Australian Peter Allison is a safari guide who has spent much of the last twelve years leading eco-tourism trips in Africa. This past summer, The Lyons Press published his memoir, a collection of hilarious True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide: Whatever You Do, Don’t Run recounts Allison’s stories of “…face-to-face encounters with big cats, angry elephants and the world’s most unpredictable animals — herds of untamed tourists and foolhardy guides.”
Allison set off for Africa at the age of nineteen and had originally planned to stay for only a year. After six months he was broke, but found work tending bar at a game reserve. He eventually became a guide and taught others how to do the same. More than a dozen years later he’s still leading tours and educating folks about life in the bush. Allison’s book shares insight about the difficulties of keeping tours minimally invasive for the animals, as well as humorous tales of tourists gone wild. Read with caution and remember — only food runs!