Son turns grief into a book
A bond that can never be broken
THE author of Elephant Whisperer is back, once again telling a story of KwaZulu-Natal. Graham Spence moved to England after working for many years in newspapers in Zululand. In Elephant Whisperer, he told the story of his late brother-in-law, renowned conservationist Lawrence Anthony, among his gentle giants.
This new tale focuses on the Midlands, more specifically Karkloof, which never left the heart of Spence’s friend, Peter Meyer, who grew up there before leaving for Britain when he was nine years old.
Meyer later became one of the youngest directors of the Hilton hotel chain and a model who, while in the fast lane, met the likes of Brad Pitt, Liam Neeson and Roger Moore.
Spence and Meyer have co-written The Boy from the Wild which has been punted as “a gripping tale of remarkable people fearlessly living out their ambitions with honesty, vigour and courage.
“It also is a poignant story of a granite-strong bond between a father and son. A bond that could never be broken,” reads the press release.
Meyer found himself back in the valley of his childhood after he lost his father, James, who had founded the Karkloof Nature Reserve. His father had also returned to the dream place of his childhood, determined to create a game reserve.
In an e-mail interview with The Independent on Saturday, Meyer wrote from Britain that producing the book had helped give him closure after his father’s death from cancer.
“Obviously it was painful for me and going back was a personal need as I always felt connected to the land but more than anything, connecting my father to the land.
“But it was also home to me as a boy growing up there and having such a wonderful upbringing, I was also drawn back. It was also the first time I wanted to share more about what my father had created at Karkloof and the adventures I was lucky to live. It inspired the book and potentially a film.
“It became bigger than closure and in many ways is opening up a new chapter.”
Meyer added that losing his father had been the hardest thing in his life and he still felt the pain of his loss every day.
“I wish it was him telling the story. I was born and raised in Karkloof and with the hotel life that was around me, my world became hotels, both studying in Switzerland then working around the world in them, in the fast lane with high positions.
“Losing my father completely opened my heart to the realisation that life is short and your safety net can go, but above all things that time is precious. So I experienced a total change and by chance got into the world of acting and modelling in the UK.
“My book is now such a huge ambition to share with the world and help educate the world differently for those who only see the news or who have never seen wildlife,” he said, adding that the book had allowed him to discover something that was totally his own.
He said his father’s early years in the wild, both in Karkloof and while attending Hilton College, with its estate that drops down into the Mgeni Valley, had influenced his business life.
“My father was a huge businessman, conquering the concrete jungle and developing the first shopping malls in the UK, thousands of homes a year, golf courses and more.
“He changed the way property was managed and inspired the future generation to do the same.
“He took those values with him to Africa to start a new life when he retired.
“He used his business mind and experience to shape the wild his way, not only for the conservation of animals, but for the better of everyone and to educate the world.
“He was an amazing visionary who could see what most could not,” said Meyer.