Whatever You Do, Don't Run- True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide

Peter Allison never dreamed he'd end up being a tour guide in Africa, nor did he have a life that prepared him for the job. He grew up in the suburbs, didn't spend lots of time backpacking or camping as a child, and doesn't know a single thing about repairing cars or making them run. Add to that his severely uncoordinated body and a marked tendency to sweat profusely when excited or afraid, and you have someone who you'd think was the last person to be hired as a tour guide in Africa.

And yet, at 19, he took a break from a job that wasn't working out for him to go backpacking in Africa. After six months in Africa, his money was stolen, and some kind strangers offered to drive him from Malawi to South Africa. They stopped at a guide camp, where, after only two days, Peter was offered a job as a Bartender. Since he was in Africa for the wildlife, he gladly accepted, and so began his sojourn of working in Africa.

Here you'll find stories of the most feared animal by African Safari Guides: The Cape Buffalo, the Safari in which his tour group saw every major animal in Africa before lunch- and which he drove his car into the pond with Hippos. A Close encounter with two male lions which forms the basis for the title of the book, and two stories of how he was "named"- one for his mishap with the car, another for his rather unusual pattern of tanning that got him named "Lehututu", or Ground Hornbill.

There are also stories about Botswana itself, One of King Seretse, who married an Englishwoman and had to fight against his usurping uncle and the British Authorities to marry the woman he loved. There are stories of a much beloved guide who died of AIDS, and of the three guides lost on the rivers of Africa. And of a shining moment, where his friend who he had always looked up to came to Africa and confessed that he could never do the job Peter does.

I liked this book, with its amusing and delightful stories about the people and animals of Africa. Like a patchwork quilt, he built up a comprehensive picture of an Africa that is always vibrant and ever-changing, while sharing some surprising tales of animals, the people who he worked with, and the people on his tours.

Each chapter is generally only a few pages long, making this a book easy to put down and pick up again, and you can read one story or a few- or even a bunch, at one time, put the book down and do something, but be ready to read more when you pick it up again. But no matter how you read the book, you get a wonderful image of Africa and its people. It's enough to make you want to travel there yourself!

This is an excellent book for bringing the flavor of Africa into your home- at least the Africa you experience at Wild animal Safaris, and the sorts of people you might meet when you go there. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always enlightening, this book will make you yearn to go on a wild animal safari of your own. Recommended.