What goes through your head at times like that? How ridiculous is that? The first story in your book is about going for a solo walk to look for lions. I’d make a trek there so people could tick them off their list and to do that, we might miss out on cheetahs. We had these two bedraggled buffalo bulls living in a riverbed, the only buffalo in the area. Where I started at Sabi Sand, they really pushed the Big Five. I think it demeans the animals that aren’t on the list. I don’t know why that phrase is still used at all. What about people with a checklist?Ī pet hate of mine is the Big Five.
But they were passionate, so perhaps I shouldn’t have been harsh on them. I tested them, you know: ‘Just over that leopard’s shoulder, there’s a wattled starling’. The twitchers who wouldn’t look at any game, for instance… The bulk of tourists I took out were fantastic, but they’re not that memorable when they’re fantastic. They’re the ones who see the flick of the leopard’s tail or that slight movement an elephant does that makes you realise there’s something enormous right beside you. Who were your favourite kinds of tourists?īird-watchers always see the best game because they’re looking for such small detail. Although I’m not sure the tourists who were with me would agree. But what I’ve learned is that bad decisions always lead to great adventures. Yes, and I can still claim those are true. Despite your lack of co-ordination and minimal knowledge of vehicles? That’s when they decided I could become a guide. They’d hear me parrot stuff back at dinner and realised I was paying attention. I can never remember whether I’m wearing underpants or not, but I remember things in the bush. I’d go out on game drives as often as I could and absorb knowledge from the other guides. I came to Africa because I loved wildlife. Sold a lot of drinks? No, I think it was that I had genuine enthusiasm. Alison Westwood chatted to Peter Allison about mad pumas, irate elephants and stories from his book, Don’t look behind you! Peter, how did you go from barman to safari guide? The result was a best-selling book about his misadventures: Don’t run, whatever you do. Once upon a time, a longhaired, smelly backpacker from Australia was offered a job at a South African game lodge as barman, then as a safari guide.
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