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Acknowledgements
We know that an organism is the product of its environment, and that we are not above this law. The influence of this law and our response and adaptation to it over time is what shapes and moulds us. In the same way, this book is the product of the environmental and social stimuli that have surrounded me in my youth and beyond and the way they have influenced my life. These influences have inspired me and helped shape the person I am, the way I think, and the way I perceive that which is around me, and for this I am deeply indebted to far more people than I will be mentioning here. To those who know they have touched my life but appear forgotten, please know you are indeed remembered and you live through my words somewhere in the pages of this book.
Thanks first to Meagan, my loving wife and companion, a colleague, a shoulder to cry on and on occasion the voice of reason in a cacophony of chaos. Without her capacity for patience, her keen eye for detail sometimes outside my awareness and her support through the rough patches, this book would not have been possible. Even after a long day in the administrative hive of the Olifants office, she would find the time and enthusiasm to work with me. I couldn’t type a word when I began the book, but her persistence paid off, and now I can operate the keyboard with two fingers. My children, Eleana and Dino, who patiently supported me and understood that there were times when I needed to focus on the task at hand … what can I say, I am truly proud of them.
Thanks go to the present chairman of Olifants River Game Reserve, Quentin Sussman, to his predecessor Bev Humphris, and to the board of directors past and present for entrusting me with the guardianship of their precious reserve. Special thanks are due to Neil and Morag Hulett, whose weekly game drive published on the Internet keeps me and their fellow shareholders up-to-date on game sightings, and to Janine Scorer for the excellent job she does managing the Olifants website: www.olifantsreserve.com.
I am grateful to Balule’s regional wardens past and present – Rian Ahlers, Crispian Barlow, Wynand Brits, Craig Ferguson, Marius Fuls, Ken Hartman, Timothy Hedges and Phillip Sheuer, also to the regional chairpersons of Balule – Andy Dott, Jurgen Elbertse, Jerry Gibbs, Steve Hearne, Gerry Morse, Ian Owtram, Lawrence Saad and Quentin Sussman, for placing their confidence in me as warden to represent Balule PNR. Thanks also to the APNR committee, past and present, for their support and co-operation.
Thanks to all my family who never saw much of me since I left for the bush over 30 years ago, but were always there when I needed them, as were my close friends who, since our childhood, have always been happy to take second place to my first passion – André van Vollenstee, Stuart and Desmond Russell, Tyrone Stevenson, Barry Ryan and William Watson. Thanks also to Irving Stevenson for introducing me to the Timbavati, a turning point in my life. Special thanks to: the late Edward Engela who unselfishly took me in as one of the family, he also loved the outdoors and was like a second father to me; to Howard Walker for his loyal friendship and for introducing me to fly fishing’s doyen, Tom Sutcliffe, along with the late Steve Kruger, who unwittingly were in many ways my mentors, as was Desmond Prout Jones, who never doubted I would make conservation my life; to Arlene Fortune who against all odds put her faith in my ability to manage a safari operation in Botswana; to Dawid and Willem van den Berg, thank you for a lifetime’s access to the finest waterfowl habitat in South Africa.
I count myself privileged to know Mark Jevon, whose respect for the environment and ethics afield with rod or rifle is enviable. To the ARC team Mike Peel, John Peel and André Jacobs, thank you all for your friendship and assistance on the ecological side, a relationship that is now seventeen years old. To my colleagues past and present, notably: Roy Keeler, Ian Ruddiman, Glenn and Karin du Toit, Ron and Cindy Hopkins, James and Olga Rankin, and the late George and Bernadette Carroll, thank you.
Thanks also to the unsung heroes of the bush, those brave and dedicated anti-poaching rangers, Jabulaan Makhubedu, Jose Ngoveni, Paolo Makhuvela, Joachim Ntimani and Januarie Mahlula.
To the finest trackers I’ve known, John Sibuyi, Kimbian and the late Phinias Sibuyi, go my acknowledgements to their timeless skills.
My apologies to the family heirs of Carl Weavind, who, despite diligent search, I was unable to locate. I wish to thank them for his account of the history of this area, which I researched.
Thanks go to Tony and Mandy Burgess, former shareholders of Olifants River Game reserve, who enthusiastically took on the editing of the first limited edition of this book which was privately printed under the name ‘Olifants – The river runs through it’. Thanks also to Tony and Lynn Wright, and Graham Hickson and Sandy de Witt, who spurred me on and initiated the idea for me to write a book in the first place, and to David and Mary Baker, who happily shouldered much of the financial burden of the first printing. That the book has now taken on a new incarnation owes much to David Ball’s encouragement and support. I have left for last a big thank you to all the shareholders and their partners who make up the family of Olifants River Game Reserve, who, by response to my newsletters over the years, inadvertently inspired me to write this book.
My grateful thanks are due to the team at Jonathan Ball Publishers. In particular, my sincerest thanks go to publishing director Jeremy Boraine, who through his interest in the wildlife and wilder places of this country, recognised the potential in this publication. To production manager Francine Blum, my heartfelt thanks for her kindness, wonderful sense of humour and warmth, while maintaining a firm but gentle pair of hands on the reins of production. I am especially grateful to editor Frances Perryer for her meticulous approach to this undertaking, inspired in no small measure by her love of animals and passion for wildlife conservation, and to Valda Strauss for proofreading over 400 pages with words like ‘Colophospermum’ to decipher and my unorthodox style to contend with. The beautiful layout and design is thanks to Kevin Shenton, who has done so much with so little. The word is out that this book’s cover will make you want to curl up with it in front of a fireplace, or on a couch or in bed ... which is exactly what I hope everyone does with it: thanks go to Michiel Botha for creating this perception in its design.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher or copyright holder.
© Text and maps – Mario Cesare, 2009
© Illustrations – Melodie Ahlers, 2009
© The copyright holder for each photograph is credited in the caption.
Originally self-published in 2009 by the author under the title Olifants.
This revised and updated edition published in trade paperback in 2010 by
JONATHAN BALL PUBLISHERS (PTY) LTD
PO Box 33977
Jeppestown
2043
Paper book ISBN 978-1-86842-379-8
*
This e-book edition published in 2011
Ebook ISBN 978-1-86842-465-8
Cover photo of Olifants River by N Hulett
Front cover photo of Little Bee-eater by Tom Tarrant
Background photo by E Cesare
Maps by Jan Booysen, Pretoria
Epub production by Electric Book Works