Treasures of Africa

This new photographic coffee table publication is aimed at providing the reader with an alluring portrait of the premier wildlife and wilderness regions across eight countries throughout Africa. The author has a huge interest in Wildlife and Nature conservation and the daunting environmental challenges and has pro-actively pursued this passion through extensive travel to wilderness areas around the world including the Antarctic, the Arctic, China, India, Canada, Australia, Scandinavia and throughout Africa. Treasures of Africa is a collection and graphical illustration of selected wildlife images and natural scenery in some of the most starkly beautiful and remote wilderness areas in the African continent. The design of the publication has a simplicity consisting of a brief overview of each country’s distinctive wildlife features and best locations, followed by a montage of images and descriptive captions that depicts the beauty, diversity and contrasting habitats in each region represented throughout the book. The publication should be of interest to a broad readership, ranging from first time visitors and international travellers planning to explore different wildlife regions of Africa to the die hard “bush enthusiasts” who are always intrigued with the lure of the wild and keen to explore something different! The countries and regions documented and visually portrayed include Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. In Treasures of Africa, the author lays out an evocative mosaic of photography, showcasing the signature wildlife, spectacular birdlife, diverse eco- systems and getaway places captured from his travels and journeys across Africa. He postulates that the real riches don’t lie in gold, diamonds and platinum, but it’s the continent’s wildlife and wilderness areas that are the irresistible magnets. But like any imagery associated with treasure, it is always open to the scheming and plundering from unscrupulous people and international syndicates, motivated by commercial greed and exploitation. It is a sobering reality that this collection of “natural riches” in almost every National park and private game reserve across the continent is continuously at risk to the scourge of poaching that is impacting Africa’s wildlife legacy. The author has weaved into the introduction some of the harsh facts and figures relating to the escalating “scorecard” of poaching and chronicles the devastating statistics of rhino and elephant poaching in a number of regions. The publication is primarily a photographic collection of African wildlife, but there is an underlying appeal that one must never lose sight of the colossal protective efforts, strategies and global awareness required to preserve Africa’s heritage from the criminal world of poachers and opportunistic mercenaries.