Have just put down a marvellous book, "In Search of Remarkable Trees, On Safari in Southern Africa", by Thomas Pakenham, while enjoying early winter in Toronto, Canada. The book has brought back many fond memories of spectacular and unusual trees throughout Southern Africa. The book was obtained recently during an unscheduled trip back to South Africa and Zimbabwe due to the passing away of my mother. A friends large garden in Johannesburg proved to be an absolute pleasure in early summer, due to his rehabilitation efforts. A garden previously dominated by eucalyptus trees is now bursting with life as the indigenous species start to flourish, and attract so much more insect and bird life. In this regard, I differ with Thomas Pakenham, and would be classified a "Taliban" by his definition, eager to rid the countryside of the many alien inasive tree species. My reasoning is twofold - the fact that the exotic tress consume so much more of the scarce water resources than the indigenous species, and secondly, the visual aspect in the game reserves and national parks. During my work and training as a game ranger, we spent many hours clearing the reserves of alien invasive plant species such as prickly pears, lantana, syringa, jacarandas and mesquites. On our drive up to the Zimbabwe border at Beitbridge, we passed through the Soutpansberg Mountains, and I was delighted to see so many of the invasive eucalyptus trees, some very large, ring-barked. (Probably the work of the Working for Water Programme in South Africa). Across the border though, north of Beitbridge, a desert is being created. Notwithstanding a few years of below average rainfall, the landscape has been devastated in places by over-grazing. Not a single piece of green vegetation survives at ground level, and the small acacias have been browsed clean to heights as far as the goats and sheep can reach. Any conservation efforts are definitely a lower priority in the lives of a human population struggling to survive each day.