12 Days of Christmas book giveaway – Day 3

DECEMBER is finally here, and with it, come the Christmas carols, decorations and end-of-the-year parties.

But sometimes, it can be difficult to get into the holiday cheer. And with many still recovering from the economic pitfalls of lockdown, rising fuel prices and the ever-looming load-shedding, Caxton Local Media, in partnership with several prominent publishing houses, will be running 12 book giveaways to stir up the festive spirit.

This is our own twist to the 12 Days of Christmas. And while this is traditionally supposed to run from December 25 to January 5, we thought we would start out our December with a ‘12 Days of Giveaways’!

Our third instalment is for our Tony Park/wildlife fans! Check out the copies one lucky reader can win.

Simply fill in the competition form below to stand a chance to win!

Return to the Wild: A Novel, James Hendry, Pan Macmillan, ISBN: 9781770108066 

Following on from his bestselling novels A Year in the Wild and Back to the Bush, James Hendry returns to the setting of Sasekile Private Game Reserve for another tale that takes the reader behind the scenes with the MacNaughton brothers, Angus and Hugh.

It is four and a half years since Angus’s last year in the wild when he was newly appointed to the position of head ranger at Sasekile. Much has happened in the interim.

In Return to the Wild, there is high drama, much hilarity and close encounters with wildlife, fire and human incompetence as Angus unexpectedly returns to Sasekile to take on the training of a motley group of would-be game rangers with his usual stark but eloquent honesty. Alongside him, Hugh manages the lodge and its colourful staff with a varying degree of competence as events lurch from mishap to potential catastrophe.

Whether you are a fan of the MacNaughtons’ previous misadventures or a reader new to their story, Return to the Wild is a highly amusing, engaging and heartfelt read.

The Pride, Tony Park, Pan Macmillan, ISBN: 9781770108110

A lioness will kill to protect her own. The thrilling new adventure by Tony Park.

Ex-mercenary Sonja Kurtz is out for revenge after her daughter Emma is assaulted by an abalone poacher while on a beachside holiday near Cape Town.

When the poacher is murdered, Sonja is targeted by a violent local gangster and must flee the country.

As Sonja leaves a trail of destruction in her wake – from the threatened wilderness of Zimbabwe to the treacherous beaches of northern Mozambique – a concerned Emma must find the courage to rescue her mother.

But is Sonja a cold-blooded killer? Or is there a darker conspiracy taking place in southern Africa’s underworld – one that will change their lives forever?

Rhino War, Johan Joos and Tony Park, Pan Macmillan, ISBN: 9781770107908

In 2012, retired South African general Johan Jooste was parachuted into the seemingly unwinnable war against rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park. With poaching spiralling out of control, Jooste was given the mandate to ‘go military’, to convert Kruger’s ranger corps into a paramilitary force capable of taking the fight to the poachers.

Aged 60, white, and a veteran with 35 years of military service, Jooste’s controversial appointment was immediately met with resentment and outright hostility by elements of South African National Parks, the police, and even the military with which he had served. With the media, government, conservationists, human-rights activists and the people of South Africa looking over his shoulder, Jooste had to battle opponents within and without to carry out his strategy for turning the tide on rhino poaching.

Rhino War tells how Jooste, facing an unprecedented assault on a national park and a single species, turned a force of demoralised men and women into arguably the finest anti-poaching unit on the African continent.

Told through his eyes, these stories of the courage and grit of rangers who risked their lives to protect wildlife in the face of a wily and determined foe, are an account of heroism, sacrifice and determination. Humbly, honestly and decisively, Jooste tells of the successes and failures of his bold strategy, and shares his vision for the future.

*T&Cs – The winner will be selected by Caxton Local Media. Competition entries close on Thursday, December 8. The winner will be notified via telephone. The winner will be required to collect their copies from the Highway Mail office at 115 Escom Road, New Germany, Pinetown. 

This competition has ended. :(