Q&A with James Hendry on his latest novel 'Return to the Wild'

Safari guide, wildlife TV presenter, photographer, author: James Hendry has pretty much done it all. Here he talks to us about Return to the Wild, his latest novel set in a private game reserve in the Kruger National Park.

Return to the Wild is the third novel to feature Sasekile Private Game Reserve and the MacNaughton brothers, Angus and Hugh. What made you decide to bring them back?

A persuasive publisher and a real love for the characters and the world they live in. I find this lodge environment just so perfect for creating comedic situations with beautiful African backdrops and so when Pan said why not try a third, I didn’t hesitate.

Did you have any working titles in mind?

Indeed – Return to the Wild. This was a working title and we never came up with anything better!

The storyline features both game rangers in training (à la Angus) and lodge management (à la Hugh). Of the two vocations, which did you find more challenging to write? And the most fun?

I suppose the lodge management side of things – I have not done a lot of it myself, especially recently, and hospitality evolves at an astonishing pace so it was a little more difficult to be true to this side of lodge life. That said, the situations conjured up in lodges by idiotic staff make for an extremely rich palate from which to write. I enjoy the bush and ranging side of the story for serenity, contemplation and emotion.

You have extensive experience in game ranging; did you draw on any of your personal encounters in writing Return to the Wild?

Absolutely – just about all the characters and incidents are amalgamations or composites of real situations and people I have met through the years. That said, no character is based on one single person and it is very funny when people sidle up to me and claim they know who I have based a particular character on when there is a completely arbitrary resemblance.

Saffaisms appear throughout the novel (eg. 'bru', 'okes', 'jirre') sans italics. Did you consider italicising any of these authentically South African sayings?

I leave that to the publishers [Pan Macmillan]. I think the fashion these days is to simply leave them as is. I just do as I’m told mostly when it comes to grammar, etc.

In addition to South African slang, you also include sentences in Afrikaans (eg. 'Aangenaam, ek is Francois'), Tsonga ('Riperile, vito ra mina hi Angus') and French ('Òu sont les chiens?') without translations. Was this intentional? 

Again, this seems to be the fashion these days. I used to translate them (I did in the first two books) but left them out this time. Google does an excellent job for those interested and the context normally tells the reader most of what they need to know. I had an English teacher once who told the class (she, rightly, never in her wildest dreams imagined I would be a writer) that you need to make your reader work a bit. I guess this is one way of doing that.

You recount a tree-identifying walkabout in one of your chapters: those who guess their trees correctly are rewarded with a tenth of beer; those in the wrong are tasked with 10 push-ups. Do you believe the promise of alcohol and physical punishment are reasonable methods of encouraging the mastering of an art?

I believe that a team exercise like this where some are doing push-ups (10 is hardly bootcamp!) and others are earning tiny sips of beer, done in a friendly environment with team banter can help solidify memories. So yes, for tree identification – not for learning the classical guitar!

Your love for - and appreciation of - the natural world is tangible in this fictional homage to SA's wilderness. Unfortunately, biodiversity loss is an equally palpable and deeply concerning issue. What are feasible methods of biodiversity conservation in SA?

The greatest issue that conservation faces anywhere, and in Africa especially, is the nexus between people and parks. Conservationists have been banging on since the 80s about including local people in conservation, yet you still hear lodges and land-owners banging on about their ‘community development projects’ as if this is something new. Simply put, without local buy-in, education and tangible benefits, conservation will stall. Even the scourge of rhino poaching would be far easier to deal with if the people living around game reserves felt a genuine sense of ownership for them.

You co-authored a non-fiction account of your years as a game ranger, Whatever You Do, Don't Run, in 2006. Does the title of the book remain your No 1 tip in wildlife walkabouts?

Not only mine, but every guides’! These days, my biggest tip is for people to try and connect with wilderness – anywhere. Stroll on the beach, be conscious of where your food comes from, appreciate a brave grass plant in the pavement etc.

Can we expect Angus and Hugh to make a comeback? (No pressure!)

I really hope so – it depends how Return to the Wild sells!