Wilderness Dreaming

Book excerpt: Greg du Toit recounts his fascinating life having spent decades as an African Wildlife Photographer, including incredible once-in-a-lifetime experiences like photographing lions from the middle of a watering hole. This memoir is a must for anyone who dreams of Africa. Packed with adrenalin-fuelled adventures, humour and true-life campfire tales, Wilderness Dreaming is an endearingly honest memoir of one photographer’s unforgettable quest for his own lost Africa. ‘Putting his heart, soul and camera on the line, writer and photographer Greg du Toit takes us deep into Africa’s wild places. You will cherish it!’ JENNY CRWYS-WILLIAMS ‘I often think about the wild life my grandfather lived. The dreams dancing across these pages will evoke the same nostalgia in my children.’ KIM WOLHUTER 'Wilderness Dreaming is a delightful read, full of adventure and pranks that remind me of my own youth. I found the passion of Greg du Toit in his pursuit of his great love of the outdoors quite extraordinary. This is not a coffee table book but a keeper for every bookshelf to tell the story of how life is in the bush.' Duncan N. Greg du Toit recounts his fascinating life having spent decades as an African Wildlife Photographer, including incredible once-in-a-lifetime experiences like photographing lions from the middle of a watering hole. This autobiography is a must for anyone who dreams of Africa. Extract from the book: The human mind is remarkable. In what I am certain are the final moments of my life, my mind draws me out of my body – out from the perilous situation I am in. Perhaps I am on my way to heaven and God is simply sparing me the pain of experiencing being torn apart? But no, all of a sudden my vertical travel stops – abruptly. It seems the lift has gotten stuck on its way up and has left me suspended, looking down at myself and my current precarious position, sitting in a waterhole, fearing for my life. Twelve months and 270 hours have culminated in this moment. Like Superman stuck to a flytrap, I hover above my waterhole. Arms outstretched and my legs spread-eagled, I watch my desperate attempt to escape being prey play out below me. Gazing down, I see the Great Rift Valley sprawled across Africa. In its vastness my waterhole is a mere puddle, with a barely perceptible dot in the middle of it. That dot is me. I am all alone and suffering the close attention of two lionesses, whose flattened ears and twitching tails speak volumes.