Read Torn Trousers A True Story of Courage and Adventure How A Couple Sacrificed Everything To Escape to Paradise eBook Andrew StPierre White Gwynn White

Product details File Size 8300 KB Print Length 376 pages Publisher 4xOverland LTD (February 20, 2015) Publication Date February 20, 2015 Sold by  Digital Services LLC Language English ASIN B00TVFJ98Y

Torn Trousers A True Story of Courage and Adventure How A Couple Sacrificed Everything To Escape to Paradise eBook Andrew StPierre White Gwynn White Reviews

• This book was very interesting and informative. You will learn about life and coming close to death in Africa. It is full of excitement and interesting characters who lead strange lives. It is a wonderful book. The descriptions of the country are very interesting.
• Enjoyed the book greatly! Really want to go and experience it myself. Would love to read more and plan to get on with the other books these two have written. Highly recommended!
• An amusing true tale of two young people managing a safari camp in the Okavango Delta. I'm in South Africa. The Okavango is a paradise, of course. I found the story mostly engrossing, with a few dreadful spelling mistakes -- the most obvious being "champaign" for "champagne"! For most reviewers the story worked as written -- a chapter by Andrew, and a chapter by Gwynn. It's fine, but sometimes I was confused for a minute about who was talking! Also, please keep in mind that this adventure dates back to the early 90's. The camps have since become far more sophisticated (and with higher price tags). I was a little put off by the descriptions of the primitive kitchen, and wondered how many tourists wound up with a tummy bug ... !
  
  The story has very funny moments. I only wish the authors had explained the layouts of the camps and the environment more clearly, as it's always better to have a picture in your mind of the place -- hard to do here, and the purpose of Otter Camp, for example, was never explained. I have no idea what Otter Camp was about. Also, Gwynn never told whether she actually got the staff to clean up around their camps. There were a few such vague bits in the story.
  
  However, I think just about anyone will enjoy this real life tale. Thanks, Andrew and Gwynn White, it was fun to read!
• Told with honesty, wit and humor, the tale of two remarkably adventurous individuals. An entertaining tale fit for an armchair African tourist like me.
• Torn Trousers is an extraordinary book! Andrew and Gwynn share their amazing experience in one of Southern Africa most remote, and outstanding, areas. It has lovely characters, rich and engaging storytelling, humorous touches spread thorough and even occasional edge-of-your-seat suspense thrown in. I loved it! Considering that most of us won't have similar opportunity, reading their tale is likely the second best thing (after hearing it all straight from the horse's mouth, that is).
  
  I mostly had contact with Andrew's writing style from his 4x4 guides and it is rewarding to notice that his talent goes way beyond technical books. Gwynn's writing style is superb! Quite a refreshing read! The book alternates chapters written by either Andrew or Gwynn, showing both perspectives, a pretty nice setup I shall add. This is the kind of book you will have a hard time letting go, in case you can't afford to read it all in one sitting.
• The story of a young couple that gave up their jobs and sold almost everything they owned so that they could manage a safari camp in Botswana. This adventure occurred years ago. I'm not sure how many years ago as I didn't find a date. But, at one point they said that when they were there the campers paid hundreds of dollars per night and would now pay thousands of dollars per night. Wow!
  
  When Andrew and Gwynn arrived the place was falling apart due to the past managers' laziness, the owner's penny pinching, and the destruction of the animals. They worked extremely long days to get the camp into shape, entertain their guests, and to manage the employees. It was grueling work and it isn't surprising they stayed only one year. On top of all that they didn't feel they could go to bed until the guests went to bed. Some guests stayed up talking and drinking until the wee hours of the morning. They needed at least one more employee--probably a social director.
  
  It was extremely difficult to get ahead with improvements because hyenas and baboons were raiding the kitchen almost every night. The elephants were knocking down the camp palm trees. There was a mess to clean up and danger at every turn. Then there are the water dangers--hippos and crocodiles. Did you know that Hippos are the most dangerous animals in Africa? They kill more people than any other animal on that continent.
  
  We hear about the obnoxious and wonderful guests and we also hear about great and not so great employees. And then there are the strange owners. Very entertaining.
  
  Andrew and Gwynn take turns writing the chapters. I've read books where that's annoying but it didn't bother me at all in Torn Trousers because their writing styles are very similar.
  
  I very much enjoyed reading about the adventures in this book. It's more proof that Paradise is not always paradise when you work there.
• I enjoy reading books with different genre, setting and themes. Torn Trousers definitely fits this criterion. A young couple bail out of their urban Johannesburg city lifestyles and become new-timers as safari camp managers in Botswana. They entertain visitors from around the world, deal with mutineer bush staff members, fend off camp-invading hyena, baboon and elephants—not to mention drought and ranging fires in the Savannah. Despite all of that it was not a page-turner and I found myself scanning pages but overall it tended to be a somewhat humorous account of bush African life without all the frills. I wished the narrative wrote with more description of the walk-about safari treks to include the smells, sights and feel of the African Savannah rather than the problems with staff members.