When student anthropologist, Nonhle Ngubane returns home to Zululand, she is faced with the unimaginable: her father, a game ranger, is arrested for rhino poaching: a crime she knows he’d never commit.
However, Nonhle is unaware that a dark plot of revenge, between a conflicted traditional healer and a slippery rhino poaching boss, is unfolding. When the evidence against her father starts to stack up, she takes matters into her own hands, setting in motion a chain of events that finds her fighting not only for her father’s innocence but for her life.
Have you ever wondered how a writer comes up with the story? Below, I share how Down at Jika Jika Tavern went from a thought to a finished product.
Who goes there? Part 1 We all have unbelievable dad stories to tell, but I’m betting very few of you have dined out on a “remember when dad was chased by two rhino?” tale. By goodness. It is the stuff of legends! There he is…intrepid Irishman now living in a small Zululand town, with my adventurous ...
21 Sep, 2021 No comment
Interview with pilot, Steve McCurrach. Steve McCurrach is a blessed man. While the rest of us lovers of wild spaces experience the bush from car window level, Steve has a view most of us can only dream of…the sky. I met Steve while gathering information for my novel, Down at Jika Jika Tavern. I was ...
30 Aug, 2021 No comment
There she goes; woman of the sky. My name, Ashling, is of Irish origin (Aisling is the original Gaelic spelling). The name means ‘a vision’ or ‘a dream’. It wasn’t until I learnt of my name’s meaning, that I came to love it. As a child, I’d have appreciated a ‘normal’ South African name, like those ...
10 Aug, 2021 No comment
The Case of Dumisani Gwala Just like the fictional town of Mevamhlope featured in Down at Jika Jika Tavern, the town of Mtubatuba is small, a little bit grubby, but overflowing with energy and life. It is the gateway to the town of St Lucia and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a world heritage site. S...
15 Mar, 2021 No comment
Excerpt. © All rights reserved. Down at Jika Jika Tavern (Prologue) A terrible mistake 29th November 2012 The driver parked the old Nissan Sentra in an informal layby between the dirt road and the railway lines; the cut of the tracks, thin and bright, in the dark fabric of the night. A sudden gust o...
09 Dec, 2020 No comment
What makes you angry? In my first article related to my upcoming novel, Down at Jika Jika Tavern, I ended off by saying that I would share some of the research, and introduce you to people doing phenomenal work in the field of conservation (both academic and field). Today, I’d like to introduce you ...
05 Nov, 2020 No comment
