From the dangerous world of anti-poaching to wildlife adventures on the sunlit plains of the Serengeti, up to the snows of Kilimanjaro and down into the steaming jungles of the Congo, the story takes the reader on an extraordinary journey of adventure and misadventure.
This memoir covers the 21 years of my life from late 1992 to early 2014. It relates how, at the age of 40, I give up what little I have and dash off on a fool's hope to Tanzania, to seek work with wildlife and find a life of adventure in Africa.
It is the journey of an unknown hopeful who, after many years of change and conflict in five countries of Africa, becomes a well-respected Safari Guide and an accredited Expert in the field of Wildlife Tourism.
But, the journey through life in Africa is a long one and at times difficult, and at certain crossroads I have to turn down strange roads to continue; from running guns into Zaire to fighting as a mercenary in the ‘Congo Conflict’.
Later, in 2003, while working as the Editor of African Travel Review magazine in Dar es Salaam; a new South Sudanese wife and an even newer mixed-race baby requires more income than the magazine can afford to pay me, and I revert to my old profession in security. Over the following decade I build up my reputation to become a sought-after security contractor and adviser, working in armed security and counter-terrorism roles in remote and often hostile regions of war-ravaged South Sudan, the wilderness of Turkana, northern Kenya and the desert of eastern Ethiopia.
This is the story of a life filled with polar extremes; triumphs and disappointments, dangerous incidents, extraordinary situations and amorous liaisons. It is written from the heart; grass roots, earthy and often humorous anecdotal tales of paradisiacal places, wonderful wildlife, beautiful mountains and ridiculous entanglements... woven through with evocative travelogues and a layman's perspective of two different cultures.
The target readership is anyone interested in true life adventure, wildlife, mountains, people, travel and culture and how a complete unknown can, with a bit of luck thrown in, make a life in Africa.
