Although being an Aussie Tony Park writes about what is close to his heart – Africa and its every day realities.  Let’s be honest there is only one African continent.   If you were not born on this continent, then you will probably not understand the passion that we harbor for this conflicting continent where nothing can surprise you.

Scent of Fear is a gripping read that centres around the use of specially trained dogs and their handlers of the anti-poaching unit to hunt down poachers in the Lowveld of South Africa and gives a true insight into what extent poachers will go to, to reach their goals.  The author definitely researched his facts well and managed to weave it into the story line without boring the reader.

Filled with plenty of action and credible characters it is a real page turner and I finished it within a week. For me that is an accomplishment as I am mostly a weekend reader and have a day job to attend to. As always, do not think you can predict what is going to happen at the end as there is always a twist to the story line.   

—oOo—

Will I recommend it? 

Yes, definitely, because Tony Park never disappoints you.

Is it an ideal gift? 

Yes, for someone who loves wildlife and Africa.

—oOo—

Also explore the post on how the team met up with Tony at the Knysna literary festival

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The Knysna Literary Festival, hosted by Pam Golding, celebrated its 10^th year in 2019.  Although living around the corner from Knysna I never even knew this festival existed.  So, what do you learn?  That you are never too old to discover new things.   Sounds a bit like travelling to me; you keep on discovering new things.

The two lovely ladies of the Travelbucket team was invited to the event where Tony was speaking at the Knysna Turbine Boutique Hotel and Spa on Thesen Island in Knysna. The invite to attend was extended as personal guests of him, even though I only met him the Friday before the event! 

Apart from being an author who researches his books extensively he is also very concerned about nature and the conservation thereof.  He works closely with various groups in this field and checks and re-cheks his facts with organizations like Rhino Revolution in Hoedspruit Rhino Revolution who knows their stuff and are passionate about what they do.  Taking the lead and posing questions were Andrew from the Game Ranger Association, accompanied by his dog Tuli (like in Tuli Madonsela) who, is also a celebrity on her own, in what she contributes to the conservation scene.

Like Tuli there are more canine heroes out there.  Did you know that in Skukuza camp in the Kruger National park there is a memorial garden for the hard-working dogs of the Kruger? (Browse the site for more on this).

Even though he is a very  successful writer, and has travelled the world, he is very modest and, as he calls it, “always appreciate it when people show up when he speaks”.  How can you not show up to listen to this interesting character, doing a Parkrun (ending in third place overall) in the morning, rocking up a few hours later and speaks passionately about a variety of topics ranging from dog breeds to the war in Afghanistan, travelling, a Land  Rover and ending up with conservation?   On top of that he still thinks of throwing in some tips on writing as well.

This was also the opportunity to obtain a signed copy of the newly released book “The Scent of Fear”.  It is Tony’s 16^th creation on Africa and its wildlife intermingled with a dog flavor.  A lot of the research for the book was done
with the help of Canines for Africa (www.K94A.org).   I have to catch up on some reading on my next trip!

The post WHO DID WE MEET AT THE KNYSNA LITERARY FESTIVAL? appeared first on TRAVELBUCKET.