I guess I will have to adjust my opinion after seeing this online:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/membe...worm-caves.jpg

http://www.waitomo.com/Glowworm-Cave...orm-caves.aspx

Please resize. These massive photos distort the screen which is really annoying.

Done.

Thank you!

I grew up with Micheal Palin's Around the World in 80 Days and Pole to Pole. I think they embedded the desire to go to a number of places, most of which I've done by now.

Like someone else mentioned I quite like Bourdain's current series as he comes across as genuine and appreciative of the same combination of people, food and scenery as I do.

I'm going echo the opinion that New Zealand's North Island is spectacular. Between Maori culture, glow worm caves, zorbing, the best indian food I've ever had (in a corner shopping mall in Hamilton, no less), earthquakes ... just amazing. Auckland wasn't particularly spectacular, but the rest of the drive down to Wellington was so good. I wish I'd spent more than the 7 days I did.

That said, Australia's big cities are pretty good in their own right, but it's not the vast expanse of nature and 'Wow' that New Zealand is.

I find literature is a much more powerful tool in choosing where to travel. The more I find that the people and the culture interest me, the more I want to visit the country. There are some travel programmes which are ok (Michael Palin's mentioned up-thread is one), the vast majority are as vacuous as a glossy brochure.

I don' think Michael Palin's programmes are travel shows - not in the traditional sense anyway. They're more about experiencing and documenting than 'hey everybody follow me'.

You should read Danziger's Travels by Nick Danziger. One of my favourite 'travel' books.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Danzigers-Tr.../dp/0586087060

To the OP's broader point, the main things I get from most travel programs are:

(1) Entertainment value or as travel pr0n - i.e., well done shows with good video can be purely fun to watch and enjoy the sights and sounds.

(2) They sometimes pique my interest in a destination I wasn't aware of or hadn't been thinking of. Mind you, I'm not making a decision based on a show, but it can be a starter for me to further research.

spent tons of time in norway, and it doesnt detract from the stunningness of the nz landscape. both the rugged south and the rolling north island. of especial interest is the uniqueness of the flora that constantly reminded me of geologic textbook sketches of the paleozoic.

eating wasnt a problem either neither in availability and quality. in fact, some of the best eating in the world. a bit expense - but you get what you pay for.

the hype is justified

That reminds me of a book I read a long time ago: "The Mark of the Horse Lord" by Rosemary Sutcliff. It got me interested in Celtic and Roman Britain. As a result I made a backpacking trip to Hadrian's Wall and Dunadd Fort.

Not particularly sophisticated but recently I did watch the Canadian series "Waterfront cities of the world"/"Port d'attache".
Made me want to visit few places and definitely enlarge my to-do list.

agreed, I've always enjoyed Bourdain's stuff - seems more honest than some of the pure travel fluff.

Though I prefer the older rougher around the edges Bourdain shows to the newest one.