A Safari Guide’S Tales from Zimbabwe


Book Description

This book is an illustrated collection of short stories and memories of a Zimbabwean Professional Guide who loves what he does! All of the stories are factual accounts, that happened to me, except the one about Alistair Hull, a close colleague. These stories were about incidents that happened to me during the early years of eco-tourism in Zimbabwe, prior to 2000. All of the photographs (except where indicated) were collected by myself at different times during this period, and I have attempted to present them in a sequence similar to the stories.




Dangerous Beauty - Life and Death in Africa


Book Description

Tales from "one of the most seasoned and skilled safari guides at work in Africa today ... [presenting] his close-hand encounters with danger and natural beauty in Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Uganda."--Jacket.




Whatever You Do, Don't Run


Book Description

A hilarious, highly original collection of essays based on the Botswana truism: “only food runs!” In the tradition of Bill Bryson, a new writer brings us the lively adventures and biting wit of an African safari guide. Peter Allison gives us the guide’s-eye view of living in the bush, confronting the world’s fiercest terrain of wild animals and, most challenging of all, managing herds of gaping tourists. Passionate for the animals of the Kalahari, Allison works as a top safari guide in the wildlife-rich Okavango Delta. As he serves the whims of his wealthy clients, he often has to stop the impulse to run as far away from them as he can, as these tourists are sometimes more dangerous than a pride of lions. No one could make up these outrageous-but-true tales: the young woman who rejected the recommended safari-friendly khaki to wear a more “fashionable” hot pink ensemble; the lost tourist who happened to be drunk, half-naked, and a member of the British royal family; establishing a real friendship with the continent’s most vicious animal; the Japanese tourist who requested a repeat performance of Allison’s being charged by a lion so he could videotape it; and spending a crazy night in the wild after blowing a tire on a tour bus, revealing that Allison has as much good-natured scorn for himself. The author’s humor is exceeded only by his love and respect for the animals, and his goal is to limit any negative exposure to humans by planning trips that are minimally invasive—unfortunately it doesn’t always work out that way! Peter Allison is originally from Sydney, Australia. His safaris have been featured in National Geographic, Conde Nast Traveler, and on television programs such as Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventures. He travels frequently to speaking appearances, and splits most of his time between Botswana, Sydney, and San Francisco.




Writing Now. More Stories from Zimbabwe


Book Description

The sequel to the award-winning Writing Still, this new collection of stories paints an engaging - and sometimes challenging - picture of contemporary life and concerns in Zimbabwe. Like its predecessor, Writing Now combines well-established writers - Chinodya, Mupfudzi, Eppel, Chingono - with several new voices. Although the stories emerge from lives of economic hardship and privation, their tone is by no means uniformly. Zimbabwean writers continue to demonstrate that sharp humour and surreal fantasy can grow from the bleakest of roots.




One Hundred and Four Horses


Book Description

This is the story of incredible bonds - a love of the land, the strength of a family, and of the connection between man and the most majestic of animals, the horse. As the invasions gathered pace, the Retzlaffs began an epic journey across Zimbabwe, facing eviction after eviction, trying to save a group of horses with whom they felt a deep and enduring bond. When their neighbours fled to New Zealand, the Retzlaffs promised to look after their horses, and made similar promises to other farmers; they amassed an astonishing herd and faced an arduous journey to freedom.




Wild Honey


Book Description

While the rest of the world scratches its head, life in Zimbabwe lurches on one way or the other. Bookey Peek's sequel to her captivating book ALL THE WAY HOME takes us back to Stone Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, where comedy, tragedy and the antics of "the meanest animal in the world" make every day an experience. In WILD HONEY, Bookey takes the reader back to Stone Hills and the rich experiences this beautiful sanctuary offers. The history of the Matobo hills, daily life of the rangers and their experiences, confronting poachers, dealing with life and death, fighting bush fires and dealing with the loss of a family member to AIDS, to name a few. Poombi, the star of ALL THE WAY HOME, is still alive with her piglets which she successfully rears wild. But Poombi meets a tragic end leaving the Stone hill community bereft. Fortuitously, on a visit to their friends' taxidermy studio Bookey and Richard meet what will become their next Stone hills orphan and charmer; a noisy, smelly occupant of a shoe box - an orphaned honey badger or ratel as they are called in Zimbabwe. Described by Robert Ruark as 'the meanest animal in the world' this delightful little monster stole Richard and Bookey's hearts and minds, when his original owners asked them to take him over when they went on holiday. The story evolves as we follow Bookey's vain attempts to discipline and house train Badge; an animal with a mind of it's own. It is a tale of hilarity, charm and poignancy set against the menacing fear of land grabs, election intimidation and problems of daily living in Zimbabwe.




The Guide's Guide to Guiding


Book Description

Aimed at informing and educating on wildlife guiding in Africa's many diverse parks and safari areas, this resource provides aspiring navigators with complete information on the necessary qualifications and requirements to gain access to this growing field. A wide range of subjects are expertly explored, including guiding principles and camp etiquette, medical supplies and safety tips, and details on the use of common field tools such as rifles, handguns, cameras, and binoculars. Real-life stories blend with artful cartoons--that add humor while emphasizing pertinent points--to round out this must-have reference for those looking for a career in guiding.




Travel Tales of Michael Brein: My Best 100


Book Description

The best 100 personal travel tales of travel-adventurer, Dr Michael Brein, the world's first and only travel psychologist. Through harrowing close calls and hilarious misadventures in some of the world's most exotic cultures, Michael Brein examines the in-depth psychological netherworld behind travel. No one has written a travel book heretofore about the psychology of travel quite like this one. This is the expanded (full) edition of the lite version Travel Tales of Michael Brein: My Top 10. Michael Brein is the worlds first and only travel psychologist, who has created a unique series on the psychology of travel as told through the travel tales of more than 1,600 world travelers and adventurers he has interviewed over the last 30 years. My Best 100, the second book in the series, is a collection of Michaels 130 own best personal travel tales, including close calls and great escapes as well as his zaniest and funniest travel experiences. Michael explores his travels, revealing a rare in-depth psychological look at what happens to you when you travel to exotic, strange cultures. My Best 100 promises to be one of the most unusual travel books you will ever read! It might alternately have been named Confessions of a Travel Psychologist or maybe even Tales of the Last Travel Psychologist, since no one has heretofore written about the psychological netherworld of travel as Michael has. When you read Michaels collection of his own travel stories you may wonder if all this could possibly happen to one world traveler. It certainly did! After reading some of his hair-raising and hilarious tales you may further wonder if Michael should have been allowed to travel abroad at all, and if, instead, he should have been locked up in a padded cell with the key being thrown away! You decide! This is the expanded (full) edition of the lite version Travel Tales of Michael Brein: My Top 10.




Zambia Safari Guide


Book Description

For over 25 years Bradt’s Zambia Safari Guide has been widely acknowledged as the best guidebook to this African country, and it is now the only dedicated guide to Zambia’s world-renowned safari destinations. Combining in-depth reviews of lodges, camps and other accommodation (from a stately home to a contemporary woven treehouse), detailed descriptions of safari locations and operators, extensive practical details, local insights, a brand new 48-page colour wildlife guide and curated coverage of the main access points of Lusaka and Livingstone, this is the ‘must-have’ guidebook to travel planning and exploring the country’s wildlife-rich safari regions. Lying in the heart of the continent, Zambia is deepest, darkest Africa at its most appealing. Many visitors are drawn initially to the majestic Victoria Falls. Others come for the glory of Zambia’s stellar national parks: the South Luangwa, the Lower Zambezi and Kafue. For seasoned safari goers, Zambia is the home of the walking safari; for adventurous travellers, it is about canoeing past hippos on the Lower Zambezi – or diving into a whole new world of freshwater fish in Lake Tanganyika. Experienced travel writers Chris and Susie McIntyre – both Africa experts, with Susie having grown up in Zambia – use their decades of safari experience and in-depth knowledge of the Zambian safari scene to provide accurate, honest and upbeat descriptions, anecdotes and advice. To help readers make informed choices, the authors explain where to find top-quality guiding and detail Zambia’s top spots for wildlife and wilderness (including GPS co-ordinates for those who prefer self-drive holidays). They advise on the best walking safaris plus the ‘silent safaris’ available in electric vehicles and boats, and suggest how best to combine different safari experiences into a fulfilling itinerary in a country where nearly one-third of the land area is reserved for wildlife. Whether you are a wildlife enthusiast or Africa addict, an escapist seeking wilderness or a family craving adventure; and whether you prefer a local operator to make your arrangements or independent travel, Bradt’s Zambia Safari Guide is the perfect travel companion.




Windows into Zimbabwe


Book Description

Over the past fifteen years, Weaver Press has published seven anthologies of some one hundred short stories giving voice to new and established Zimbabwean writers. In Windows into Zimbabwe Franziska Kramer and Jrgen Kramer have selected from these anthologies twenty-three stories, which they consider the best or most representative of a particular period in the Zimbabwean narrative since 1980. They present the stories within sections which frame certain themes such as Independence, Gukurahundi, Land, Gender Relations, Money Matters, Social Relations, Exile and Resilience. For the general reader, Windows into Zimbabwe contains some wonderful stories rich in insight, perception, nuance and humour. Writers such as Charles Mungoshi, Petina Gappah, NoViolet Bulawayo, Valerie Tagwira and Shimmer Chinodya are included as well as relative newcomers with new perceptions and fresh voices. The compilers have also provided an introductory overview casting light on the relationship between fiction and society; and for teachers(in schools, colleges and universities) each story is accompanied by explanatory notes, questions and study tasks to further the readers understanding. Windows into Zimbabwe will positively deepen your appreciation of the country and its people.