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Best Sellers | | |  | |  | | | Whatever You Do, Don't Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide | | SKU:
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Usually ships in 1 business days | | | At age 19, Australian-born Allison headed to Africa for challenge and adventure, planning to stay no more than a year; having found work as a safari guide, he's still there some 13 years later. In this fun, fearless memoir, Allison shares his experiences taking "guests" through the African wilderness, trips that often don't go quite as planned-due especially to the unpredictability of the animals around them. Allison is a skilled, funny and vibrant storyteller, dishing arcane bits of wisdom like an expatriate Alligator Hunter: "I understand a little bit of monkey language, and 'kwe' is a sound I listened for. It was an alarm... full blown monkey conniptions were reserved for leopards." A hilarious chapter recounting a troubled thousand mile trek through the Kalahari Desert finds Allison trying to wave down a passing truck in the middle of the night: "I realized that the driver would have seen what looked like a very animated sage bush with pasty white hands growing from it... he'd probably go straight to a witch doctor... and ask if there was a curse on him." Along the way, Allison examines his fellow guides, the struggle with exhaustion, getting lost and the temptation to make frequently visiting animals into pets, as well as some poignant asides on love and death.
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| | Product Details | | Author: | Peter Allison | | Paperback: | 264 pages | | Publisher: | The Lyons Press | | Publication Date: | October 01, 2007 | | ISBN: | 0762745657 | | Package Length: | 7.9 inches | | Package Width: | 5.2 inches | | Package Height: | 0.8 inches | | Package Weight: | 0.75 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 35 reviews |
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 Enthralling Sep 07, 2008
If you want a window into the life of a Safari Guide, mixed with humour, good story telling and a wonderful insight into African wildlife - read this book. I have just read it in one sitting. Loved it!
LOL Sep 07, 2008
Yes, I did laugh out loud.
I should have read it before my trip to the Okavango. I read botanical, animal books, but none captures the experience like this one!. However, since you tend to find amusing what you relate to, I would have missed much. Afterwards, it just reminded me of a wonderful experience. Nevertheless, you don't have to have the experience to enjoy it. The author is funny, funny, funny and manages to give an intriguing and realistic glimpse into the life of a guide. I'm mailing it to all my South African companions.
Whatever you do, Dont run! Aug 25, 2008
This book is fun and exciting its defiently a page turner. You just cant stop reading about all his adventures that he is having. And all his experiences and the amazing stuff that he sees while he is on his journey. He did a great job on writing this book! I cant wait to read his next adventures!!
Wonderful tales Aug 18, 2008
I'm really into the humorous travel tales and this one is high on my list. Peter Allison followed his dream and wrote about his dream come true in short adventure stories that describe near fatal incidents quite often. His stories make you appreciate the work of a safari guide and their incredible responsibilities to tourists who are often quite stupid in their assumption that wild animals are there to be photographed. Well written and exciting, I loved this book
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Add Botswana to the Bucket List Jul 29, 2008
This is a book you are likely to read loudly--gasping, laughing and groaning at the antics of a safari guide whose love of the Okavango Delta and its wildlife consistently gets him into trouble of the "I-can't-believe-I-wasn't eaten" variety. I recommend reading this book with a laptop open to Google images so that you can search for pictures of the camps, parks and lesser known animals Allison mentions. The images will enhance your appreciation for this beautiful land and its wildlife.
Though Allison does not write with the elegance of a Theroux or a Bryson, his twenty-something style is part of what makes this book so much fun. It's a pleasure from start to finish, and a great way to learn more about Botswana's parks and wildlife, the safari experience, and all the things you shouldn't do while tracking big game in the Okavango Delta.
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