Bushveld, Desert and Dogs – A Game Ranger’s Life
Christiaan Bakkes, Human & Rousseau (R210)
This is Bakkes’ first English book which has been translated from Afrikaans. It is a compilation of his life experiences taken from various titles such as Stoffel in Afrika and Stoffel op Safari. The book is a humorous and interesting account of his life growing up in Pretoria and finding his way into the life of a game ranger in Namibia and South Africa.
As a young ranger he was involved in game capture from the Caprivi to the Kruger National Park and he relates some interesting and hair-raising stories of his experiences in this risky part of his occupation.
Imagine you are transporting a female rhino and her calf when the rhino breaks out and makes a run for it en route.
Veld fires are an everyday hazard on the Highveld and in the Bushveld. His experiences with fire started when he “accidentally” burnt his father’s farm along with a few neighbouring farms as a boy and this may have given him the experience to save his life during a forest fire he experienced in the Caprivi.
Bakkes’ heart lies obviously somewhere between Damaraland and the Skeleton Coast where he spent many years as a camp manager and safari guide. His faithful Jack Russell met with a near fatal accident with his bakkie’s back wheel and caused quite an upheaval. Rooiplaat Camp is a wild place and the dog was almost dinner for a hungry leopard who took the dog from their tent stoep.
There is never a dull moment in this book which relates Bakkes’ adventures in the desert and the bush.
From desert to jungle, he also performed guided tours to the mountain gorillas of Uganda and relates some humorous tales from that part of the world. A rather large American tourist discovered that “Africa is not for sissies!”
His wife Emsie raised a few wild orphaned animals such as a gemsbok – called Jakob, who apparently thought he was a human. Jakob followed Bakkes around just as Tier, the Jack Russell, did and gave the tourists much cause for joy. The local leopard spent many a night trying to invite Jakob to dinner.
Tales of lions prowling, rhino relocation and the many desert characters make this book most entertaining. We can look forward to his next book. – Ed Lemke