the Shah’s Golestan Palace, Persepolis, Isfahan, Shiraz, and Yazd. Many women took their hijabs off whenever they could, and people played music under the bridges of Isfahan. I discovered the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism and visited its funeral towers where the dead were laid out to be eaten by vultures. These were near the Star Wars-like desert city of Yazd, where wind towers drew cool air through underground caverns to air-condition the houses of hundreds of years ago.“I went mountaineering and saw old mosques and palaces and cafes lined with smashed mirrors and others with stained glass.”

In 2018, Kiwi adventurer Mary Jane Walker decided to tour the islands that lie off the coast of Scotland. She made it around the Orkney and Shetland groups, and to the inner-Hebrides islands of Raasay, Mull, Iona and Staffa as well. She was amazed to discover that Norse influences were as strong as Gaelic ones, indeed stronger on the Orkneys and Shetlands. She discovered archaeological sites dedicated to the excavation of amazing ancient communities that predated the Vikings and the Gaels. There's still plenty more to see and one day she will return to the islands to finish her journey, and to visit the related, Danish archipelago of the Faroes as well.

A Maverick Himalayan Way is more than a guidebook -- it's a reflection on life! In her special Maverick fashion, Kiwi adventurer Mary Jane Walker visited the Himalayas when some friends invited her on a cheap trekking trip to Everest Base Camp.She makes friends with a Kashmiri travel agent in Delhi, and travels to Kashmir, where she climbs a mountain and stays on a houseboat.Under armed guard because she has a British passport, she joins a New Zealand climbing expedition in Pakistan. She visits the abode of the Dalai Lama and all mountain regions in Nepal and Sikkim.Mary Jane visits all sorts of sacred sites, from mosques to Hindu monkey temples and the Buddha's ashes in Delhi.In India, she also visits Agra and Jaipur, Kerala and Kolkata, and Mumbai.With 367 maps, photos and other imagesBY THE AUTHOR OF A MAVERICK NEW ZEALAND WAY, FINALIST IN TRAVEL AT THE INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS, 2018.

Iran is completely different to the cartoon-like image portrayed in the West, of a land of religious fanatics chanting Death to America. In reality it's a fabulous ancient civilisation and a country that's full of intelligent young people. This book, Iran: Make Love not War is an impression of Iran, gleaned from a three-week visit in 2018. I visited Tabriz, Teheran, Isfahan, Shiraz, the ancient capital of Persepolis, royal graves and the desert city of Yazd. I saw smugglers and prostitutes whose practice was sanctioned as a temporary marriage by clerics; the most fabulous mosques and palaces anywhere; one of the first planned cities at Isfahan; Shiraz, the abode of poets and the stained glass mosque of Nasir-ol-Molk; and much more.

In her Maverick way, never planning anything more than two weeks ahead, Mary Jane travels through Greenland, Iceland, Scandinavia, Finland and the Orkneys, Shetlands and Inner Hebrides.She learns that the Vikings were the first Europeans to land in the Americas (not Columbus); ate seal meat dished up by her Inuit hosts in Ilulissat; and went dogsledding overnight. She discovered why Greenland got called green and went up the coast by ship. And was accused by some other visitors of being a colonist.In Iceland she hired a car and drove around the whole island. She nearly got the windows blown out by strong winds and discovered an unexpected Celtic link to the Icelanders. In Norway she took the train to Stockholm and mistook tourists waiting to view the palace in Stockholm for cleaners. Mary Jane was surprised to discover that the Orkneys had been settled in an organised way for thousands of years and that the Shetlands were more Norse than Scottish and that a king of England had been a Viking raider.With 480 maps, photos and other imagesBY THE AUTHOR OF A MAVERICK NEW ZEALAND WAY, FINALIST IN THE TRAVEL CATEGORY, INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS, 2018.

FINALIST IN THE TRAVEL CATEGORY, INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS, 2018.A Maverick New Zealand Way is a Maverick writing about her own country. After her mother died, Mary Jane walked all New Zealand for four years. She will make you feel like you have already arrived. And perhaps even that you have known her and her country for years.Mary Jane shares her love of environmental conservation and volunteering, trekking and adventure. She suggests sustainable travel tips, alternative places to visit and places to stay that only locals know about, off the beaten track.Discover the stunning back country of New Zealand, through walks, treks, mountain ascents and even a spot of mountain biking. Mary Jane, a self-proclaimed ‘Maverick Traveller’, sets out on many of the walks and mountain ascents throughout New Zealand’s North and South Islands.Learn about native bush and wildlife nestled among a variety of landscapes – glaciers, volcanoes, grassy plains, waterfalls, lakes, vast stretches of ocean and geothermal areas, as well as areas of special significance to Māori, and cityscapes both modern and colonial.WITH 625 photos, maps and other images

A Maverick Cuban Way is a flowing narrative of Cuba after the Castros. In her Maverick fashion, Mary Jane went to Cuba on a whim. A solo traveller, she met someone who suggested a casa run by a woman named Mikalena. Mary Jane travelled around the Island on local buses.She went to the Bay of Pigs museum and discovered that American-backed rebels had landed in a crocodile swamp. No one told her the Cuban Flag was American in origin.Her most memorable experience was of hiking to Fidel Castro’s hideout from the CIA in the Sierra Maestra with a guide discussing socialism, the Revolution, and every fifteen minutes a different type of plant.Mikalena’s son was a doctor, as one in every 150 people in Cuba are. Mikalena practised voodoo black magic.Mary Jane went to the Cuba’s Guantanamo lookout and took photos of secret photos from inside the American base. Later, she met the son-in-law of one of the American marines in the photos.Most importantly she met people who were happy, given food by the Government, saw no homelessness and children who are all well.She danced Salsa in Havana, smoked cigars and hung out in Hemingway’s hangout, the Café Floradita.With 247 maps, photos and other images.BY THE AUTHOR OF A MAVERICK NEW ZEALAND WAY, FINALIST IN THE TRAVEL CATEGORY, INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS, 2018.

Mary Jane went around the USA nearly twice by Amtrak train and hired about twenty cars to get to out-of-the-way places as well. She was in America for the elections. She hiked with Republicans and got invited to Democratic Party Headquarters in Little Rock for election night but was not surprised Trump won. The most memorable part of her trip was when she took the train to the Glacier, Grand Teton, Yosemite and Rocky Mountains National Parks before the snow hit. She nearly met a Grizzly Bear and now knows why Americans do not have to travel much worldwide, as they really do have it all in the USA.She went to a black hairdresser's to meet the locals, and to the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham, Alabama. The most boring City was Charlotte, which seemed to be dedicated to car racing. In New York, she loved to stay in Red Hook and went back there again.With her backpack, she got mistaken for a homeless person in San Francisco.She got invited to the pipeline protest at Standing Rock and went right in through the gate and was not impressed with stoned hippies who had joined the protest. She was impressed with Washington DC and Chicago.With 409 maps, photos and other images."This is one of the most satisfying travel books available today," writes Amazon Top 100 and Hall of Fame Reviewer Grady Harp, "sophisticated in content yet warmly personal, making the reader feel as though an accompanying companion on each journey. Highly Recommended."BY THE AUTHOR OF A MAVERICK NEW ZEALAND WAY, FINALIST IN THE TRAVEL CATEGORY, INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS, MAY 2018.

A Maverick Pilgrim Way is more than a travel guide. It’s a self-help guide to hiking, to overcome grief.In her Maverick fashion, Mary Jane walked for years after her mother died. She trekked along the winding ancient roads of Old-World pilgrims, including parts of the Camino de Santiago or St James's Way, the West Highland Way, and climbed Mt Blanc, to name a few. Along the way she came to St Petersburg with its golden palaces, which is her favourite city in Europe.Pilgrim ways aren’t just for the religious. People of all ages and walks of life come to hike them. She stayed with Russian Jews in Barcelona, so learnt no Spanish. She stayed on a commune just outside of San Sebastian run by a religious group called the Twelve Tribes of Israel, who tried to convert her. She loved Basque food and stayed in an Airbnb where the guy grew marijuana in his lounge.She was amazed by the vineyards and weird hollow mountains of Cappadocia. In Russia, she got invited to a Pussy Riot punk rock party in St Petersburg and was followed around by internal security spies.With 581 photos, maps and other images. BY THE AUTHOR OF A MAVERICK NEW ZEALAND WAY, FINALIST IN THE TRAVEL CATEGORY, INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS, 2018.

In 2018, Kiwi adventurer Mary Jane Walker decided to tour the islands that lie off the coast of Scotland. She made it around the Orkney and Shetland groups, and to the inner-Hebrides islands of Raasay, Mull, Iona and Staffa as well. She was amazed to discover that Norse influences were as strong as Gaelic ones, indeed stronger on the Orkneys and Shetlands. She discovered archaeological sites dedicated to the excavation of amazing ancient communities that predated the Vikings and the Gaels. There's still plenty more to see and one day she will return to the islands to finish her journey, and to visit the related, Danish archipelago of the Faroes as well.

A Maverick Pilgrim Way is more than a travel guide. It’s a self-help guide to hiking, to overcome grief.In her Maverick fashion, Mary Jane walked for years after her mother died. She trekked along the winding ancient roads of Old-World pilgrims, including parts of the Camino de Santiago or St James's Way, the West Highland Way, and climbed Mt Blanc, to name a few. Along the way she came to St Petersburg with its golden palaces, which is her favourite city in Europe.Pilgrim ways aren’t just for the religious. People of all ages and walks of life come to hike them. She stayed with Russian Jews in Barcelona, so learnt no Spanish. She stayed on a commune just outside of San Sebastian run by a religious group called the Twelve Tribes of Israel, who tried to convert her. She loved Basque food and stayed in an Airbnb where the guy grew marijuana in his lounge.She was amazed by the vineyards and weird hollow mountains of Cappadocia. In Russia, she got invited to a Pussy Riot punk rock party in St Petersburg and was followed around by internal security spies.With 581 photos, maps and other images. BY THE AUTHOR OF A MAVERICK NEW ZEALAND WAY, FINALIST IN THE TRAVEL CATEGORY, INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS, 2018.

"Read one of New Zealand author Mary Jane Walker’s informed and richly entertaining travel books and the thirst for more adventures leads to searching for additional volumes. " So begins a five-star review by Top 100 and Hall of Fame Reviewer Grady Harp. "This is one of the most satisfying travel books available today," Grady concludes: "sophisticated in content yet warmly personal, making the reader feel as though an accompanying companion on each journey. Highly Recommended."With 409 maps, photos and other images, A Maverick USA Way contains a lot of information. Yet it is more than a travel guide. Why? Because you can’t read a travel guide from cover to cover. But you can read my account of travels around the USA for fun as well as facts. The book begins with a guest historical chapter, and then tumbles directly into a flowing account of my jouneys around the continental USA and Hawaiʻi.I have been visiting the USA since the 1990s, and travelled right around the continental USA by Amtrak train in the autumn and winter of 2016 and 2017. Not only was I confronted by politics during the height of the 2016 election season, but also discovered environmental and social issues along the way. In A Maverick USA Way, you can read how I:took the train to the Glacier, Grand Teton, Yosemite and Rocky Mountains National Parks before the snow hit.loved the Smithsonian museums and after seeing a dance at the Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC, decided to go to Standing Rock, the site of a protest over land rights and drinking water, at 30 below zero! was awed by Chicago architecture, by an Art Deco Detroit which is reverting into a park, by Galveston and by Birmingham, Alabama. was in America for the election and was not surprised Trump won. was tired of being mistaken for a homeless person because I wore a back pack, and left San Francisco because of it; and,took in Hawaiʻi (the northernmost apex of the Polynesian Triangle) on the way back to my home in New Zealand, the southernmost. Grady's is not the only positive review of A Maverick USA Way. "Interesting Travel Companion!" writes Fred Forbes, Top Contributor in Photography, in a four-star review dated 12 May 2019. Fred's only regret is that the Kindle format does not support professional-quality photo illustrations (it is what it is!) To get around that, I've got a free PDF of the picture pages on my website, a-maverick.com, and Fred's review reminds me that I should mention it more!BY THE AUTHOR OF A MAVERICK NEW ZEALAND WAY, FINALIST IN THE TRAVEL CATEGORY, INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS, MAY 2018.