Table of Contents and Selected Photographs

Table of Contents and Sample from the Book

Introduction..................................................................iv
Chapter 1    A Nod to Marlin Perkins................................1
Chapter 2    Swaziland Beckons.........................................4
Chapter 3    This is Africa...............................................9
Chapter 4    The Earless Eland.........................................17
Chapter 5    On Patrol....................................................20
Chapter 6    Lantana Assasination...................................29
Chapter 7    Lamp Chops................................................38
Chapter 8    Making the Chicken.....................................40
Chapter 9    Girlie Cards.................................................46
Chapter 10   Haying for Hippos........................................51
Chapter 11   Ecocamp......................................................59
Chapter 12   Hyena Flat................................................... 64
Chapter 13   Siyabonga's Birthday.....................................67
Chapter 14   Of African Birds and Audubon.....................71
Chapter 15   Sunset at Lucky's House...............................75
Chapter 16   Jubela.........................................................78
Chapter 17   Getting into a Rhthym..................................80
Chapter 18   Hide and Seek..............................................84
Chapter 19   Bongiwe.......................................................89
Chapter 20 Africa Time..................................................95
Chapter 21 Babysitting....................................................98
Chapter 22 Wrangling Rhinos......................................... 100
Chapter 23 Going to Town..............................................107
Chapter 24 My First African Love...................................118
Chapter 25 The Imvelo Classic........................................123
Chapter 26 Rhino Baby Boom..........................................130
Chapter 27 Big Cats in a Small Country...........................135
Chapter 28 Last Days.....................................................140
Epilogue.........................................................................147

" Mkhaya was in the midst of a rhino baby boom. We were back on patrol in the main section in search of a mother and her new born calf. She had banished her 2 and 1/2 year old boy, who'd been seen on it's own over the weekend. He'd be looking for surrogate Mom; if unsuccessful he'd have to be moved to another section of the reserve. Older bulls are very intolerant of young, solo males, the old patriarchs having no idea how endangered their kind are and will do what comes naturally...try to kill it.

Should we find the new baby first we would get to name him/her. The past two days another newborn had been found by the rangers. The new addition was called "Poison", something to do with a tainted spring where she was found.

As we crossed overland I realized it had been several days since I'd seen any of Africa's large mammals. I'd rather gotten used to it, but going to the mountain bike race over the weekend had been a good change so it was a joy to again see giraffes as we hiked, some tssebees off in the distance. The elephant herd made an apperance as well as the lone black rhino, Shaka. Some hippo's mating at Jampa's water hole provided interesting lunchtime entertainment. Zebras, wildebeest and half a dozen water buffalo scattered about, but no mama and baby no matter where we went. We'd have to start fresh the next morning."