
|
Drakensberg Ranger
By George Hughes
These memoirs are dedicated to Bill Barnes
and all the other Drakensberg staff who,
over many years, brought great joy into my life
whilst making immense contributions to the conservation
of the mountains.

David Cook writes in the Foreword:
"When the author, a friend and colleague of long standing,
approached me to write a foreword to this account of his life as a game
ranger at Giant's Castle Game Reserve in the early 1960s, I agreed without
a moment's hesitation.
The reason for this is simple. Quite apart from the fact that his narrative
traces the early adventures, trials and tribulations of a young
man about to embark on a career in wildlife conservation, George
Hughes has brought to life my own memories of game ranging during
those same years when I took up a post at Giant's Castle offered to me
by Colonel Jack Vincent, then the Director of the Natal Parks Board.
Like the author, I had not the faintest idea of what duties I would have
to perform in a part of Natal that I had only once fleetingly visited, and
neither had I any real practical experience or formal training in nature
conservation. I was a greenhorn in every sense of the word."
|

ISBN 978 0 98114255 3 5
Sneak preview
A small taste of what you'll get from Drakensberg Ranger
I am coming to look after you |
What have they sent us now? |
A needle under the thumb? |
Fire ... a necessary evil |
A more personal fire |
A steep learning curve |
Tally-ho! |
Riding the bonnet |
Patrolling Giant's Castle |
The darker side of patrolling |
The dormouse and the cream |
The African Mammal Expedition |
In search of companionship |
A kilt in the highlands |
Teedle-Deedle-Dee! |
Public relations |
Game translocations capture the imagination |
A coastal low |
The hartebeests return |
The greatest eland capture of them all |
The Battle of Spioenkop |
A game adventure |
Missionaries and officials |
'Half-spooring' and spring hares |
A warm welcome |
The Bushmen tell us |
The Injasuti outpost |
Volleys and follies |
A journey of understanding |
Reflections |
|