HI Khodd
I believe the pi-Puppids originate near the star(s) pi Puppis - around halfway between the two brightest stars in our sky - Sirius and Canopus.
Plenty of info on Southern Hemisphere books on the forum.
So FWIW, my two bob's worth: Pretty much a must-have is "Astronomy 2006" by Quasar publishing. Runs out at around $23.oo. This will give you a month-by-month guide to your night sky, as well as heaps of other useful stuff. Also, Hartung's "Astronomical Objects for Southern Telescopes" is very useful and very informative for the beginner (I got mine from Bintel Sydney). My wife bought a book called "Encyclopedia of Discovery -
Skywatching" by The City Press. Although it's published in the USA, it still has some very good Southern Hem star hop guides. I use it at my observing table all the time.
As far as planispheres go, my Philips Planishere is still good as new after over a year's worth of observing. I use it as a rough guide, but prefer to star hop with more detailed maps or charts to find those elusive DSOs etc.
I also use Astrovisuals' star charts by Will Tirion, and their Lunar maps. Very useful , Aussie made, and won't break the bank.
http://www.astrovisuals.com.au/skymaps.html
I hope this helps.
Dave