'Don't Run, Whatever You Do: My Adventures as a Safari Guide,' by Peter Allison

Review by customer Georgina Hallett: "This book is a great read before your safari - very entertaining, gives an interesting outlook from the safari guides' viewpoint. And also gives useful tips on how not to behave on safari!" More on Peter Allison's book: "He writes beautifully and viscerally about the rhythm of bush life...This is an absorbing book: as a reader you can't help but get caught up in theauthor's infectious enthusiasm for Africa's beauty and its beasts. On turning the last page, booking the first plane out to Botswana was most tempting." TNT Magazine "Peter Allison's engaging account of his life as a safari guide in the Botswana bush complete with flatulent zebra's and accident-prone tourists." Wanderlust In the tradition of Bill Bryson, a new writer brings us the lively adventures and biting wit of an African safari guide. Peter Allison works as a top safari guide in the Okavango Delta, an oasis of wetland in the middle of the Kalahari desert, rich with wildlife. As he caters to the whims of his wealthy clients, he often has to overcome the impulse to run as far away from them as he can, as these tourists are sometimes more dangerous than a pride of lions! Full of outrageous-but-true tales of the people and animals he has encountered - the young woman who rejected the recommended safari-friendly khaki to wear a more "fashionable" hot pink ensemble; the drunk, half-naked missing tourist who happened to be a member of the British royal family; the squirrel that overdosed on malaria pills; the monkeys with an underwear fetish; and last, but by no means least, "Spielberg" the Japanese tourist who wanted a repeat performance of Allison's narrow escape from a pair of charging lionesses so he could videotape it - these hilarious stories reveal Allison's good-natured scorn for himself, as well as others. Allison's humour 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, as he and his clients discover to their cost when they find themselves up to their necks in a hippo-infested watering hole! Full of essential wisdom like "Don't run,whatever you do", and "never stand behind a frightened zebra" (they are prone to explosive flatulence when scared!), this is a wonderful and vivid portrait of what the life of a safari guide is really like. 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 divides his time between Botswana, Sydney and San Francisco.