Back to the Bush

James Hendry

Description

Back to the Bush is the tale of a second year at Sasekile Private Game Reserve for brothers Angus and Hugh MacNaughton. Angus’s weekly journal recounts a positive beginning to the year: fastidious Hugh is in love, running his own camp and on the verge of a promotion. Angus is involved in a romantic liaison, which takes the edge off his customary cynicism, and for the first time in their adult lives, a positive fraternal bond exists between them.

Inevitably, reality comes calling. Angus’s love affair ends, Hugh becomes stratospherically arrogant, and Julia, the MacNaughtons’ sister, starts dating Angus’s nemesis – Alistair ‘the Legend’ Jones. Then there are a series of further ‘hiccups’, from demanding lodge guests and marauding monkeys, to a run-in with a blind-drunk head chef, a winter drought, a rogue elephant and the resignation of the sterling head ranger.

You are guaranteed to be entertained by the hilarious antics and hard knocks as well as the fierce beauty of the African landscape.

Sujets

• Holidays
• Siblings
• World Literature
• Republic of South Africa
• Adventure (Guyana)
• África
• South Africa
• Southern Africa
• Sibling
• Adventure
• Africa
• Family Life
• Afrique du Sud

Informations

• Publié par: Pan Macmillan South Africa
• Date de parution: 04 novembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781770108301
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

PRAISE FOR BACK TO THE BUSH
‘I love the venomous, intellectual wit of James Hendry and in this sequel to A Year in the Wild, he returns with even more perfect poison in his pen … The MacNaughton brothers have returned for yet another riotous year at Sasekile and this book continues their hilarious misadventures.’
– STEPHANIE SAVILLE, The Witness
‘Back to the Bush is about a second year at Sasekile Private Nature Reserve. The events that happen behind the scenes in the staff village make you realise what it takes to give tourists the wildlife experience for which they are prepared to pay so much money. With so many people living together in a remote place, there is conflict and romance, and the stories of the strange things that the staff get up to will keep you amused.’
– DIANNE LOW, Pretoria News
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!
‘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 Duncan MacLarty


BACK TO THE BUSH
A Novel
Another year in the wild
JAMES HENDRY
MACMILLAN


First published in 2013
This edition published in 2022 by Pan Macmillan South Africa
Private Bag X19
Northlands
Johannesburg
2116
www.panmacmillan.co.za
ISBN 978-1-77010-829-5
e-ISBN 978-1-77010-830-1
© James Hendry 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 Wesley Thompson
Cover design by publicide
Cover photograph by James Hendry


Dramatis personae
THE MACNAUGHTONS
Angus
Angus is 27. He is a biologist by training and a ranger at the lodge. Angus has dark hair, angry blue eyes and is shorter than average. He is intelligent, incredibly cynical and sarcastic – he easily puts people’s noses out of joint. Angus frequently considers hosting the world’s wealthy travellers a hindrance to his enjoyment of the wilderness. He is a talented but introverted musician.
Hugh (String Bean or SB to his brother)
Hugh is 23. There has never been any doubt that Hugh would make a career in hospitality. He is tall, blond, extroverted and jovial – in many ways the opposite of his brother. He loves to act and entertain. Hugh is the manager of Tamboti Camp and thoroughly enjoys his job.
Julia
Julia is Angus and Hugh’s beloved sister. She is 25, slightly taller than average, has light-brown hair, green eyes and a pretty, engaging face. Julia is independent, clever and has recently qualified as a lawyer.
Born between the two brothers Julia 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. In the past she has been a valuable source in the unfathomable world of women. Hugh tells her everything and she, in turn, dotes on her little brother.
SASEKILE LODGE STAFF
Heads of depar tment
PJ Wo odstock (43) – General Manager. Calm, collected and highly competent. Lodge life has made him soft around the edges.
Carrie Bartlett (31) – Head Ranger and only woman in the field team. Quiet, butch, highly organised and possessed of excellent bush and leadership skills.
Jacob ‘Spear of the Lowveld’ Mkhonto (42) – Conservation Manager. Mighty Shangane of immense strength. The ‘go-to guy’ whenever there is trouble (bush fires, elephants in camp, etc.).
Ronald O’Reilly (36) – Executive Chef. Skilled, passionate and volatile. From Tipperary, Ireland. Pasty white complexion.
Hilda Botha (39) – Head of Finance. 120 kg. Unmarried.
Simone Robertson (22) – Child Minder. Girlfriend to Hugh. Pretty, happy, no-nonsense but full of fun.
Camp management
Amber Thompson (23) – Rhino Camp Manager. Blonde, sexy, fair-weather character.
September Mathebula (46) – Main Camp Manager. A Shangane full of life. Fond of a heavy whisky before dinner. Immensely loveable man.
Jenny Sutherland (24) – Main Camp Assistant Manager. Attractive and competent young woman. From Johannesburg, on a two-year stint in the bush.
Melissa Mandelay (26) – Kingfisher Camp Manager. Ditsy. Severe lisp. No social graces. Massive cringe factor.
Rangers
A te am of sixteen, the most important being:
Jeff Rhodes (23) – A trainee ranger. A likeable, yet gormless creature.
Alistair ‘Jonesy The Legend’ Jones (28) – One of the senior rangers. Good-looking, clever, arrogant. A man’s man and a woman-slayer.
Matthew ‘Matto’ Keys (23) – A trainee ranger. Cousin of Jonesy The Legend. Confident. Sense of entitlement.
Sipho (24), Jamie (34), Duncan (29), Richard (25), Mango (23), Jabu (26), Brandon (27) and various others.
Trackers
A team of sixteen, the most important being:
Elvis Sithole (41) – 118 kg. Angus’s field partner. Highly experienced, silent Shangane tracker.
Johnson (55) and One-eyed Joe (29).
Other lodge staff
Bertie Mathonsi (25) – Conservation team second-in-command. Young, ambitious, intelligent.
Candice Anderson (26) – Receptionist. Answers phones inefficiently. Elastic morals.
Incredible Mathebula (thinks he’s 38) – Butler. Not blessed with a frontal lobe.
Kerry (22) and Jane (24) – Trainee chefs. Attractive girls from Cape Town, doing a year’s practical training at the lodge.
Richard (46), Gift (37), Petrus (42) and Samson (39) – Chefs of widely varying talents (in exponentially descending order).
Redman (50) brilliant, Nora (43) very good, Auto (28) fair to middling,
Clifford (23) insane – Butlers.
Allegra Gordon (24) – Massage therapist. Dark, quiet, formal on the surface. Qualified Physiotherapist educated in Scotland.
Outside of the lodge
The Major (86) – Angus, Hugh and Julia’s senile maternal grandfather.
Great Aunt Jill (76) – Easily riled great-aunt.
Arthur Grimble (89) – A kindly old Englishman full of wisdom and subtle advice.
Trubshaw (42 dog years) – The MacNaughton family hound – a profoundly stupid Staffordshire bull terrier.
Phoebe or ‘AIDS Cat’ to Angus (indeterminate number of cat years) – Adopted Burmese with severe halitosis. Highly aggressive, infected with feline AIDS.


Places
Sasekile 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 beautifully appointed camps: Main – 24 beds; Tamboti – 12 beds; Kingfisher – 18 beds; and Rhino – 6 beds. The camps are situated adjacent to each other on the banks of the annual Tsesebe 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 whom are local, rural Shangane people.
Avuxeni Eatery
The staff canteen.
Twin Palms
Staff bar/TV room and general entertainment venue.
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.


Definitions and terms
Boet – Afr ikaans 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 fire place, cooking area and bar.
Bru – Slang for brother. Also used as ‘buddy’ or ‘mate’.
Cattie – Homemade catapult made with a forked stick and some tire tubing.
Doos – Afrikaans word for box. Used as an insult.
Impi – Zulu word for army.
Induna – Headman or chief.
Kak – Afrikaans slang for faeces.
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 many of the country’s other premier game-viewing destinations are in the Lowveld.
Muthi – Zulu word for medicine or herbal concoction.
Pax – A word for