Alistair Brooks is an English-born Australian who, very early on in life, found that he suffered from that serious, and not infrequently fatal, addiction known as "The Explorer's Itch". It is a condition that has in no way been eased by him always having been intensely curious about pretty much everything, from the seemingly mundane and tiny, to the incredible and vast, the miraculous and, far beyond, into the mysterious and the inexplicable. It is a condition that has been further spurred on by serendipity; that faculty of making fortunate discoveries quite by accident and, in the process, having adventure-filled opportunities present themselves in the most unexpected, fortuitous and rewarding ways.¿Now, even in his late-seventies, Alistair still finds he is unable, indeed wholly unwilling, to counter any of the addictive symptoms of his Explorer's Itch. Instead, like many others who have learned to live with this totally incurable condition, he has found that writing books about his experiences, is the most satisfying and refreshing way of unburdening himself.