My love for South Africa’s incredible biodiversity started a boy. My late father was a great believer in exposing us to nature — from camping in the most remote parts of the Tsitsikamma and KwaZulu Natal, to encouraging us to explore the veld around Klerksdorp where I grew up. It was pretty wild back then.

Off-road motorcycling and finally mountain biking gave me the opportunity later in life to experience every corner of Southern Africa. Our natural beauty and its conservation became a passion, and a muse for my writing too. There were vultures in BLOOD SAFARI, rhino’s in TRACKERS, but it was only in the novella THE WOMAN IN THE BLUE CLOAK that I finally had the opportunity to write about the animal that fascinates me the most — the Cape Leopard. It is such a perfect predator for a thriller author; secretive, elusive, intelligent, and so sleekly beautiful.

It is my great honour and privilege to contribute to the conservation of this superlative creature as an ambassador for the Cape Leopard Trust.