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Ann Göth has always been a traveler with a wanderlust for places where nature reveals its amazing beauty and hidden wonders. She now lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband, son and two budgerigars, where she settled down after a Heidi-like childhood in the Austrian mountains and having moved across the world. While studying Biology in Austria, Ann and her boyfriend took a two-year break to venture to Tonga in the South Pacific, where the two explorers hoped to help save an endangered 'volcano bird' from extinction. Her newest book, ""Volcanic Adventures in Tonga"", is a memoir and adventure story about this expedition. Since then, Ann has worked with mine detection dogs for the UN in Geneva and created displays for the Braunschweig Natural History Museum in Germany before moving to Australia. Here, her love of the 'volcano bird' lead her to study a related species, the Australian Brush-turkey. This bird uses a compost mound instead of a volcano for incubation. Fascinated by young birds that don't need parents to grow up, she completed a PhD on their development and published the book ""Mound-builders"" with her PhD supervisor Prof. Darryl Jones. Life as a biologist lead her to jobs as a lecturer at Macquarie University in Sydney and as a Threatened Species Officer for the NSW government. Nowadays, she aims to pass on her passion for nature and science as a high school teacher in Sydney. She also uses slide shows all over the city to convince Sydneysiders that brush-turkeys are fascinating and worth watching, even if they dig up people's whole gardens in the process of building their mounds. You can contact Ann through her website https: //anngothauthor.com, follow her on Instagram or Twitter at @anngothauthor,
""Ann's exceptional tales of volcanic exploration have been meticulously preserved within the pages of this remarkable book, which undoubtedly deserves a five star rating. Seamlessly blending captivating storytelling with enlightening information, Ann's contagious passion resonates from the first page to the last, creating an immersive experience that will captivate readers seeking an escape to a world both mesmerizing and unforgiving."" Literary Titan, 5-star review, August 2023 ""Like any remarkable travel story, her book is an intriguing mix of difficulties and delights... this book was an exciting opportunity for me to learn about the Tongan people. It includes Ann's vivid account of various things that are common to many tribal societies, such as matriarchy and having few material possessions. The reader gets to experience the rich culture of the Tongan people and the beauty of the natural world on the remote island as if in person. I loved that it reveals a Westerner's view of a different culture and the author's honest opinion of the things she found challenging, including language differences and being told that she is not ""big fat"" enough. Volcanic Adventures in Tonga offers a fun adventure and a profound, memorable travel experience. It's also a timely reminder to preserve endangered species and be conscious of climate change. Every travel enthusiast and conservationist would love this book. I didn't want to miss a thing!."" Foluso Falaye for Readers' Favorite, 5-star review, September 2023 ""This is an extraordinary book. If you've ever wanted to know what it might be like, as a western person, to be marooned on one of the remotest islands of one of the remotest countries in the world, read this story. The complex relationships between the islanders and this couple who stayed for almost two years contain aspects that people who live in developed countries would never imagine. This is as much a story about human interaction and indigenous culture as it is about volcanoes and saving rare birds. Well written, entertaining and a quick, compelling read."" Simon Michael Prior, 5-star review, Award-winning travel author.
