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The first half of 2013 is done and dusted, wow, how time
flies when you are having fun! And the rest of the year is just as eager for
you to attend an EcoTraining course at any of our wilderness camps across
Southern Africa and in Kenya. All you need to do is visit www.ecotraining.co.za or send an email
to enquries@ecotraining.co.za
to join in the action! To pique your interest and whet the appetite, read and
take a look what happened in the last month…
UPCOMING COURSES
There are
still some spaces left on the courses below in the next couple of months. Experience
things and gather knowledge that will blow you away. From a handful of days to
one year, the choices are endless!
21-27 July: Seven
Day Birding – Karongwe
25-31 July: Seven
Day Tracking – Selati
28 July-10 August:
EcoQuest – Kenya
10 August-6 September:
28 Day Kenya Safari Guide – Lewa Wildlife Conservancy
THROUGH THE BUSH TELEGRAPH
Office: The
dedicated team at head office in Nelspruit is ready to answer all your
questions and queries. Don’t hesitate to contact them!
They recently hosted a diverse media group at EcoTraining’s
wilderness camp in Mashatu, Botswana where they got a brief, but all important
glimpse into the traditional art of tracking.
With the help of Alex van den Heever and his expert Shangaan tracker they unravelled the mysteries of the African
wilderness even further by understanding
and learning to interpret (or at least trying to…) more about the bush and
wildlife as they searched for, tracked and eventually found some animals. They
also got to know more about traditional hunter-gatherer techniques, medicinal
purposes and ancient indigenous knowledge.
And of course no
visit to this magical place that is called the Land of the Giants, can be
complete without a sun downer-stop in this vast expanse, and dinner in the
riverbed lit by the magical stars upon return to camp...
You too can
experience an adventure like this on an EcoTraining Animal Tracks and Tracking
course. For more information, visit www.ecotraining.co.za or send an email to enquiries@ecotraining.co.za.
Camps: Every minute on one of our courses
in our wilderness camps in South Africa, Botswana and Kenya is a learning
experience, being constantly exposed to the bush. See what transpired in the
last month, it sure is a good indication of what will probably happen in the
months to follow…
Karongwe: Imagine
almost a month of living and learning in nature at one of our wilderness camps
and then using this knowledge to give your safari and bush holidays a whole new
meaning. Then the EcoTraining 28 Day Safari Guide course from 28 July-24 August
at our camp on the banks of the Karongwe River in the Karongwe Private Game
Reserve, literally a stone’s throw from the Kruger National Park, is just for
you!
This course is
aimed at those wishing to experience a bush holiday in South Africa, whilst
also learning about the environment they are in – it is for those that are
passionate about nature, who would like a more in-depth experience and
understanding of it.
And what a place Karongwe is for experiencing something like
this. You are bound to have sightings of leopard, lion and cheetah as well as
elephant and white rhino. As the camp itself is unfenced, we often have
four-legged guests sniffling about, hyenas regularly doing their nightly
patrols.
It is a
learning experience from the minute you arrive with the days starting at first
light, in the colder months around 06:00 and in summer as early as 04:30. Then a quick sip of coffee and some rusks before the different groups goes
off – either on a vehicle or on own steam through the bush. For the next couple
of hours nature is the classroom, with the instructors sharing their knowledge
and wisdom. And heads are shook in amazement about how little we know and how
much more still lies hidden.
As they say, there is no conservation
without education. So become a green
warrior and join EcoTraining on the adventure of a lifetime! There are still
some places left!
Makuleke (Kruger
National Park): Those who’ve had the privilege to have set foot in our
wilderness camp in Makuleke (KNP) will know exactly what Kevin Holroyd (28 Day
Trails Guide course) is talking about.
“Makuleke… I heard
about this mystical bush place whilst doing my FGASA Level 1 course at Karongwe
and every time anyone spoke about it, they got a misty eyed, far-away look in
their eyes – now I know why…
Around a ‘get to
know each other fire’ we were greeted by two male lions booming their hello, a
100 metres from camp.
Imagine a place
where you walk under baobabs and into fever tree forests, through mopani and
onto floodplains.
Nyala, impala,
kudu, eland, zebra, buffalo and elephant around, not to mention racket-tailed
rollers, grey-headed parrots and lemon-breasted canaries to make every birder’s
heart jump.
Names like
Hulukulu, Nwambi and Mangeba are etched into my mind, together with the vivid
images of encounters that I will replay in my mind when I’m back in
civilisation.
The transformation
from that first nervous buffalo or elephant encounter to feeling confident and
relaxed 30m away from elephant bulls feeding, is why a trails guide course is a
must for any field guide.
To top it all, you
can draw on the experience of the best trails instructors in the industry:
Bruce ‘Gandalf’ Lawson, Mark ‘the marcher’ Montgomery, Alan ‘the thinker’
McSmith, Marius ‘buffalo wrestler’ Swart and Wayne ‘the Makuleke wanderer’
TeBrake.
To all of them, we
owe a ‘termite mound’ of gratitude.
My body
unfortunately, had to leave this place, but my soul will always rest in the
branches of a Baobab at Makuleke.”
Mashatu (Botswana): One of EcoTraining’s most popular courses is
the professional field guide course. For one year you will be exposed to
diverse ecological and geological terrains, landscapes, wildlife species and so
much more at our wilderness camps in places like Makuleke, Karongwe, Selati
(South Africa) and Mashatu (Botswana).
But don’t just take our word for it. From the horse’s mouth,
or in this case, Nick Baker, who recently finished his yearlong adventure.
“I have
finished my Ecotraining year course and I am still in the Bush. It is Shepherds
Bush in London. I have survived African blasting heat, freezing cold,
torrential rain, floods, tick bites, snakes under the bed, animal charges,
getting lost, getting found again, blisters, broken down cars, broken down
people. And that was just the first year.....
Last year,
having retired from 30 years of corporate life, I decided on a second career
move and decided to spend a year guide training in South Africa. South Africa
was the choice due to attractions of the African bush and the structure of the
guide training. It was a really good choice and I would recommend it to anyone
prepared to leave behind the trappings of civilisation and immerse themselves
in the ecology of Africa.
The beauty
of Ecotraining’s year course is the extended time one spends out there, nothing
is rushed and every day one learns something new, building a quite awesome
knowledge base. However one thing you learn quickly is that however much you
may think that you have learned, there are folk who know so much more and have
deep years of bush experience.
This clearly
manifests through the course instructors. I am not sure what I was expecting
but each and every instructor is a well of knowledge and fascinating
personality, each leaves a significant impression, all are different…
So my first
people thank you is to all those instructors who spent time with us, showed
patience, interest, passion... Dries, Shani, Les, Graeme, Chris, Mark, Dale,
Bruce and Dee, Mark, JP and Margaux, Rhodes, Alan, Duncan, Brian and Chantelle
and the list goes on… Forgive me if I have missed anyone, you know who you are
and you are the backbone of Ecotraining, may you live long and prosper.
The second
big people thank you goes to all the backups, kitchen staff and assorted
support staff who make all the camps run. Again a rich set of individual
personalities and a vital part of the camp machinery. Only the Selati kitchen
staff can dance like that.
The third
people thank you goes to my fellow students, a true miscellany of mixed age,
nationality and ambition. We have now dispersed, many to pursue further careers
in the industry. I will remember you for a long time. Success and happiness to
you all.
Now I have
not even got to the primary reason for setting off on this journey which was to
build a deeper appreciation of the African bush. I miss it today and will miss
it every day that I am not there. The experience is total and is built of a
complicated set of components, animals, birds, trees, plants, insects, soil,
water, weather, stars. Sights, sounds, smells, magic. I never thought that I
would say the words Northern Fluffy Flowered Jackal Coffee, let alone find the
plant.
The bush
does funny things to your head. It has got inside mine, so I am going back to
work there again, initially in Malawi, Wilderness Chelinda Lodge, thereafter
who knows. I will meet you in the bush...”
Lewa (Kenya): If
you think about Africa, you think of wide open spaces, teaming with an array of
wildlife and sunsets par none. This magical continent just has its way with
people, something that can’t be explained unless experienced, the ‘TIA’-feeling
(This Is Africa) it has been described as.
It’s the lure of these wild and wonderful places that draw
people time and again to EcoTraining’s 28 Day Kenya Safari Guide Course in the
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. The next one is around the corner…
And EcoTraining instructor Mark Gunn explains just why you
have to make THAT booking.
“It is with great admiration that I read the stories of the exploration
of Africa by the likes of Livingstone, Baynes, Burton and Speke. What was it
like to walk across the plains with these men of men? They chose to leave a
sheltered Victorian, gentleman’s life and head off into the “dark continent”.
They struggled with adversity, disease and danger from the local population.
Some of them died and never came home. However, what did they see? Great open
spaces and herds of the most incredible animals on earth. Amazing vistas and a
fantastic kaleidoscope of cultures were the order of the day, every day. We can
do the same today without the same threats and dangers that they faced.
The modern urban world does not have the denizens of the
plains to contend with, urban people have transferred their admiration onto
sports stars, music divas and the odd dictator. Escape from this artificial
world of artificial heroes is surprisingly easy.
A walk with the wildlife on Lewa is so easy to do and after
the initiates first two or three encounters with the big and hairies, easy to
enjoy.
Appreciate is not the word to do justice to the feelings you
get when you are walking so close to elephants that you can hear their feet
rustle through the grass and hear them chewing the food that they tirelessly
stuff into their great maws, enjoyment, absolute pleasure, is an emotion that
surges to the fore whenever I am in the presence of these great, peaceful
colossi. Sharing a few minutes in the life of these behemoths of the African
savannah is a pleasure that needs to be experienced.
No amount of eloquence, no matter how well the author can
extract adjectives from our beloved dictionaries, will ever do justice to the
act of being there.
Following a lion across the grassland while avoiding getting
too close to rhino and buffalo, skirting around a group of reticulated giraffe
and intercepting the lion just before he move between two herds of elephant,
this being there.
Returning from an encounter with such majesty is not a
simple task, there are herds to be passed and circumvented so as not to disturb
them and ensure our safe return to the culinary delights that have been
prepared by our camp staff.
Experiences that defy description are not relived around the
campfire. We were all there; we all felt the wonder and admiration for our
fellow earthlings. We felt our insignificance; our perspectives were
rearranged, put in order.
A great sense of peace pervades me every time I encounter
any animal, especially when I am on foot. It might seem as if we are intruding
in their world, this plain of Africa but no, we belong here.
This is the place where we started out, this is our Garden
of Eden.”
“MEET YOU IN THE BUSH”
For two decades now EcoTraining has been training field
guides, starting way back in 1993 with the first batch of eager students
attending the inaugural course in the Sabi Sands reserve in Mpumalanga. Since
then a great number has gone on to make their mark in the industry and are continuing
to do great work all over the world. We want to hear
from you, so send us your stories!
Like Nadia Alalul.
For the last three
years EcoTraining, the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature in Jordan
and Tetra Tech, a consultancy firm, have been working together to transform the
conservation and guiding sectors in Jordan.
An opportunity like
this, for conservation bodies and training facilities across the globe to
strike up partnerships, resulted in the graduation of four young Jordanians
after they successfully completed EcoTraining's yearlong professional field
guide course.
Nadia was one of
the fortunate four.
Apart from being
amazed at the amount of knowledge they accumulated, Nadia said she is fully
aware of the huge responsibility now resting on their shoulders, to transform
and help shape the guiding industry in a different part of the world.
“We have had the
privilege of living in an environment that few people nowadays get to
experience, living among wild animals in their natural environment, and being
able to study and observe from only a short distance away.
All in all this has
been an amazing adventure and I had the time of my life! Make no mistake, it
has been gruelling and the amount of information that I have absorbed has been
enormous but I have learnt so much and everything has been interesting. I can
recognize hundreds of bird calls, achieved a track-and-sign level 1, can tell
the difference between a black and white rhino by looking at their dung, which
way a leopard is moving and whether it’s a female or male by looking at its
tracks in the dirt, and I know which tree can ease my pain and which one could
kill me.
But most importantly,
I have an appreciation and deep respect for all creatures like I have never had
before. I wouldn’t have realized all this if it weren’t for those special
people we have had the honour and great privilege to meet along the way. The
dedication and knowledge of these highly experienced instructors in promoting
conservation and helping to educate others on why our environment and
everything in it is so important, has made a big impression.”
GREEN SPOTLIGHT: WESSA Lowveld
Founded in 1926, WESSA
(The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa) is one of South Africa's
oldest and largest non-government environmental organisations.
WESSA's vision is to be
a highly effective and well-supported champion of the environment.
WESSA implements high
impact environmental and conservation projects which promote public
participation in caring for the Earth.
WESSA is a Section 21
company registered as an Incorporated Association not for gain.
WESSA Lowveld reinvented itself in 2003 and on specific
request, was granted regional status. Justified on the basis of its keen
committee, its unique location and the special environmental issues it has to
deal with, this youngest and smallest of WESSA’s regions has more than its fair
share of challenges.
WESSA Lowveld has long supported Kruger NP, hosting a well-publicised
Elephant Management Debate and channelling Gower Trust funding towards
radio-telemetry studies by researchers working with the Save the Elephants Trust.
The Lowveld’s place in South Africa’s landscape provides
unique opportunities and insights around vulnerable people and resource
depletion. Its inability to finance even a minimum set of outreach functions
deserves high priority nationally and locally.
Contact
Details: PO Box 150, White River 1240, South Africa
Tel: 083 630
1782
Email: lowveldchair@wessa.co.za
Secretary: lowveldadmin@wessa.co.za
Regional Chairperson: Ricky Potts
Email: lowveldchair@wessa.co.za
Secretary: lowveldadmin@wessa.co.za
Regional Chairperson: Ricky Potts
CONTACT INFORMATION
Go and like our official fan page on Facebook at EcoTraining
– Ecotourism specials.
Also visit us on www.ecotraining.co.za
and if you have any questions or queries, send an email to enquiries@ecotraining.co.za.
(Thank you to everybody who
contributed with photos and information!)
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