BEYOND WORLD
SAFARI…
The authorized
biography of Alby Mangels
by Lynn Santer
©
Copyright, Mangels Santer, 2006
“Lynn Santer has managed to
corral, tame and dissect the wild man that is Alby Mangels between the pages of
this insightful biography.” - Barry Crocker, Entertainer, Order of
“Alby Mangels is a state of mind, and Lynn Santer is a gift
who fell from the sky.” –
“Honest, uplifting, courageous.” –
“The impassioned Lynn Santer, queen of biographers,
does it again. This time she captures the man and the myth, Alby
Mangels.” –
“Touching, inspiring, fun, and wise, Lynn
Santer’s biography of the irrepressible adventurer Alby Mangels is an exciting
journey into the inner workings of a man who explored the world and dared to
dream.” - Pamela Jaye Smith, author of
INNER DRIVES, and award-winning Hollywood film-maker. www.mythworks.net
"Before Crocodile Dundee and the Crocodile
Hunter, Alby Mangels brought the forgotten world to our
houses in ‘World Safari’. In 'Beyond World Safari', Lynn Santer
presents for the first time ever, the truth behind the legend - Alby
Mangels, in the confronting and spiritually
enlightening authorized biography of the journey
behind the journey." - Matthew Kick, Adult Educator and acclaimed
Novelist of 'Murky Waters'.
About Lynn Santer
Lynn
Santer’s first novel, Sins of Life,
was the best-selling title for Minerva Press (UK) in 1999. Since then this
prolific writer has written and ghostwritten thirteen books and twenty feature screenplays,
including the controversial bestsellers Land
of the Free and Professor Midnight.
Hollywood veterans have optioned her feature screenplays and her short film and
live theatre productions have won numerous awards.
Lynn’s
list of celebrity clients, who have commissioned her to write their deeply
personal stories, includes:
®
Saddam Hussein’s former personal pilot, Captain Ali
Al-Wahabi,
®
World-champion figure skater,
®
Heroism award winning search and rescue pilot,
Rosemarie McRae
®
Multi awarded humanitarian, medical doctor, Doctor
Albert Gewargis, and
®
Renowned psychic, Monica Hamers-Ward.
Born and
raised in London, Lynn has been a crusader for causes since she was a small
child, winning her first award for animal welfare when she was just eleven
years old. She has traveled the world
and played a hands-on role in hot spots of Africa to help preserve the
endangered big cats that are her passion in life. In this capacity, she has
worked with many famous names, including:
®
Virginia McKenna, who played Joy Adamson in the
immortal classic Born Free and who
now runs the Born Free Foundation,
®
Lynn’s close friend, Tippi Hedren, Alfred
Hitchcock’s legendary and ageless star of The
Birds, who now runs The ROAR Foundation and who is involved with Lynn is
adapting Land of the Free into a
motion picture,
®
Roger Gale, MP (UK), past Vice Chairman of the
Conservative Party and current Chairman of the Conservative Animal Welfare
Group, and
®
Meryl Harrison, past Chief Inspector with the
Zimbabwe SPCA, honored for bravery by the International Animal Welfare League,
the BBC in the UK and the International RSPCA. Rotary also have bestowed their
highest non-Rotarian honor on her, The Paul Harris Award.
In 2001,
Lynn was responsible for bringing together a team from across three continents
and two hemispheres to plan a covert operation with ex Special Forces
commandos. Together they exposed atrocities against endangered big game by some
of the wealthiest men on earth. The fictionalization of this story formed the
basis of her bestseller, Land of the Free.
See
the end of this book for a complete list of other titles by Lynn Santer.
Dedicated to my mother, Adriana
(Sjaan) Van De Schaght-Mangels, who was strong, courageous, joyous and wise,
whose silent valor and integrity inspired me to overcome all obstacles, and
whose love remains with me to this day.
In fond
memory of those special people and animals who have shared and enriched my
life,
no longer
on mortal coil:
my mother,
my father, Piers Souter, Sam,
and too
many more…
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
Do not stand by my grave and cry,
I am not there I do not die.
So heed these words that I do say,
I am the love to guide your way.
With
special thanks to
KB (Kevin
Brian Goldner)
Danny
Kennedy
Andrew Ward
John Field
Don McLeod
My sister,
Ria
My brother,
Tony
My nephew,
Rick Snel
Les Stone
Judy Green
Lucinda
Dunn
Michelle
Els
SYNOPSIS
While this
book will cover the story behind the story of the explorer who inspired a
generation with his hit movie series “World Safari”, it will also delve deeply
into the man behind the myth. Alby wants
people to learn from the experiences he’s had, not just about conservation, the
environment, and humanitarianism, but also about humanity as a whole. Alby has been many things in his life: an
adventurer, a conservationist, a movie star, a playboy, and an entertainer. But he’s also been a son, a brother, an uncle,
and despite all the public attention he’s been an intensely private
individual.
From his public persona few would
know that for over twenty years Alby’s had an interest in spirituality,
although he’d be the first to admit he didn’t really know how to develop a path
to enlightenment. A near tragic accident
in early 2005 changed this. Lying in
bed, unable to move, Alby made a promise to himself: if he was able to walk
unencumbered again he would make every effort to look a little deeper, both
inward to himself and outward to learn all he could about how humanity, nature,
the world and the universe interact with one another.
This book will surprise you. It contains elements of the Alby you know,
his adventures, his loves, and his tragedies, but it also explores a side of
Alby you’ve never seen before as the real Zwier Albertus Mangels (Alby) finally
steps forward.
FOREWORD
He
posed nude for Cleo magazine while behind the limelight, together with his
sister, Ria, Alby founded “The Friends of the Disabled Association Inc”, a
charity aimed at improving the quality of life for paraplegics and
quadriplegics. He was accused of animal
cruelty after he’d thrown himself headlong into a crocodile infested river to
rescue a small fawn who’d inadvertently become stranded. He was looked on by some as a light-weight,
yet “World Safari II” won “Best Family Film of the Year” at the Los Angeles
Film Festival and “Friends of the Disabled” won several awards for a
revolutionary new wheelchair design.
People are quick to judge from scant surface gossip, ignoring other
less-publicized facts such as Alby has helped establish awareness for world’s
endangered mountain gorillas, and he’s volunteered to visit hospices and jails
to show his films. He still visits
hospices today. While the rest of us sit
down to a hearty meal on Christmas Day, Alby is getting his hands dirty with
those less fortunate than ourselves.
Such is the enigma of this misunderstood and often maligned man.
Few are aware that shortly after “World Safari II” outgrossed Hollywood blockbusters released in the same year, Alby lost his empire, his fortune, and his reputation. Over the fifteen years that followed he quietly rose again, like a phoenix from the ashes, while helping both wildlife and humans who crossed his path needing assistance along the way. Yet he never once sought to declare his benevolence or address his critics. It’s time to rectify that situation.
Having been given the opportunity to write Alby’s life story I hope his fans will believe I’ve done it justice from the information as it was provided to me. It has certainly been an experience to write this biography in an attempt to set the record straight once and for all.
Lynn
Santer
CONTENTS
Chapter one – Getting to
know Alby
Chapter two – Where it all
began
Chapter three – Honor thy
mother
Chapter four – Into the
great unknown
Chapter five – The birth of
World Safari
Chapter six – Leaving the
Klaraborg
Chapter seven – Blood,
sweat, laughter and tears
Chapter eight – Gretta Marie
takes sail
Chapter nine – Sam steals
the show
Chapter ten – Desperado
Chapter eleven – Judy Green
joins the World Safari adventure
Chapter twelve – An
unsolved mystery, a wound that never heals
Chapter thirteen – The show
must go on
Chapter fourteen – Fortune
favors the bold
Chapter fifteen – Success!
Chapter sixteen – Living
the dream
Chapter seventeen –
Paradise lost
Chapter eighteen – The
deepest cut of all
Chapter nineteen – Living
in the Twilight Zone
Chapter twenty – The
phoenix rises from the ashes
Chapter twenty-one – The
thirst for adventure that never can be quenched
Chapter twenty-two – The
wisdom of the simple life
Chapter twenty-three – The
plight of the pachyderms
Chapter twenty-four – On a
wing and a prayer
Chapter twenty-five – The
onset of maturity
Chapter twenty-six – The
power of NOW
Chapter twenty-seven –
Ideals to live by for mind, body and the planet
Chapter twenty-eight –
You’ve got to have friends
Chapter twenty-nine – The
journey continues
Chapter one
Getting to know Alby
“When in doubt, tell the truth.” Mark Twain.
Although I believed I knew Alby
well before I began collating information for his biography, I quickly
discovered the Alby I knew was barely a part of the whole. Alby’s public persona of larrikin,
adventurer, and conservationist all contain elements of this surprisingly
complex character, but to truly appreciate the full picture of the Alby Mangels
jigsaw puzzle you must put aside what you think you know and view his deeply
personal biography with entirely fresh eyes.
As
I journeyed with Alby through the memoirs of his life, in one moment his antics
would leave me gasping for breath, or shaking my head in disbelief, yet in the
next instant he’d recount an anecdote that had me holding my sides with
laughter. Despite this, Alby has asked
me not to build him up too much. He can
come across as incredibly humble when one takes into consideration all he’s
achieved. However, to do anything less
than telling the whole story as I understand it would be to dishonor the legacy
this man has created, and a disservice to the fans out there who are craving to
know why Alby disappeared from sight over a decade ago.
Originally
I wanted to open Alby’s biography by saying, “From humble beginnings in a
country still suffering from the ravages of World War II, a young boy began a
voyage that was to touch the souls of millions.” While few could deny this is true what is
more important to Alby today are the lessons he has learned in life, lessons he
wants to share with the world. The story
of how a Dutch boy became an icon who was hero-worshipped by many while being
the envy of boyhood fantasies across a nation, and indeed the world, has been
well documented in the past. What has
not been so well documented is Alby’s determination to make a difference in the
world whether that be through his hands-on efforts in planting thousands of
trees to help the environment, his quiet roadside assistance to a single eagle
with a broken wing, or visiting criminals in jail to screen his movies. Everywhere he has seen pain and suffering he
has tried to leave a mark of improvement, however small that mark might
be. On some level he seemed to innately
know that random acts of kindness have a way of repeating on themselves
creating a gradual but undeniable snowball effect.
Alby has
described himself as a lover not a fighter.
But Alby is a fighter, a fighter for what he believes is right, a
fighter to achieve against all odds and obstacles, and a fighter for the
voiceless victims who are unable to fight for themselves. And he’s a lover too… of nature, of
tranquility, and of family. Nowhere more
deeply have I seen the expression of this love than in the admiration, devotion,
and adoration Alby holds for his mother.
The hardship she endured, and the courageous face she put on a brutal
and crippling illness that took her from Alby when he was only in his teens,
has left an indelible mark in Alby’s heart.
Her dying words, and the provocation for those words, might explain a
great deal to some of those who have shared Alby’s life.
If a
person is a sum total of their experiences then according to Alby’s newly
adopted philosophy, people still have much to learn. Experiences may indeed go part way to shaping
a person’s personality, but if everyone carried around their painful
experiences (and we all have them) they could never learn to live in the
“now”. Alby has certainly had more than
his fair share of tragedies, yet he has learned through this philosophy to draw
positives from everything. He’s learned
to shape the future by focusing totally on the present. He’s learned that if a person can find inner
peace they are richer than any material wealth could ever provide. It is this philosophy of enlightenment that
we will attempt to share with you as the journey of Alby’s life unfolds within
these pages. Some may call this “New
Age” thinking, however there is no such thing as “New Age”. “New Age” is in fact rather old age, antediluvian
in antiquity if you care to look.
Elements
of the “now” philosophy can quite clearly be seen ancient philosophies and
mysticism. In this, the dawning of The
Age of Aquarius, there is a steady and certain undercurrent stirred by a quiet
minority around the world who are leading a movement towards a more cosmic
awareness for us all. Humankind is
slowly beginning to learn they are not in fact the center of the universe, and
if they are to survive they need to wake up to themselves before it’s too
late. So how did someone like Alby
Mangels discover the “now” philosophy? Well
stay with me as together we explore that development. But for now, let’s go back to where it all
began.
Chapter two
Where it all began
“The childhood shows the man as morning shows the
day.” John Milton from “Paradise
Regained”.
Born 16th November,
1948, in the depression of post-war Europe, Alby arrived into a world riddled
with gloom and despondency. Friends and
neighbors were fleeing their homeland to destinations all over the globe in an
attempt to make a better life for themselves.
It must have been hard for a small child to understand why people he
knew kept disappearing from his life, and harder still to imagine that life
could be any different from the limited breadth of his knowledge. From those lowly beginnings Alby was already
looking for positives everywhere, forming the foundation of two qualities that
were to remain with him for the rest of his life. The first was to make the most out of
whatever he had, and the second was to treasure the close bond he enjoyed with
his family. With little to their name,
Alby and his elder brother and sister would often find pleasure in skating on
the frozen canals in their mother country of Holland. It was energetic, it was healthy, and it was
free.
Zwier
Albertus Mangels seemed a big name for the youngest member of a family who had
so little that they lived in the cellar of farmer’s property. So cramped were their living quarters that
Alby’s bedroom was literally a bed in a closet shared with his brother, Tony. It is, perhaps, little wonder that he grew up
with an insatiable desire to explore wide open spaces and live in an area of
vast expanse with no boundaries. But
before that day could come many childhood and adolescent dramas awaited the
young Alby Mangels.
In 1955,
with the children aged 10, 9, and 8, Alby’s parents, Adriana (Sjaan) and
Johannes (Jos), decided to follow the lead of Alby’s aunt and emigrate to
Australia. Jos was struggling to make
ends meet as a leather tanner in post war Holland, although the struggle never
seemed to dampen his spirit. Alby
recalls his father was a peaceful man who was always whistling; never once can
Alby remember him getting angry. It was
a courageous decision not only because they were moving countries, continents,
and hemispheres, but because Jos had no job to go to and none of them spoke a
word of English. Packing their goods and
saying their good-byes set the scene for many a replay in Alby’s life. He has quite lost count of how many times he
has packed his bag and said good-bye since that fateful boarding of the Southern Cross bound for a world full of
hope and promise. It was a trip that was
to cement his thirst for exploration and adventure, not to mention the final
voyage of this ill-fated liner.
The ship was aptly named after the Southern Cross constellation, a celestial formation eagerly sought by travelers from the north visiting the southern hemisphere. Although the amazing star colors could barely be recognized by the naked eye, it was nonetheless the most notable and noticeable constellation in southern hemisphere skies. The cross was formed by four main stars marking the tips, the same four stars represented on the New Zealand flag. A smaller star, separate from the cross, was adopted for Australia’s flag, making the Southern Cross deeply personal for both these sister nations. It was perhaps therefore ironic that the vessel bearing its name and carrying the Mangels family to their new home met with near disaster between the shores of New Zealand and Australia. If not for the quick thinking of the Captain and crew, and a lot of blind luck, Alby’s first voyage could have been his last. Caught in violent swells and past the point of no return, Alby and his family could do little more than cling on for dear life and pray that they would live to see the sun rise again on a new day.
When the Southern Cross finally arrived in Australia, after averting near disaster, Alby’s father had just ten pounds in his pocket. For a short while they lived as virtual refugees in a camp with others from Holland who had fled after severe flooding at the time. Securing employment was Jos’s first priority, and this he achieved in the pine forests of Mount Burr in the south east of South Australia. The job provided an income, but despite working long hours for the local forestry commission every day remained a struggle to make ends meet. Jos couldn’t afford more than a basic rental property in the forest that provided them with their meager income, yet there, under the ageless shade of an evergreen tree, Alby began his love for all in nature. Their home may have been humble but Alby had all the wide open spaces of rural Australia as his playground. They couldn’t afford to buy luxurious meals, but fresh meat was readily and affordably available. They were alive, they were healthy, and they were together. And there was something more, they were away from the rush and pollution of city life. Even as a child Alby sought the solitude that nature could provide, finding solace in the silence of the forest. It was the beginning of an awareness that would not fully dawn until many decades into his adult life.
Back in Holland, after the floods in which thousands of people died, the family had been reduced to eating horse meat on many occasions. In Australia, however, they were fortunate enough to regularly dine on beef and chicken. It was a real treat, and one that neither Alby nor any other member of his family took for granted. Living within the pine forest also gave Alby and his brother and sister plenty of opportunity to do something else he has since spent a lifetime devoted to… they explored. In Holland it was almost impossible to roam through kilometers of countryside that hadn’t been tarnished by human development, while in Australia the untamed and unspoiled wilderness seemed to reach into infinity.
As only a child can, Alby loved with complete purity of spirit everything that moved and breathed. He saw beauty everywhere. He learned about the true and full richness of Mother Nature, and from there his love affair with the environment began. As children so often do, at night he’d gaze at the winking stars, perhaps wondering what they might look like from the other side of the planet, and at the same time being thankful that he finally had a bedroom window to gaze through at all. As he gazed at those stars Alby conjured up images of far away places, romantic danger, and exotic people, wondering if names like Egypt, Amazon, and Tonga were real places, not realizing then that they were places he would one day be famed for exploring.
Sadly
though, childlike enthusiasm could not deny an undeniable reality of life. These days more than half of all marriages
end in divorce, and Alby’s parents fell into that statistic. Just eighteen months after they arrived in
Australia the pair separated. It had
never exactly been a love match in the first place. While Alby loved both his parents, the fact
was their marriage had been what Alby called “slightly arranged”, and the
passionate love romanticized in Hollywood movies that many aspire to was never
a part of that arrangement. When Alby’s
father took in a lodger, Bert, to help pay their way it was the beginning of
the end. Bert was smooth, charming, and
showered Alby’s mother with attention.
He taught her how to drive, he told her about life in the city, and he
convinced her there was a better life for her children outside of outback
Australia. Believing Bert’s promises,
Alby’s mum eventually decided to head for town.
The split came neither easily nor quickly. There were many months of soul-searching
before the decision was finally taken, but eventually it was agreed that Alby’s
father and brother Tony would remain in the forest, while Ria, Alby, and their
mum would move to the town of Murray Bridge on the River Murray.
Far from
making things easier this put additional financial strain on the situation as
Alby’s mother couldn’t afford a home in her own right. Instead they rented a modest dwelling with
Bert on the banks of the river, where they quickly discovered all his
assurances of grandeur were empty promises.
To make ends meet Alby’s devoted and determined mum worked every job she
could hold down in order to forge a future for Ria and Alby. She worked long hours in several positions
concurrently, picking oranges, cleaning homes, whatever it took. The respect and admiration Alby held for his
mother grew with each passing day as he witnessed the effort and lengths she
would go to in order to ensure those she loved were well cared for. By the time he was thirteen he couldn’t bare
watching her struggle any longer. Alby
decided to leave school, in agreement with his mother who admitted she could no
longer afford to pay for the education.
Realizing he wouldn’t finish even the most basic education didn’t worry
Alby; he was keen to enter the workforce to help out, with dreams of becoming a
jockey.
Unofficially
Alby had been in the workforce since he was eleven years old, working in
stables. He loved horses; and he hated
school. Every Wednesday when the races
came around he would ask his mother if he could go; every Wednesday she said
no. Never one to take “no” for an
answer, Alby started writing his own notes to say he was sick and needed the
day off school. It didn’t take long for
his teacher to get wise to him, in fact one day she turned to the class and
said, “We have a short week next week: Labor Day on Monday and the races on
Wednesday.” The whole class turned to
look at Alby!
By the
age of thirteen he was working openly in the stables, believing he’d become a
jockey when he turned fourteen (the minimum age requirement). However age wasn’t the only requirement to
become a jockey; it was also a prerequisite to be below a certain weight. Knowing this Alby pulled out all stops to
keep his weight down; he’d even climb into horse dung up to his neck to sweat
it off! When the day finally arrived for
him to be tested, the stewards looked at his hands and feet and determined he
wouldn’t be able to keep his size and weight down sufficiently to qualify. He was allowed to ride as an amateur jockey,
but even then he quickly became too big for the job. During his unofficial tenure in this
profession he did manage to win one race, and together with the owner of the
horse became so drunk on his winnings that when the men accompanying him home
stopped at the roadside to relieve themselves, Alby wandered off into the
bush. The next thing he knew he was up a
tree and the grown ups were all looking for him. The mischievous child thought this was a
wonderful joke, until he realized he had to get home somehow.
Staggering
back to where he’d left his pushbike, Alby tried to ride home – an exercise in
futility because he fell off his manpowered vehicle with every second
pedal! In the end he gave up and walked
(staggered) home… five miles. Sneaking
in through his bedroom window so as his mother wouldn’t discover he was drunk,
he was feeling pretty smart. Of course
his mother heard him.
“Are you
okay?” she called out worriedly.
“Yeah,
I’m fine mum. Just tired.”
Of course
no self-respecting mother would have believed him, but as all self-respecting
mothers do, Sjaan knew her child had to start learning his own lessons.
When it
became apparent he couldn’t become a professional jockey, Alby started drinking
liters of milk every day and lifting weights.
He reasoned if he couldn’t keep his size down then he’d be as fit and
strong as he could make himself instead.
He started popping vitamins and protein tablets at the age of fifteen,
giving birth to the health regime he still practices today.
Always resourceful