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Watching Wildlife: East Africa by David Andrew and Susan Rhind, Lonely
Planet, £12.99, ISBN 1864500336

THIS excellent guide needs a government health warning: watching wildlife in
East Africa is both addictive and dangerous. After numerous visits I’m totally
hooked. On one safari my companion was tossed by a buffalo as we walked through
scrubland. Lone bull buffaloes, warn David Andrew and Susan Rhind, can be
extremely dangerous. They have been known to toss a Land Rover in the air.
Follow the information given here, however, and you may become addicted, but you
won’t risk death. For most visitors, the malarial mosquito poses a greater
threat than the buffalo.

I failed to find a single mention of mosquitoes in Watching Wildlife,
but no one goes to Africa to watch mozzies. Andrew and Rhind cover every other
aspect of East African wildlife watching, ranging from where and when to go, to
what to see. These authors write with the rare authority that comes from
first-hand experience of the area, and a genuine knowledge of its wildlife.

Chapters on nature in East Africa, wildlife watching and habitats set the
scene for the rest of the book, which divides neatly into Parks and Places and
the Wildlife Gallery. There’s concise, informative and up-to-date information on
all the top sites, such as the Masai Mara and Ngorongoro, but Andrew and Rhind
also cover in depth many little-known places, such as Kenya’s Kakamega Forest
and Uganda’s Semliki Valley.

Serious birders and mammal watchers may not bother with the basics in
Wildlife Gallery, but there’s a tremendous amount of information here. Add an
attractive layout, lots of colour pictures, and a compact size that fits into
the pocket of your bush shirt, and you have a winner. Don’t go on safari without
it.