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Category: Student journeys

My Bushwise journey: A dream come true

This blog was written by Tsakani Precious Maluleke, a Bushwise Professional Field Guide student. Each student takes a turn as camp manager, and writing a blog is part of the experience.

2 min read

Greetings everyone! My name is Tsakani Maluleke from Makuleke Village, and I want to share a very exciting chapter of my life with you. Over the past five months, I have experienced a journey that has not only broadened my knowledge but also deeply touched my heart.

I have always loved nature and that is what led me to study Conservation Management, but I never thought I could find myself in field guiding. Last year in April I got a job as a housekeeper at The OutPost Lodge in the Kruger. It was during this time that I suddenly had this burning desire of wanting to be a nature guide.

On the 24th of August 2023, I went searching online for field guiding courses and I came across Bushwise. I enquired that day about their Field Guiding Online course for the April to June class and while still thinking about how I’m going to pay for this course a friend of mine sent me a document. It was a Bursary application form from Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC).

I applied immediately and, to cut that story short, I ended up at the SAWC as a Bushwise student. This was a dream come true for me. The opportunity to learn and grow in this field was now the only thing I wanted. The SAWC, together with one of its UK-based supporters, Metamorphosis Foundation, and Bushwise, made it a reality.

The course was intense and I learned so much in a very short space of time. From understanding the intricate ecosystems of our beautiful landscapes to mastering the skills needed to guide and educate others, every moment was filled with valuable lessons. The training not only expanded my knowledge but also honed my practical skills, preparing me for a future in guiding.

Beyond the studies, the people I met during this journey were truly remarkable. My fellow students, my trainers, the whole Bushwise team and the SAWC were all incredibly supportive and inspiring. We shared many unforgettable moments, from early morning game drives to late-night study sessions. These individuals have become like family to me, and I will treasure each moment we spent together for the rest of my life.

Reflecting on these past months, I am filled with gratitude and joy. The experience has been nothing short of amazing, and it has strengthened my resolve to pursue a career in guiding and conservation. I am excited about the future and look forward to applying everything I have learned to make a positive impact.

Thank you to every organisation or every person who made this dream a reality, and for providing me with such an enriching and unforgettable experience. Here’s to many more adventures and to the continuous journey of learning and growing in the world of nature and wildlife!

Ready to turn your passion for nature into a career? Learn more about Bushwise in-person and online courses and apply now to start your journey as a field guide!

June 13, 2020
A Week of Rifle Handling

This week started off with a bang, quite literally! The Bushwise students have been split into two groups for Tracks and Signs with Colin Patrick and rifle competency. Having already completed our week of tracks and signs, it was our turn to learn all there is about rifle handling in the guiding environment.

We spent our Monday in Tzaneen to write our rifle competency tests, so the only rifling going on was through papers. We spent plenty of time waiting outside the venue waiting anxiously to see if we passed as this decided whether we would continue to get the chance to fire a rifle.

Waiting for their turn…. – Photo by Devlin Loader

Luckily we all passed. Tuesday brought on our accuracy test, firing ten rounds onto an A5 sized page, three times over. This involved more waiting on the pavement next to our minibus for our turn. With our group being mostly comprised of girls there wasn’t as much testosterone flowing as the previous group, being the complete opposite. However, this didn’t stop any competition between the students as to who could be the best shot. Everybody did well to get all their rounds on the pages.

Rifle competency – photo by Devlin Loader

Wednesday brought with it lots of drills on campus with regards to being able to reload a .375 rifle blindfolded, for example, so that one can be able to reload one’s firearm in the dark. The immediate action drill, being able to deal with a misfire. These tasks all have a slight twist to them, in that they must be done in under prescribed times, mostly in a matter of seconds. This brought more opportunities for competition between students. Thursday was comprised of these same drills but were now committed to muscle memory and everyone’s rifle handling was already greatly better.

Devlin busy with Rifle handling practice – photo by Harry Travers

Friday was a highlight in that it gave us a chance to learn a new drill, the charging lion drill which involved lots of shouting and adrenalin. Campus rang out with shouts of: “Lion, stand still!” as everyone practised their shouting voices. All these drills were completed with dummy rounds to be as safe as possible, although the safety aspect is very much reinforced with everything we do. As the saying goes ‘guns don’t kill, people do’. Although we are all very excited to get the chance sometime in the coming weeks to fire live rounds regardless of how bruised our shoulders might possibly be afterwards.

We spent Arbor Day planting seven trees to have our part in kicking spring off on the right note. As we see the flora coming into bloom, most prevalent of which is the knob thorns, looking across the landscape it is dotted with yellow-white blotches marking all their location.

Tree planting on Arbor day – photo by Sharin

Blog by Devlin Loader

Devlin Loader

#shooting #cybertracker #trackandsign #riflehandling #rifles

September 2, 2019
Can you identify a giraffe by its scat?

or is it droppings……..Track and sign with Colin Patrick has officially been completed! It was an exciting week packed with learning new animal tracks, identifying animals by scat and trying to put together a story of what animals were previously in an area based on the tracks they’ve left behind.

The week began with setting out to find fresh animal tracks left in the dirt. Colin always carried his trusted walking stick, which he used to circle tracks for us to decipher. We all walked around together, circle to circle, and felt quite confident about our answers because we had done some intro to tracking with our trainers. As the week went on, however, we learned so many animal tracks that they all started to look the same. All of a sudden the tree squirrel and dwarf mongoose tracks seemed almost identical and the bushbuck and nyala tracks also looked very similar. Frustration turned to very low levels of self-esteem and we took a break from tracks for a bit.

Colin brought his amazing anti-poaching, tracker dog, Annie, to demonstrate her tracking abilities and talk about tracking in terms of anti-poaching. We split into two groups and one group headed off into the bush to try and ‘hide’ from Annie. The group that stayed behind got to run (more like sprint) into the bush after the other group, following Annie’s lead. Annie is truly incredible and it was an awesome experience to watch her do her thing and follow the trail of humans. This was a much needed break, but the following day we got back to business. As Colin taught us to spot small differences in tracks, our spirits were raised and we all started feeling confident once again, just in time for our assessment.

On assessment day, we started bright and early and waited eagerly for Colin to circle tracks that we would be tested on. We had a good time with it, and everyone in our group ended up receiving a tracking level! We ended assessment day with cooking some delicious boeries in the bush. It was an epic week and we are more than excited to continue to advance our knowledge of tracks.

You can learn all about track & sign when you join a Bushwise safari guide course!

Blog by Ellie Schwartz

#footprints #tracks #practical #fieldguiding #tracking #cybertracker #assessment #fieldguides

September 3, 2018