A Bushveld Safari

by Nadine Clarke

Struik, Cape Town, 2002
Softcover, ISBN: 1-86872-736-X
Softcover, A4 format, 64 pages.
R69-95 (from good book shops or contact: info@struik.co.za)

This bright, breezy and highly informative book is aimed at young people (and also, I surmise, at their parents and teachers) who visit the bushveld game reserves of South Africa (particularly the Kruger National Park and surrounding Lowveld reserves). It is beautifully presented with striking photographs (many deep-etched for effect), good graphic illustrations and a lively page design. Flipping through the pages, it is a thoroughly inviting book that you can read from start to finish, or dip into to glean facts. The text is concise and accurate (apart from a miss-captioned Rock Monitor on page 28 I could find no obvious errors) but written in a catchy style - perfectly pitched for the young audience.

Among the topics covered are animal tracks (this includes an innovative double-page quiz of a waterhole scene), the role of scavenging animals, and interesting relationships (such as that between honeyguides and honey badgers), and nocturnal wildlife.

There is a paucity of wildlife books aimed at young people, but Nadine Clarke has hit the target head on with her first effort. This book will surely play a role in awakening an appreciation for nature among a new generation of South Africans and one hopes that it will be widely available in schools as well as in wildlife reserves. Although English is fast becoming the language of learning in South Africa, it would be marvellous to see a Zulu/Shangaan edition of such an educational and inspiring book. The back cover states that it the first in a ‘Get Bushwise' series and we can look forward to further titles covering other habitats in other parts of the continent. For more information, visit the author's website: www.getbushwise.co.za

- Duncan Butchart -

Posted: Plants by CC Africa, Date: 22 November 2006