New Zealand's spectacular scenic views are used in this bitingly satirical novel as launching platforms for the catastrophic road trip by a team of dysfunctional cultural tourism consultants. They disappear, they go berserk, they self-destruct, they end up in porn sties and sit-down ablution facilities for the elderly. It's beauty, purity, authenticity, adventure and hospitality that destroy the team. Combining satire, essay and road-trip storyline, The Viewing Platform also asks the question: where are we when we're at home? In the sex-bandit underworld of Bangladesh ('get here before the tourists do'), amid the marketable beauties of New Zealand's iconic landscapes, on Cowgirl.com, in the demand-side danger and supply-side safety of adventure tourism, in an absolutely pure place, home goes terribly wrong.