NOT YOUR AVERAGE COW!
QUITE SO! AFRICA IS DIFFERENT—AND THIS IS A BLUE WILDEBEEST (which, of course, you knew)
I receive a great deal of fan mail—all of it welcome, by the way—which I try to answer individually. That may be unwise, because it takes a great deal of time to deal with correspondence (which, arguably, I could be putting to better use by writing new books) but I am deeply grateful to those who take the trouble, not only to support me, but to write—and somehow feel they deserve a personal response. As you will appreciate, that is not a rational decision—it comes from the heart—but it has been deeply rewarded by my making some some very good friends, and by feeling that I have been doing the right thing, albeit not the sensible thing.
The trouble with replying personally is that a thoughtful reply tends to generate further correspondence—and, before you know it, you are swamped. Still, some readers stand out—and one of them was (and remains) Pieter Stofberg. He likes my books and I’m fascinated by what he does. Big game hunting harks back to many books of high adventure I read when younger—and to Hemingway.
Pieter runs a big game hunting operation in Namibia, Africa—and by all accounts does a magnificent job. His clients rave about him, and he is aided by the fact that Namibia, the country, is absolutely spectacular.
In short, going on safari there is not like going down to Cancun, Mexico, for two weeks in the sun. It is the experience of a lifetime.
Going on safari doesn’t mean you have to hunt with a gun—that’s a personal choice. You can also use a camera, or just revel in a completely different way of life. Or you can fish. Namibia offers a range of choices. The important thing is the experience—which is so different from the current Western way of life as to change your way of thinking—for the better.
I haven’t yet set a Fitzduane novel in Africa—though certain episodes from his past are set in the Congo. But that may change.
Pieter’s company is called African Days and his e-mail is pieterhunt@yahoo.com
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