Category: Student journeys

BY: Matt Foulsham

Camp manager blogs are written by our current students who each get a chance to lead and manage a group (of their fellow students) for a period of one week.

What separates us from the animals we see in the bush? For me, it’s our ability to use tools. And there is one tool that is probably most important to a safari field guide – the vehicle they are driving.

I used to work in the automotive industry. My week as a camp manager was like a blast from the past because as it was mainly dedicated to the 4×4 driving course we had to complete to become proficient in off-roading.

Image: Matt Foulsham

We started off the week with theory related to the mechanics of how vehicles work and what different systems are used for. It was a lesson full of what we used to call TLA’s (three-letter acronyms). Understanding what the following acronyms mean is part of the vernacular of the industry:

1. AWD: all-wheel drive

2. ETC: electronic throttle control

3. ABS: anti-lock braking system

4. FWD: front wheel drive

5. DIS: direct ignition system 

6. HDC: hill descent control

7. HAC: hill-start assist control.

So this course was a big change from learning about the leaf structure of a marula tree!

After the classroom sessions, it was time to put our new skills to the test out in the field. We learnt how to stall-start the vehicles when driving on uneven, hilly terrain. There’s something unnerving about having your vehicle stalled on an incline with no brakes and only relying on the gears before starting the vehicle.

It’s all about maintaining control, but it doesn’t always go as planned. On one of my practice runs, the vehicle popped out of gear and started rolling backwards. Luckily, we were only on the practice hill! We also spent some time learning the correct techniques to use when trying to recover a vehicle that is stuck, which is inevitable when working in this industry.

For our final assessment, we went to what is now colloquially known as “Big Hill”. We were asked to reverse and turn the vehicle around to face the hill, drive up the hill and stall, recover control and then reverse back down the hill. It might sound pretty trivial, but it’s a daunting experience when instead of driving a Ford Fiesta on smooth tarmac roads, it’s a two-tonne Land Cruiser full of your fellow students, on a steep and rocky donkey track.

As we draw nearer to the end of our course, it’s nice to take a moment and reflect on all of the new and unique skills we’ve learned in our short time here, and what we continue to learn on a daily basis in the bush.

I enjoyed the 4X4 course as it was a little bit of a reminder of what I was doing before starting with Bushwise. But, before I get too nostalgic, it’s time to get back to those leaf structures!

To have an experience just like Matt, take a look at our field guide courses.

BY: Francois Theron, trainer at the Bushwise Mahlahla campus

One is often confronted with the question of what you are going to do with your life or what career you are going to follow. It isn’t always an easy answer or decision to make especially when you’re still young and haven’t figured out all these things for yourself.

I was one of those that didn’t know where to start and followed a completely different career, one that was not meant for me. But sixteen years ago, I made the decision to follow my heart and instincts and became a field guide. And there has not been a day where I regret this decision.

For me, it changed my career to a lifestyle: where one wakes up early in the morning fuelled with enthusiasm and excitement for the day; one where challenges are not problems but blessings; one of contentment being outdoors and in the wild seeing and learning every step of the way.

It’s a career with endless possibilities and opens doors to a variety of opportunities. It will challenge you to grow in your career and as a person, finding yourself in ways that many other careers would not be able to do for you.

There are very few people in life that live out a dream or passion in their careers like I did. Before you know it, you will fall so deeply in love with what you do that it’s almost impossible to get out of it again. It’s an endless journey of discovering new natural areas and wildlife, and meeting people from all over the world that you can share your passion with. It is a career where you will bear witness to the most amazing natural scenery and the most incredible wildlife, and all of this will leave you in awe.

Image: Lindi Hutchinson

If I have advice for you, it’s that life is short, so do what makes you happy and fuels you with passion, enthusiasm and excitement. Follow your dreams and heart and you will find love and happiness in life. This is what being a field guide has done for me.

BY: Lindi Hutchinson, a trainer at the Bushwise Balule Campus.

I remember my journey to become a full Trails Guide.  

It was everything but easy.  There was a lot of sweat, tears and frustration.  I jumped from lodge to lodge in the hope of finding a quicker way to achieve the hours and encounters I needed.  

I exhausted myself.  

In the end, I realised that if I had just stayed at the reserve where I first started guiding, it would’ve made my journey to trails immensely faster. I jumped around because I thought there must be an easier way than walking four hours a week with a full Trails Guide and guests. “Reaching 150 hours will take forever!” I thought. Sadly, every other lodge had other obstacles that slowed down my progress even more. There are no shortcuts and there is no easy way to fast-track the process.  

At the end of the day, a Trails Guide is responsible for the whole group’s safety and without the right knowledge, experience and alertness, things can go pear-shaped very quickly in a dangerous situation. That’s why trainees require a mentor when completing the hours and encounters needed to qualify as a professional Trail Guide. 

In other words, you can’t achieve the full Trails Guide qualification on your own. You need mentors, other fully qualified Trails Guides and real guests to walk all the hours and encounters with.  

It’s not like the FGASA Field Guide qualification that you can pretty much achieve on your own. A mentor is someone who is qualified as a FGASA SKS(DG) guide, FGASA Trails Guide or Professional Trails Guide, which requires 600 hours on foot, 300 encounters on foot, and tracker level 2. And, to find a lodge where a mentor works is almost impossible. Nowadays, it’s even difficult to find lodges where full Trails Guides work.  

The next problem is that there aren’t many of these qualified individuals who want to sweat in the sun during their off-time for someone else’s benefit, which is understandable.  This makes mentored hours valuable and expensive.   

So, if you’re a guide at a lodge that has rifles, Trails Guides and a mentor – stay there! Work on your qualifications bit by bit. Don’t grow impatient. Offer payment and work hard. If you’re working at a lodge that lacks a mentor or even rifles, remember Lowveld Trails is near to the Bushwise campuses and they offer a lot of primitive trails that might fall over your off weeks.  Book, pay and learn.

There is no shortcut to becoming a Trails Guide. It’s a slow journey – 4 years minimum. My advice? Work hard, have patience, never give up and remember that every little bit counts. 

Camp manager blogs are written by our current students who each get a chance to lead and manage a group (of their fellow students) for a period of one week.

On Wednesday the 17th of March, Erin Anderson handed over the responsibility of Camp Manager to myself, Brendan Davis. This came with a complimentary walkie-talkie, a Covid thermometer and the opportunity to host the entire group on the upcoming Friday night. Camp Manager is an important leadership role that allows students to get a taste of what it is like to be in a management position within a lodge environment. 

We started the day bright and early, continuing the practical drive trend that was to carry on throughout our third semester. These drives are great opportunities for students to gain the necessary practice for our FGASA assessments, as well as enjoy being out in the bush while learning about the surrounding environment on a daily basis. 

On Thursday, we had a special visit from Sophie, the co-founder of Bushwise, as well as the Bushwise management team, Sharin and Trevor. The purpose of their visit was not only to get their weekly dose of the beautiful Balule Nature Reserve, but also to provide students with important feedback on our progress in the course and areas in which we can improve. 

Friday flew by and before we knew it, the weekend had arrived. Chris, a Bushwise alumni who is currently on placement, took our skilled chef Sibu and his wife Thembeka on a complimentary game drive. Our trainers Jack and Lindi organized bush walks for the students on both Saturday and Sunday. Trailing of Rhino, Elephant, Giraffe and Zebra took place with one amazing encounter of White Rhino being the highlight, leaving a few students elated and energised by their first big game encounter on foot. 

Monday morning came with an air of importance as we wrote our Mammals and Ethology tests, two large sections that are very relevant to our future careers. Everyone did considerably well, and the finish line was now a few steps closer, with only 2 modules left until we have completed our theory section of the course. 

Tuesday’s afternoon drive was by far the most eventful with a brilliant Lion sighting. We used our newly learned skills of Track & Sign from Colin Patrick to piece together the puzzles of the bush and find 9 young lions in the Mohlabetsi Riverbed, very close to Greenfire Main Camp. This served as a promising start to the rest of the semester, and a great ending to my week as camp manager.

Camp manager blogs are written by our current students who each get a chance to lead and manage a group (of their fellow students) for a period of one week.

The role of a camp manager includes the weighty responsibilities of carry around the radio and essentially being a look-out for any unusual sightings or happenings around our campus; making sure everyone is doing their duties; and checking everybody’s temperatures in the morning and at the end of the day – which I found was a really nice way to have little catch up with everyone on campus.

After a very busy week of rifle handling and tracking, a game drive was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon which everyone was excited about. We decided to do things differently and change up the groups: instead of staying in our designated A and B groups, we lined up to randomly select a card. The colour card each of us picked indicated the vehicle we were going to be on for the game drive, which was a nice way of mixing it up and learning how our fellow future field guides would do things.

A morning of gruelling reserve management awaited us on Thursday, with half of us being assigned to help with the digging of  a waterhole and the other half with removing the dreaded Knob Thorn trees out of the road. Thankfully Friday was packed with rewards.

We enjoyed an amazing game drive during which a new record for this course was set: The most bird species spotted on a single game drive – 54 different species to be exact! This enthralling excursion was followed by a workbook session, and then by our mammal orals (something that we had been working on all semester. Well…some of us). As soon as the last oral was done, Off Week was finally a reality! Much needed after a very busy semester.

On Sunday 14th March we were reunited after a well-rested week off. After a quick catch up session it was straight back into the swing of things with study for the amphibians and reptile test the next day. 

Each action-packed day filled with lectures, study, workouts (an optional extra) or game drives was followed by a delicious home cooked dinner made by our amazing chef Sibo – bringing us together as a team to share in the day’s many laughs and memorable moments. 

Camp manager blogs are written by our current students who each get a chance to lead and manage a group (of their fellow students) for a period of one week.

One of the duties of a camp manager is to carry a radio with you 24/7. As a born-and-bred Capetonian not well versed in matters of the bush, I thought this was more for show than anything else. This was until 06:00 on Friday morning when I was startled out of a deep sleep: “Geena, Geena. Stand by for Lindi.”

Instinctively (and half-asleep), I reached for the radio on my bedside counter: “Lindi, Lindi. Geena standing by.” The reply: “We have a sighting of 5 ingala 100 metres from campus.” My heart skipped a beat. Ingala is the Shangaan word for lion, and our campus is unfenced! After the initial shock, Jack and I woke everyone up for this incredible sighting: subadult lions lounging about at dawn before following a giraffe into the thick shrubs.

Earlier in the week, we had been split into 2 groups – A and B. Group A did ‘track & sign’ practicals with Colin Patrick while Group B practiced rifle handling with Jack Hutchinson. Erin achieved the highest shooting accuracy of all the students, earning her the title of best shooter on campus, as well as bragging rights for the next 4 months. Each group also had the opportunity to make a meal for the entire campus, with Kevin showing off his exceptional abilities as head chef.

On Saturday night, we had a movie night to unwind after the long week. We indulged in microwave popcorn and settled in to watch a cinematic classic – Avatar. Overall, I would say that our first movie night was a success (except for Erin and Franklin falling asleep halfway through the film). Then on Sunday, Jack and Lindi spoiled us with a surprise trip to Three Bridges for pizzas and milkshakes. Those that were brave enough to climb onto the train tracks on the bridge, were rewarded with the serene sighting of hippos lolling about in the river.

The new week kicked off with a test on arthropods, as well as lectures on amphibians, reptiles and birds. My reign as camp manager came to an end just as we started with practical game drives. We enjoyed amazing sightings on Jared’s game drive, including Nile crocodile, dust-bathing hornbills and a pregnant giraffe. My highlight of the week was definitely seeing the grey-headed kingfisher which (as a newly converted non-birder-turned-birder) was an exceptional bird to add to my list!

Photo credits: Matthew Franklin and Geena Wegner

By Darryl Weinstein, student

Camp manager blogs are written by our current students who each get a chance to lead and manage a group (of their fellow students) for a period of one week.

The week began just as you would expect – with lectures on reptiles, birds, mammals and animal behaviour.

But then things took a more inspiring turn, and the students and I were privileged to discover a giraffe carcass that had been killed by lions earlier on in the week. We found out about this nature-enthusiasts prize through one of our trainers who generously shared his find with us, instead of keeping it to himself and a select few. Here is where one of the ethics of guiding comes into play: sharing interesting information with your fellow guides.

Our senses were keenly alert on the first expedition in search of the carcass, and sure enough, we could smell it before we could see it.  A few Cape Vultures, some Hooded Vultures as well as a jackal had beat us to the punch and were already hungrily devouring the bonanza. The trainer suggested that we should go and have our afternoon drinks stop early and then return to the carcass later on to see if bigger game would have  joined the feast.

His instincts were spot on because on our return to the carcass, we saw a male lion in the middle of the road heading back towards the carcass and then starting to eat it. A few minutes later, a cub emerged out of the thick bush and started eating close to the male lion, who didn’t even notice the cub was there. A short while later, another cub came out of the bush, this one accompanied by it’s mother who  stopped short of the carcass and layed down while the cub joined the first cub and the male lion. When comparing the two cubs, it was clear that the first cub was older then the second cub; while in terms of colour the first cub was darker and the second was a lot lighter.

It was at this point that the trainer deduced the reason why the male lion didn’t mind the two cubs being around him. It was obvious that the cubs were his and that he acknowledged them as his offspring.

Buoyed by the excitement of the lion sightings, the students and I quickly covered tracking and signing on subsequent game drives. A unique opportunity arose during one such practical drive to  teach our foreign group members about the buck dung spitting competition, where the objective is to spit a piece of impala dung as far as possible.

A week in the life of a camp manager is never boring! Follow us on instagram @bushwise.sa to share the unfiltered student’s experience of life deep in the African wilderness.

Photo credit: Priyesh Kara

BY: Mitchell Robinson, student 2021

Week 2 got off to an amazing start. Our ‘honeymoon’ game drive was very enjoyable. Our trainers took us out on a game drive in Makalali Private Game Reserve. They treated us as guests and did everything for us. Even though no big cats were seen, that didn’t dampen our spirits. The one vehicle was very lucky and got to see a black rhino and hippopotamus at a dam. The birdlife was phenomenal. Most of the birds people would usually skip are super interesting. Our guides’ in-depth knowledge about birdlife kept us asking more and more questions. The general game was very good. We saw mass amounts of impalas with young babies along with many zebra and wildebeest. The enthusiasm all around was phenomenal from both the students and the guides. Jokes and laughter were constantly heard on the vehicles. 

On Thursday the 14th of January we had our first day of learning about front-of-house. Front-of-house contains many aspects that we as the students didn’t realize. I’m sure that even some things the trainers didn’t know of. The insight into what managing a lodge and being a field guide entails was discussed in great detail. Haley and Grant used many of their own experiences to help us understand. All in all, we realized that front-of-house involves a lot of aspects and long hours.

On the 16th of January all of us decided to take a break and swim. We spent half of the day by the pool chatting away and playing games like ‘marco polo’. It was a day filled with fun and games and a bit of studying in between.

On the 18th of January, we wrote our very first tests which focused on ‘the introduction to guiding, geology and radio procedures. Everyone put in long hours of studying due to all the nerves around camp. The tests made us think a bit differently as a lot of the questions involved scenarios. After the tests the spirits were high and the smiles could be seen for miles. That night we decided to have a campfire and games night. All of us gathered together playing card games while sitting around the fire. It was an awesome team-building night for all. We all chatted for hours and started to get comfortable around each other. Everyone was sharing their stories making it a very interesting night. Jokes were made and songs were sung. It was an amazing day.

Tuesday the 19th of January was filled with lectures on our next three FGASA modules which included weather and climate, astronomy and ecology. While sitting in a class all day is not ideal, everyone seemed to enjoy it. I suppose it is pure love for what we are doing and hoping to do. It was a very hot day and the pool just looked so inviting. 

Wednesday the 20th of January, my final day as camp manager was interesting and dirty. We learnt about the basic mechanics of the game drive vehicles. This involved us checking coolant level and oil level. Then the interesting part came. We had to change a tire. All of us got a chance but we had to make a bit of a competition. While we raced to see who can change a tire the quickest, Vaughan, our head trainer, was cracking jokes while attending to his poor broken high lift jack. 

In conclusion, the second week was thoroughly enjoyable and full of lots of laughter. So far it has been an amazing experience. 

BY: Taya Maasch, student 2021

At the start of the second week, I was assigned the duty of Camp Manager, which was a mix of nerves and doubt as everything was still new to us, as well as being the first student camp manager of the course.

We kick-started the first day with our very first lectures on Introduction to guiding, Radio procedures and Geology, which was very exciting, although the scorching heat and constant humidity were challenging but we still managed to give our trainers, Jack and Lindi, our undivided attention.

On our second day, we all headed into town (Hoedspruit) to get our much anticipated Bushwise uniforms and we had the opportunity to visit the famous Hoedspruit Reptile Centre. While group A was being charmed by an array of reptiles, group B had gone into town to get their uniforms. My group, which was group A, headed straight to the Hoedspruit Reptile Centre to learn more about our fellow reptiles, ranging from the not-so-friendly Nile crocodile to the fascinating Chameleon. We were lucky enough to witness a trio of Black mambas feeding, having the opportunity to feed the chameleons as well as being the only visitors, meaning that Chris, our tour guide, was able to give each and every one individual attention.

After a few hours, our group headed into town to get all khakied up in our new and exciting uniforms. Some of us grabbed a bite to eat at the one and only Fig and Bean Café, while some of us went on a shopping spree, stocking up on snacks and other goodies such as drawers and fans which, to be honest, was a necessity. After a long, yet successful day we ‘just’ managed to fit in all our shopping and food as we headed back towards campus.

The next day we all woke up at dawn and got straight into some practical work with the vehicles, learning how to use a jack and change tyres, which was a good workout for some of us. The next important bit was for us to do a driving assessment, which for most of us was quite nerve-racking as not all of us have driven a big, 4×4 vehicle before, although we all managed to pass. In simpler terms, it felt like I was driving a tractor.

After a much needed weekend off, we jumped straight into the next week with our very first tests on Introduction to guiding, geology and radios. The nerves were real as everyone was unsure of what to expect but the constant graft (studying) definitely paid off.

We ended the week off with an afternoon game drive, learning about the wide variety of trees, birds, mammals and learning how to nkonzo (track), as Jack would say. Halfway into the game drive, we stopped for a phuza (drink) in a wide open area, where we reflected back on our first week.

By: Garrick Stead

Becoming a camp manager and overseeing the campus radio is quite a stressful thing for me, yet once I got into it was not bad at all. We need to be comfortable with this sort of responsibility because many lodges need duty managers on a day to day basis.

The first two days of being me being camp manager involved conservation work on Wednesday was on the reserve where we do all our practical training. This included bush clearing and cutting away hanging branches on the roads. When we first heard about this, many of us were not too excited, but once we got into the swing of things many people enjoyed it and there were multiple funny moments with allot of thorn trees.

We stopped at a dam for lunch with the sounds of grunting hippos in the background and birds singing their sons. We all took in the wonderful environment we now live in and it was nice to relax after a tough few hours of work. The following day we continued with conservation work but only on the Mahlahla campus. This was also rather tough, but a good time was had with a lot of laughs between us.

Group A had the day with a trainer and had to learn bird calls. They had to memorise all the bird sounds for as assessment which included matching picture slides with the sounds.  The trainer’s advice was to make them a part of your everyday life, playing at least 10 different sounds every week and try learn them off by heart.

During my week as a camp manager, we also attended the South Africa wine training course. It was interesting for me because I did not know much about wine and how you go about paring them with food to enhance not only the wine but your food too. This industry is also so important in the South African economy and for job creation. South African wines are some of the best in the world and many tourists fond of wine, travel to South Africa for this very reason! This is also part of the job as a field guide, having to host your guests. We realised how important it is as part of your guest’s experience at a lodge. It is not just about the game drives but everything else in between.

All in all, being the camp manager was not as bad as I thought and was rather enjoyable. A responsibility I am now ready for again! Wouldn’t you like to experience this too?