A Year in the Wild

James Hendry

Description

Angus and Hugh MacNaughton are brothers. They dislike each other ... A lot.

They have loathed each other since Hugh bit Angus at a family picnic many years ago. In a last-ditch attempt to forge a brotherly bond between the two, Mr and Mrs MacNaughton secure them jobs at the exclusive, five-star Sasekile Private Game Lodge.

A Year in the Wild tells the uproarious, cringe-worthy and hilarious tales of Angus and Hugh in the form of weekly emails to their sister Julia.

Combine an eclectic mix of rich, over-demanding
and adulterous guests, a dash of crazy bush lodge staff, including two jealous
brothers (one a bitterly sarcastic game ranger and the other an over-eager
lodge manager), and throw in the beauty of the African bushveld. Shake well.
Conflict and disaster are inevitable

Sujets

• Adventure (Guyana)
• Animals
• Adventure
• Fiction
• Action

Informations

• Publié par: Pan Macmillan South Africa
• Date de parution: 04 novembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781770108288
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

PRAISE FOR A YEAR IN THE WILD
‘There’s family conflict, romance, funny anecdotes, poaching and all kinds of intrigue – in other words, something for everyone.’
– KAYANN VAN ROOYEN, GO!
‘I laughed, cried and basically didn’t want the book to end.’
– NICI DE WET, You
‘Brilliantly written, sharply witty and excruciatingly funny – a must for anyone who knows the private lodge industry and those who enjoy a good laugh!’
– HUGH MARSHALL, involved in guiding and lodge operations for over 25 years
‘A Year in the Wild is more than an amusing and entertaining account of game lodge goings on; it is also a coming-of-age tale of two brothers who explore life, love, lust and loss.’
– CHRIS ROCHE, Wilderness Safaris


To the memory and legacy of Johnson Mkansi.


A YEAR IN THE WILD
A Novel
JAMES HENDRY
MACMILLAN
First published in 2011 and republished in 2013
This edition published in 2022 by Pan Macmillan South Africa
Private Bag X19
Northlands
Johannesburg
2116
www.panmacmillan.co.za
ISBN 978-1-77010-827-1
e-ISBN 978-1-77010-828-8
© James Hendry 2011, 2013, 2022
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or
introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The characters portrayed in this book in no way reflect the author’s impressions or judgements of real people. They are all fictional characters and any similarity to real people is entirely unintended. Likewise, the locations described in the book are fictitious and do not exist in reality.
Editing by Sharon Dell
Proofreading by Tracey Hawthorne
Cover design by publicide
Cover photograph by James Hendry
To the memory and legacy of Johnson Mkansi.



Background
Angus MacNaughton (26 years) and Hugh MacNaughton (22 years) are brothers.
They dislike each other.
A lot.
From the moment that Hugh bit Angus at a family picnic in the summer of his second year, the brothers have been locked in a feud. They have competed for their parents’ approval, for scholastic achievements and sporting accolades and, later, over girls. Instead of growing out of their rivalry, age has deepened the brothers’ mutual disdain.
The family has finally had enough. As a last-ditch attempt to forge a brotherly bond between the two, Mr and Mrs MacNaughton secure them each a job at an exclusive, five-star game lodge – Sasekile Private Game Reserve. They manage to convince (bribe, in the case of Angus) them to work there for a year ... together. Hugh agrees to the idea because he has just finished hotel school and is keen to apply his training at a five-star establishment. Angus acquiesces begrudgingly because he is thoroughly bored working in a corporate environmental consultancy.


Dramatis personae
THE MACNAUGHTONS
Angus
Angus is 26. He is a biologist by training but has never really fixed on one thing. He is a talented but introverted musician. Angus has dark hair, angry blue eyes and is shorter than average. He has never come to terms with the fact that his younger brother is the taller sibling. He is intelligent but incredibly cynical and sarcastic – he easily puts people’s noses out of joint and has a vicious temper. Angus’s job at the lodge is that of ranger. He starts off as a trainee ranger, the lowest form of lodge staff.
Hugh (String Bean or SB to his brother)
Hugh is 22. He is a recent graduate (cum laude) of a distinguished hotel school in Cape Town. There has never been any doubt that Hugh would make a career in hospitality. He is tall, blond, extroverted and jovial – the polar opposite of his brother. He loves to act and entertain people. Although not as openly sarcastic and cynical as Angus, if one were to observe them carefully one would see that they share a similar sense of humour. Hugh joins the lodge as an assistant camp manager, which initially makes him senior to his elder brother.
Julia
Julia is the beloved sister. She is 24, pretty, independent and clever. Born between the two brothers, she means different things to each of them. To Angus, she has always been a friend and confidante because she understands him. Their closeness in age meant that they moved in the same circles at school (although Julia was considerably more popular than her sarky brother).
To Hugh, Julia is something of a mentor. She is his source in the unfathomable world of women. Hugh tells her everything and she, in turn, dotes on her littl e brother the way Angus never has.
SASEKILE LODGE STAFF
Heads of department
PJ Woodstock (42) – General Manager. Calm, collected, unfazed by much and highly competent.
Anton Muller (32) – Head Ranger. Large man (six-foot-five), grew up in Pretoria. Played provincial age-group rugby. Limited intelligence.
Jacob ‘Spear of the Lowveld’ Mkhonto (41) – Conservation Manager. Mighty Shangane of immense strength. The ‘go to guy’ whenever there is trouble (bush fires, elephants in camp, etc.).
Arno van der Vyfer (35) – Maintenance Manager. Hates everything and everybody. Chain smoker.
Hilda Botha (38) – Head of Finance. 120 kg. Unmarried.
Simone Robertson (21) – Children Minder. Looks after young guests. Pretty, happy, no-nonsense and full of fun.
Camp management
Anna Trescott (32) – Rhino Camp Manager. Dark-haired, striking. Quiet, mysterious and very self-assured.
Jenny Sutherland (23) – Main Camp Assistant Manager. Attractive, blonde and competent young woman with a good sense of humour. From Johannesburg on a two-year stint in the bush.
September Mathebula (45) – Tamboti Camp Manager. A Shangane of great character. Prone to a heavy whisky before dinner. Immensely loveable man.
Melissa Mandelay (25) – Kingfisher Camp Manager. Ditsy with a severe lisp. Very few social graces. Massive cringe factor.
Rangers
A team of 16 including:
Jeff Rhodes (22) – the other trainee ranger. Angus’s neighbour. A likeable yet gormless creature.
Alistair ‘Jonesy The Legend’ Jones (27) – One of the senior rangers. Good-looking, clever, arrogant. A man’s man and a woman-slayer.
Carrie Bartlett (30) – Only female ranger. Quiet, butch, excellent bush skills.
Sipho (23), Jamie (33), Duncan (28), Richard (24), Mango (22), Jabu (25), Brandon (26) – and various others.
Trackers
A team of 16, the most important being:
Elvis Sithole (40) – 120 kg. Highly experienced, silent, Shangane tracker.
Johnson (54), Vuvuzela (45), Zub-Zub (34) and One-eyed Joe (28).
Other lodge staff
Candice Anderson (25) – Receptionist. Answers the phones. Very inefficient. Elastic morals.
Efficient Mathebula (54) – Security Guard. Unenthused with his job.
Ashleigh and Natasha (both 20) – Trainee Chefs. Attractive girls from Cape Town, doing a year’s practical training at the lodge.
Outside of the lodge
The Major (85) – Angus and Hugh’s senile grandfather.
Trubshaw (35 dog years) – The MacNaughton family hound – a profoundly stupid Staffordshire Bull Terrier.



Places
Sa sekile Private Game Reserve – ‘the lodge’
Sasekile is a five-star establishment situated on a private game reserve in the north-eastern Lowveld of South Africa. It adjoins the Kruger National Park and as such is a game-viewing paradise. The nearest town is the dubious settlement of Hoedspruit.
The lodge consists of four camps: Main – twenty-four beds; Tamboti – twelve beds; Kingfisher – eighteen beds; and Rhino – six beds. They are all beautifully appointed. The camps are situated adjacent to each other on the banks of the annual Tsessebe River.
All operations of the lodge are run centrally (finance, maintenance, laundry, rangers, trackers, kitchen, etc.).
The staff are housed in a widely spread staff village and there are just over 150 people employed at the lodge, most of them are local, rural Shangane people.
Avusheni Eatery
The staff canteen.
Twin Palms and the Staff Shop
Staff entertainment venues separate from the lodge.
The Office
A number of rooms where the administration staff of the lodge work (general manager, finance, switchboard, maintenance, etc.).
The Rangers’ Room
A large room next to the office where the rangers and trackers gather before and after game drives to shoot the breeze, share heroic stories, sort out issues and use the Internet, etc.
The Maintenance Shed
A dingy storeroom close to the Twin Palms.


Definitions and terms
Boet – Afrikaans word for brother. Used as one might use ‘buddy’ or ‘mate’.
Boma – Acronym for British-Officers-Mess-Area. Place where soldiers used to surround a central fire with their wagons and a thorn fence in order to keep predators and the enemy at bay. In the lodge, the boma is an outside eating area surrounded by a split-pole fence. It has a central fireplace, cooking area and bar.
Bru – Afrikaans word for brother. Also used as ‘buddy’ or ‘mate’.
Doos – Afrikaans word for box. Used as an insult.
Koppie – Rocky outcrop or hill.
Lowveld – North-eastern, low-lying (approximately 400 metres above sea level) part of South Africa. The Kruger National Park and the country’s other premier game-viewing destinations are in the Lowveld.
Mfo – Shortened form of the Zulu word mfowethu, meaning brother and used more literally as ‘friend’. Also used in Shangane.
Moer – Afrikaans word for kill.
Pap – Afrikaans word for porridge.
Pax – A word for guests or passengers used normally by air