The fascinating life of the most remote family in New Zealand. 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, and the family's experiences there over the years, living self-sufficiently and forging close bonds with the natural environment. It is an inspiring tale of one man's decision to 'drop out' of capitalist society and successfully establish a lifestyle most New Zealanders can't even imagine, harking back to the days of the earliest pioneers.

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 so far from medical help? How did she home-school the children? How have they all fared now the kids are young adults, forging their own way in the world? And what lessons are there for the rest of us from her experiences raising her family in such splendid isolation? In this entertaining bestseller, and with dry humour and fascinating insights, Catherine paints a vivid picture of her life at Gorge River and beyond.

**The number-one bestseller** The story of how an extraordinary childhood shaped an extraordinary life On 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 childhood with nature on his doorstep - helping his father catch crayfish and his mother grow vegetables, playing with toys crafted from driftwood and jade, and learning to live in the wild - until, in his teenage years, he began to wonder: could he survive in the wider world? By the son of the authors of A Life on Gorge River and A Wife on Gorge River, The Boy from Gorge River is an enthralling account of chasing adventure while forever staying true to where you come from.

A hiking and exploring guidebook to Orgeon's Columbia River Gorge. Features day hikes, waterfalls, scenic wonders, and must-see attractions.

More than 100 waterfalls grace the cliffs and canyons of the New River Gorge and its tributaries. This book invites you to savor this untapped wealth of beauty in two enjoyable ways by viewing photographs of these waterfalls and by experiencing them for yourself. Photographers, hikers, and nature lovers Ed Rehbein and Randy Sanger have photographed some of the most beautiful places in the New River Gorge, plus provided maps and information on how to visit each waterfall yourself. The pull-out hiking guide will keep you on the path to your own Appalachian adventures!

Rain or shine, the Gorge is full of opportunities for fun and adventure - whether you want to hike, bike, windsurf, kite board, pick fruit or eat ice cream. It's all here.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act, setting into motion one of the great land-use experiments of modern times. The act struck a compromise between protection for one of the West's most stunning landscapes--the majestic Gorge carved by Ice Age floods, which today divides Washington and Oregon--and encouragement of compatible economic development in communities on both sides of the river. In Bridging a Great Divide, award-winning environmental journalist Kathie Durbin draws on interviews, correspondence, and extensive research to tell the story of the major shifts in the Gorge since the Act's passage. Sweeping change has altered the Gorge's landscape: upscale tourism and outdoor recreation, gentrification, the end of logging in national forests, the closing of aluminum plants, wind farms, and a population explosion in the metropolitan area to its west. Yet, to the casual observer, the Gorge looks much the same as it did twenty-five years ago. How can we measure the success of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act? In this insightful and revealing history, Durbin suggests that the answer depends on who you are: a small business owner, an environmental watchdog group, a chamber of commerce. The story of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is the story of the Pacific Northwest in microcosm, as the region shifts from a natural-resource-based economy to one based on recreation, technology, and quality of life.