Okapi Footprints: A Teacher's Adventures in the Congo

by William G. Collins

Angela never dreamed her love of teaching would take her back to Africa. Now, as a volunteer in the Peace Corps, she arrives in Kinshasa a week before school begins. Two other teachers invite her on holiday across the river to Brazzaville where they will meet animal conservationist, Cyril Jones. He takes them to his game preserve in the rainforest where Angela falls in love with a baby okapi. When they return to Kinshasa and school begins, she is surprised to find Cyril Jones and the little okapi in President Mobutu’s Zoo. He convinces her class to have a contest to give the baby animal a name. Her friendship with Cyril begins an adventure that includes being kidnapped by Angolan freedom fighters who hold her for ransom. She also learns that there are traces of a lost dinosaur near Cyril Jones’ preserve, and they are astounded when they learn the okapis may know the secret of the creature’s location. Okapi Footprints is a story of adventure, intrigue, romance, and the search for a mysterious dinosaur first sighted in 1776.

262 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 16, 2018

Reviews

[Samanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oddly Written

Prosaic & poorly-edited memoir that ends on a cliffhanger I'm uninterested in following. The dangers are real, yet leave one unconcerned, the threats somehow unthreating. A dull little adventure that left me uninspired.a