The Sands Of Katambora: A SAFARI CHRONICLE

Author Rory Johnston has spent a great amount of time in Africa, and has a deep respect and appreciation for its landscape, peoples, and wildlife. He grew up in the safari business, and, as a child, accompanied his parents on trips to some of the most remote and rarely visited regions of the continent. Sure to remind you of an earlier age of innocence in writing, The Sands of Katambora is a sentimental story about overcoming obstacles and pursuing a greater good. It will touch your heart, excite your senses, and open your eyes not only to the beauty of the African landscape, but also to the ways wildlife and wild spaces are affected by human behavior. Pursuing his passion for exploration and adventure, Johnston has planned and led numerous expeditions throughout Africa during his lifetime, and still returns there several times a year, even though he currently resides across the globe in Houston, Texas. Another way Johnston revisits Africa is through writing—and it is through his writing that he has found a way to continue to help others explore the motherland and learn more about its natural treasures. The Sands of Katambora takes readers on a tour of Africa that follows a fictional storyline made rich by an extensive amount of factual information. A tale that could only be told by someone so familiar with Africa, and so invested in its past, present, and future, it showcases an exquisite landscape and ecosystem that hangs in a delicate balance, while also promoting conservation and telling an incredibly compelling story wrought with love, betrayal, and conflict. The story is set in Central Africa, along the Zambezi River, and introduces readers to the BaTonga people, who worship the River God, Nyaminyami. A dragon-like creature with a snake torso and a fish-shaped head, the BaTonga believe she controls their lives, and she is rumored to cast a spell on anyone who sets foot in the valley. And so it was that Colin Somerset fell under her spell, and was bound to Nyaminyami for his entire life and throughout all of his endeavors. After first coming to the valley at age five, he dedicated himself to improving the quality of life for her beloved BaTonga people, and to protecting the land and wildlife held under her dominion. In exchange for employment opportunities, the BaTonga had opened a portion of their land to hunting operations managed by the Somerset family. But when Colin comes into a position of power within the family, he becomes concerned with the long-term effects of the operations on the land, wildlife, and people, and is determined to convert to a more conservation-minded venture. Set on transforming his family’s business from hunting safaris to photographic safaris, Colin encounters tremendous struggles, opposition, and resistance from those around him, and experiences turmoil in his own personal relationships. But under Nyaminyami’s spell, whether figuratively or literally, his commitment is unwavering, and it sets the pace for this highly intelligent and insightful novel.

Rory Johnston grew up in the safari business, and has planned and led expeditions throughout Africa his entire life. His earliest memories as a child are of traveling on safari in Africa with his parents, who introduced him to some of the continent's most remote regions and encouraged in him a passion for adventure and exploration, as well as an appreciation for nature. As an author, Johnston writes about love and personal relationships, and has been able to cleverly weave his knowledge of Africa and his respect for its land, people, and wildlife into his fiction. He wrote Growing Up in Africa, A Major Hoodwink, and, most recently, The Sands of Katambora; he also cowrote It Happened at Squeedunc Plantation with his wife, Virginia Doyle. Johnston and his wife currently reside in Houston, Texas, but still travel to Africa several times a year.