FINALLY SOME RAIN

Makuleke got its first taste of some decent rain last week and almost instantly the bush transformed into a completely different place. It is incredible how just a small injection of nature's life giving nectar can have such a profound affect on not only nature's physical appearance but it's mood as well!

It is almost as if every animal is walking with a bit more of a spring in their step, every bird singing with a bit more enthusiasm, every bug scurrying around with a bit more intent and all the plants have just simply come alive! 

The immediate impact that rain has on an ecosystem is of course incredible, but have you ever thought about what is IN a drop of rain? We know that rain is water and water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, but, in order for a rain drop to form it needs a nuclei. A small partical right in the middle around which the water can cling to in order to form a rain drop. This nuclei can be a small spec of dust or even pollen.

A rain drop, however, contains much more than just a few molecules of water and a nuclei. It contains hope, potential and promise. Water is the universal solvent in which all the processes of life take place. Contained within the perfectly spherical ball of a glistening rain drop is the power to give life, restore strength and wash away the dust of past worries and stress. Isn't nature incredible!?

Blog and photo by Vaughn du Plooy

The day of the jackal

We at EcoTraining spend countless hours pouring over books written by a variety of experts to try and explain animal behaviour to prospective field guides.  We have a huge wealth of knowledge at our finger tips with which to glean the plethora of information documented on some of the most iconic animals in the world.  However, despite Man’s propensity of recording field data from observations, animals do not always read the text books and often we are made to look foolish as they defy the preconceptions we have attributed to them!

The other day, a report about a male lion that had killed a bush pig, came through on the radio.  We rushed to the scene of the crime already deep in explanation as to the feeding habits of Africa’s apex terrestrial predator, looking forward to watching the ferocious feline demolishing his prey.  When we arrived at the location we found the bushpig completely intact, not even opened, and no lion to be seen.  Often predators will kill other predators as a means of eliminating competition and these victims are usually not consumed as they were removed rather than killed for food, but there was no viable reason that a cache of meat such as this would be left alone.  It was a gentle reminder from the bush that no matter how long you spend out here watching the daily lives of its inhabitants, nothing is ever set in stone!

I can offer no satisfactory explanation as to why the lion chose to leave his prize but nothing is left to waste in the bush for long.  Throughout the afternoon, the vultures arrived and began to consume the carcass, comically scrapping and flapping around as they argued over feeding rights.  We returned to the site at the end of our night drive hoping that the smell of decomposing flesh had wafted its way to the sensitive nostrils of the resident hyena clan.  It seemed however that the hyenas’ had also turned their nose up at the meal but not so a small group of side-striped jackals!

This diminutive predator is often overlooked in the food chain but plays a hugely important role in cleaning up the bush.  It is not as gregarious as the more common black backed jackal and thus their presence was a welcome sight to us all.  The temptation of a free meal overrode their normal normally nervous disposition and we were rewarded with a wonderful sighting as they wrestled with their porky prize! 

Side striped jackals are omnivores and can get their water requirements from eating fruits which enable them to be very successful in more harsh terrains.  They are also efficient hunters and regularly take small mammals, birds and even arthropods but an unattended carcass was a bonanza for them to enjoy.  We stayed in the sighting long after dark enjoying their antics as individuals argued over the choice cuts, prompting a long discussion over their feeding habits, role in the ecosystem and why the lion chose to leave its kill. 

For me, the true beauty of working in the bush is the fact that nothing is ever set in stone.  For a lion to pass up an opportunity to feed is unusual, but its decision benefited a whole host of less powerful members of the bushveld community.  Rules are made to be broken and trying to fathom the rationale behind these incidents is what makes this vocation so fascinating.  Variety is the spice of life, and we bush folk live our lives wondering what awaits us around the next corner and it is this excitement: the unknown commodity, that makes a life in the bush so rewarding!

Blog and photos by Ben Coley

Tranquility

The bush is a place to find peace and solace.  The feeling of immersion in a pristine wilderness area is something that only a few of us are lucky enough to experience.  It is a place where the complications of our world disappear.  The sounds of never-ending traffic, police sirens and the constant hum of electricity are nowhere to be seen, and instead they are replaced by a myriad of tuneful birdcalls, an underlying cacophony of insect life, the whoop of a distant hyaena or the crack of a branch as a gentle leviathan feeds. 

The holistic effect of the bush is often overlooked.  People come to the wilderness to tick off their marquis animals and get their certificate of seeing the Big 5, but many will miss the true meaning of being lost in one of the world’s most pristine wildernesses.  It is a place to find ourselves, to revisit the primitive nature of our ancestors and experience what life used to be like before the advent of technology.  Undoubtedly our advances as a species have opened up doors to new places and allowed us to enjoy a more stress free life…or have they?  Yes, television and a comfy sofa sound like a great way to relax, but I can assure you all that it is no substitute for sitting next to a serene waterhole, watching the setting Sun‘s rays dance across the water.  The colours that seep through the skeletal winter trees cannot be put in words and I struggle to believe that even Dulux could recreate some of them. 

Our current crop of budding new field guides was privy to experience such an evening last night.  After a gentle walk from the camp, stopping to discuss an old hyena den and tasting the moisture-rich roots of the aptly named ‘Mother-in-Law’s Tongue’ we stumbled across an oasis.  Stretching out before us was a small body of water with no road access and thus protected from our own destructive influences.  The golden light of an African evening filtered through the clouds, giving the whole scene a magical hue: the trees seemed to radiate the light and shine it back at us like something out of a fairy tale.  Learning about the fascinating organisms that inhabit this area is one thing, but there is no substitute for just sitting quietly and contemplating life in such an idyllic place.

The students found their own quiet corner to just sit.  We spend our whole life rushing from one thing to another, governed by time and the need to attribute meaning to everything.  We have forgotten how to truly relax and find ourselves.  This was the perfect opportunity and we all relished in the chance to be wrapped up in our thoughts about why we chose to come to such a place, just appreciating the beauty and wonder of nature in her purest form.  We sipped drinks in the warm evening air and listened to the wind rustle the leaves and last of the birds say their farewell to another perfect day in Africa.  The only movement came from little pond-skaters skimming across the glassy surface of the water and the occasional bumbles rising from its depths as the unseen aquatic world went around its business.  It was a perfect moment where time was irrelevant.

This is what the bush is all about, and the reason that so many of us come to the bush.  We are all looking for something.  Some find it in a bustling city full of social interaction and technological advances.  Others, like myself, and many of the students who pass through EcoTraining’s welcoming doors need only experience this solitude once and become addicted to this purity.  The ‘real’ world can be fun, but only in small doses.  The bush gets under your skin and for some, it will change their life, and their outlook on it, forever.

Blog post and photos by Ben Coley

Survival 101: What to do when you get lost in the bush

What do you do when things go wrong and you get lost while out in the bush? In a nutshell: Stop, stay calm and plan. Keep warm. Drink plenty of water and ration your food. Conserve your energy. 

Be determined to survive. Get help.

Actually there are a number of things, so let’s tackle this systematically.

The first and most important thing to do is to remain calm and THINK. Then make tea, tea and not coffee. Making tea requires a certain ceremony and if you can take your time and make tea, then you are in charge of the situation. Then take stock of your situation.  

The first option is to turn around and track yourself out of there. Your shoes have left marks on the trail; the tires of the vehicle have left two long lines behind the vehicle. The vehicle will not leave tracks on a tar road but if you are on a tar road then you are probably not lost.

If this still does not work then settle down and make a camp. Take out you little survival pack. What, don’t you have one? You should have packed it before the rest of your kit. Inside should be the following: a small bag or pouch with a lighter, some strong string, a knife and/or a machete; a small pot for cooking and boiling water; soap and a lightweight towel; water sterilizing tablets and coffee filters, to filter water not coffee; insect repellent; a proper first aid kit, not just a packet with first aid written on it.

The weather conditions will determine what type of protection you will need. Do a good job of keeping yourself warm and dry. Find and purify water or ration the water you have. Find fire-wood before it gets dark but use it sparingly. Have a pile of small sticks that you can throw on if there is a threat from animals. Feed the fire slowly, do not heap it up and then let it die down to almost nothing.

Stay near the vehicle if you are using one. The vehicle is easier to see than people on foot. You should have left a rout plan and return date with someone. Stick to the plan. Do not ever deviate from your plan. If you do not return by the set day then they will send people out to find you. You should know your equipment; know how to use it when it works properly as well as when it is not functioning properly. The boy scouts motto of “be prepared” says it all.

Look around you as you travel, look back at any junctions that you pass, see them from the return journey’s perspective. Learn to use your equipment properly and then practice regularly. Learn some skills and practice them regularly; learned skills are lighter to carry than a book. And very importantly – NEVER over-estimate your capabilities but be positive about what you can do.

Courtesy of EcoTraining instructor Mark Gunn - article written by Liryn de Jager

Chinese Whispers

EcoTraining is pioneering a new venture with partners in China to try and educate curious travellers in the delights of the natural world. We hope that by enlightening about 8 groups per year, hopefully some being potentially influential people, the knock-on effect may have a huge impact on the future of our once spacious and green planet.

The science of ‘conservation management’ is a fast growing discipline with new methods and ideas being tested continually. However, most of these ideas are reactive, trying to combat problems that are already rife.  To save our wilderness areas and their species, we need proactive measures.  The simplest of these measures is education, and more importantly, who is educated about the importance of the environment for our survival.   The root of our environmental crisis is the over-population of our fast-vanishing home. 

Asia is perceived by many to be the root of the population boom and thus a huge cause of habitat loss and over utilisation of natural resources as people use them to survive.  The continent itself holds two thirds of the world’s population!  A proactive measure therefore is to educate this vast population so that they understand what the relentless spread of Man is doing to our planet.  Using the bush as a natural catalyst to experience the wonders of the natural world will hopefully increase the chances of us all working together to save her.

The EcoTraining EcoQuest 7 day course is designed to immerse its participants in the wilderness and whilst time is limited, we try to cram in as much information as possible - concentrating specifically with reconnecting to nature, ecology and of course, conservation initiatives.  Activities are tailored around such topics as symbiotic relationships, ecological roles, poaching issues and survival, and the inter-relationships between all aspects of the ecosystem, especially our own.

The last Chinese EcoQuest students recently a week with EcoTraining at their Karongwe tented camp. What better classroom in the world?  Days were spent exploring the reserve and many great sightings were witnessed, including lions feeding on a giraffe kill and various encounters with white rhino.  Situations like these do not need much interpretation as the subject matters themselves speak volumes.  For many eastern visitors, rhino and lion are just words and pictures or are associated with medicinal resources. Transformation should take place as seeing is believing and nothing beats spending up close and personal time with these iconic beasts. 

Our focus is not only on giving them a taster of what may not be around for their children to experience, but also the essential roles they all play in maintaining the stability of this now fragile ecosystem. 

The best way to learn something and appreciate it fully to actively experience it, and this is where we exert much of our energy when educating people.  This last group’s senses were tantalized on a daily basis as they tasted the sweet leaves of the buffalo thorn, chewed the moisture rich roots of the aptly named mother in law’s tongue, sampled tea brewed from russet bushwillow samaras and attempted to make friction fires.  The latter exercise is always a favourite with young and old, and the addition of some children on the last course made for a moving experience as they delighted in their efforts.  Although we achieved smoke and a blackened baseplate, fire was not forthcoming despite the blisters on our hands! 

Making fire

The group exercise was enjoyed by all and their renewed fascination of how the bush can be sustainably used was incited further when Norman Chauke, a local Shangaan tracker and instructor, fashioned some traditional traps used by the tribes people to procure food in survival situations.  For demonstrative purposes rope was used but the group also learned about which trees and plants can provide fibrous material if nothing artificial is on hand.  Norman made perfectly clear that these traps should only be used when necessary: for a man to catch an antelope to feed his family is one thing, but the relentless capture of millions of animals to fuel an organisation’s financial gain, be it through nutritive demand or medicinal belief, is not condonable. 

Norman demonstrates how the snare works

Discussions also revolve around energy flows, symbiotic relations between them and other organisms but there is also time for reflection and tranquillity.  A favourite among many is to sleep out under the twinkling blanket of the night’s sky.  The world we live in is three dimensional and for people who spent their lives in a concrete jungle of office blocks, traffic, noise and pollution, many have never witnessed the infinite beauty of what lies above us all.  It is easy to lose yourself in the stars.  It is a time to let your imagination extend to the furthest reaches of the universe and to consider our insignificant role in eternity. 

Sleep out under the stars

Waking up to the beating heart of Africa as the cerise sun shows its face above the horizon is a primal experience and for many, can ignite the blue-touch paper of environmental awareness. We hope that by the end of this short exposure to the wonders of the natural world, the eyes of these ordinary people will open up to the extraordinary environment in which they live, one that they did not know existed.  We hope that when they return to their homeland, the experiences and knowledge gained will percolate through their social and business circles like a snowball rolling down a mountain. 

The whispers of a few can influence the many, and the whispers of many can influence the masses.  This has always been EcoTraining’s philosophy and with the current state of our fragile environment, we need all the buy-in that we can get.

Educational Game Drive

 Blog and photos by Ben Coley

Do a course that suits you best!

Mike Kirby has started off as a Professional Field Guide student earlier this year. Little did he know that he would end up working as a back-up guide at our camps during his Lodge placement programme. Mike shares some great insider tips to those who are not too sure about what course to book!

"Doing an EcoTraining short course, a 55 day FGASA Field Guide Level 1 course or even a one year Professional Field Guide course is, in my opinion, the best experience Southern Africa has to offer.

It caters for a complete African novice to guides who want to further their knowledge. EcoTraining has a course catered for you!

During my FGASA Level 1 training, you got to understand how the environment works around you, from mammals to arthropods to trees.  Your knowledge and general understanding of nature in Southern Africa and any other place will grow tremendously.

I would also highly recommend the 7 or 14 day Tracking course, held in one of the four wilderness camps in South Africa and Botswana.  I was astounded at how much this course taught me and how much I can apply the knowledge and read the ‘stories in the sand’.

If you only have a month to spare, then 28 day Trails Guide course is on the top of my list.  You will be ttaying in the remote wilderness camps of either Makuleke, Kruger National Park or Mashatu, Botswana. The art of guiding on foot is learnt, as well as accessing places that no vehicle or tourist has even seen.

All of the courses can be done without pursuing a career in guiding. You can look at it as an educational holiday in some of the best areas Africa has to offer.

Personal highlights during the One year PFG course was: 

•           The remoteness of all the camps
•          Walking with elephant and lion
•          Opening my eyes to the little things that are quite often overlooked

The more you know, the more you appreciate nature and are breath-taken by what is going on around you in any environment."

Blog written by Mike Kirby

Ollie Ballarano: My life as a back-up

Ollie Balarano is currently busy with his 6 month placement at the EcoTraining camp in Makuleke, Northern Kruger Park. Ollie summed his experience up in a few paragraphs. 

"It’s hard to put a life as a back-up into words.  I can spend hours talking about walking up to wild lions or speaking to elephants at a mere 5 meters away.  I can go on about keeping the guests and students save who passes through EcoTraining's Makuleke camp or to walk in the most stunning area I have ever experienced so far in my life.  I can go on and on about working alongside such knowledgeable and experienced experts of the bush.  I could even tell you of all the little things that you would never see on your average safari, such as a Water Monitor diving out of tree into a pan or a Chameleon shedding its skin, just to name a couple, but what I find most exciting of all is to watch people start their journey, and to see what becomes of them at the end.

Very recently, we had a group of three people come for a Tracking course.  Fortunately, I got to walk with them on their Tracking Assessment.  By the time they left after their two week course, they could identify most tracks they came across and followed them successfully.  One of the students have never set foot in South Africa before and he is now a good quality certified tracker with a skill set and a memory he will never ever forget.

Even more exciting was to watch a group of year long students do their Back-up Trails Guide assessment and doing well enough to be invited back as part of the Back-up family here at EcoTraining.  The two new additions arrived in camp a couple of days ago and I already know I have two new friends for life, with whom I share a connection and a passion with: Walking through nature and experiencing it on a level not many get to see. 

To have assisted with helping people experience this side of the world brings a lot of fulfillment for me.

This is all just a glimpse of what goes on in our lives here at EcoTraining and so I urge to all reading this to come along for a unique experience that you will never forget.  Come and see what the world is really about and where all of our roots come from."

Hard Graft

The bush is the greatest classroom there is.  Yes, theoretical knowledge is important, and trust me, there is a bucket-load on a FGASA Field Guide Level 1 course, but there is no substitute for time spent in the field.  In addition to EcoTraining's twice daily activities in game rich areas, the students are expected to get their hands dirty and help out with some reserve maintenance.  If it wasn’t for reserves and conservancies, we would not have the opportunity to offer these courses and perhaps tourists would not even have a chance to see these areas, such is man’s habit of developing land at all costs.  Despite there being a module dedicated to conservation management, what better way to give something back than by helping to keep the bush looking as pristine as possible.

Getting ready to blow off some steam

As an added bonus, the students get the chance to blow off a bit of steam and frustration after weeks of hard learning.  Where possible we try to clear over-hanging branches, fix erosion channels in roads and place bolsters and mitre drains, which are designed to funnel water off the road and reduce weathering effects.  There is nothing like a bit of hard labour to clear the cobwebs of mental over stimulation and without exception, students throw themselves into exercises like this with great gusto!   There is something very primal about welding a panga and both men and women attack the cause with equal enthusiasm!

Despite the fun and games, the students also learn about the perils of poor management.  Many of the reserves are old cattle farm, with soil that has been pillaged of nutrients by hundreds of head of hungry cattle.  The grass is destroyed, removing competition for the wooded plants, and thus dense thickets of pioneer species inhabitat large areas of the land.  Pioneers are designed to rehabilitate the soil by adding nutrients and sheltering the soil from weathering, but it does this at the detriment of species diversity.  Sometimes these thickets can become so thick that animals simply cannot penetrate them and the carrying capacity of the area (especially of grazing animals) is significantly reduced.  This is one of many challenges that face many private reserves in South Africa and they need all the help they can get.

Let the bush clearing begin

Hard at work

Something as simple as clearing roads of overhanging branches can make a huge difference to a guest experience; and since EcoTraining students are training as guides, it is imperative to understand that guest satisfaction is massively important.  Unfortunately, we live in a capitalist world whereby the only way to protect most wilderness areas, is to make them a viable commercial operation and make money.  Like it or not, no guests means no income for the reserve and soon there will be no reserve.  If guests are constantly bobbing and weaving more than a young Mohamed Ali, they will not return!  Simple little touches such as a comfortable ride without the perils of losing an eye to rogue thorn go a long way!

Blog post and photos by Ben Coley

The final hurdle

What does it mean to be a qualified field guide?  People come from all walks of like to attend this course and to enrich their understanding and personal experience of the bush.  I personally have trained people from probably 20 different nations and from age 18 right through to 70!  This is perhaps the greatest gift the bush has to offer: it doesn’t matter what your knowledge levels is, where you are from or how old you are, the bush has something for you.  Whether that be a holistic connection to your ancestors or something as simple as escapism shouldn’t matter.  The bush is the bush and how we interpret it is our own private experience.

The students on the latest FGASA level 1 course came from far and wild.  South Africans, Germans, Belgians, Portugese and even Sri Lankans came together to share their thirst for knowledge and passion for the bush.  The programme was as intense as ever and come the last 2 weeks of tests and the final assessment, stress levels were rising!  I’m not going to lie to any prospective student on such a course, it’s not easy.  It would be impossible for me to explain the sheer amount of knowledge that is expected of you in a relatively short space of time, but the bush gives back what you put in, and the more you learn, the more you begin to appreciate the myriad of subtle intricacies that often go overlooked on a day by day basis.

 The latest group of students worked and played hard.  There is no better classroom than the bush itself and twice daily activities certainly gave them great exposure to their new world.  The bush was being extremely kind this month and lions were seen regularly, 4 leopards, hyaena pups and even 2 aardvark sightings were just some of the highlights laid on for us by Mother Nature!  The students rewarded her generosity but knuckling down when the time came and we are delighted to report that they achieved a 100% pass mark in the FGASA theory exam!  All that remained was one final practical assessment:  a chance to show their assessor that they were able to take all of this new-found knowledge and package into a 3 hour drive designed to entertain and inform guests from all walks of life.

This exercise strikes fear into most but the hard work has been done.  The assessment is about sharing a genuine love of nature with like-minded people and putting your own personal stamp on the proceedings.  Anyone can read a guide book on safari but the true skill of a nature guide is to be able to involve and entertain and host guests, interpret behaviour and signs and most importantly, link every aspect of the natural world with another.  The bush is not made up of hundreds of individual organisms, it is an intricate network of symbiotic relationships honed by millennia of evolution!

Students excelled themselves and enjoyed a host of sightings during assessment week including daily giraffe encounters and a few white rhino along the way.  Markers were set with regard to interactivity on drives such as the tea made fresh from russet bushwillow (Combretum hereroense) seed pods, spinach from the leaves of the buffalo thorn (Ziziphus mucronata) and even a necklace made from impala dung!  Suffice to say that the students performed brilliantly across the board I am delighted to report that their high standards set in the theory aspects were upheld, with all passing their assessments with flying colours!  I can honestly say that the standard was hugely high and as an instructor, it is so satisfying to see a group of strangers coming so far in such a short period of time.  I joined EcoTraining to try and do my part to uphold the standards of the guiding industry and on the evidence of this group, the future of guiding in SA looks bright!  

Article and photos by Ben Coley

First impressions - a warm welcome indeed

The first drive for the new group of students was certainly one that they will remember.

Darkness enshrouded the road as our vehicles careful picked a path down the old 2-track.  After about 200m of meandering through some thick bush, we caught the first glimpse of eye shine in the long grass.  Necks craned to get a better look of what lay before us and it wasn’t long before the magnificence of a male lion came into view.  His belly was full as he lifted his head to watch our approach.  After a short time, he succumbed to his digestive task, panting heavily as he tried to deal with the extra 40-50kgs of meat now resting in his grossly distended stomach!  The students were overjoyed – and rightly so!  At only 4 and half, ‘Sub-Zero’ as he is known, is a hugely impressive specimen of lion.  Having grown up in a reserve with no competition, he has been able to focus all of his energy into growing, and it shows.  At this relatively tender age, he is already sporting a thick dark mane and must tip the scales at well over 200kgs.

As we tried to ascertain the origin of his bulging belly, a crack rang out through the still night.  Moments later, another; followed by an aggressive snarl that cut through the silence of the African bush. Lions on a kill!  We edged the land rovers around a thicket and on the other side found the rest of the pride feasting on a freshly killed zebra.  Such is the pecking order of lions, the male would have satiated his immense appetite before allowing the other members to eat their fill.  This they were doing with relish!  After a few minutes however, the male decided that there was still more space in his stomach and he waddled back to the kill to gorge himself further.

For the next 20minutes the students sat engrossed as ribs were cracked by powerful teeth and the scissoring motion of the powerful carnassial teeth cut away chunks of protein-rich flesh.  Thanks to the habituation levels of Karongwe’s pride, all this was happening a mere 10m from where we sat!  There was no need to discuss the behaviour being exhibited: nature’s brutality was there for all to see!  The only sound to accompany the gnashing of teeth and snarls as the choice cuts were argued over was the click of cameras as the students filled up memory cards trying ingrain the memory in digital format for eternity.

Time however is always against us and as the full moon cast its ethereal glow across the bushveld, dinner called and we began the trip home bathed in the soft moonlight.  Conversation boiled with memories of the scene just witnessed but the bush was not done with us yet!  As we rounded a corner, we were met with the sleek profile of a large female leopard in the road!  She watched us momentarily before melting away into an impenetrable thicket but not before we could positively identify that she was heavily pregnant!  In time we hope to bring you news of some new arrivals to the reserve!!  Finally we arrived back at camp – what a drive!!  And just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, we were treated to burger night! 

New recruits, welcome to Karongwe!!

Blog post and photos by Ben Coley

A long awaited encounter

The students waited a quite while before they had the privilege to view some of our most beautiful game. Jorge tells us more about their encounter:

“We woke up to a cold morning in the bush. It was 4am and after a quick tea and coffee we set off to the central game viewing area at Mashatu. We all snuggled under the blankets in the game drive vehicle and enjoyed a spectacular sunrise. We saw herds of impala, zebra and wildebeest along with a countless number guinea-fowls. Okwa, our instructor, focused his attention on the sightings mentioned over the radio.  Later that morning we parked the vehicle under a big tree and recharged our batteries with some cereal, coffee and tea and continued on our search for some big game.

Finally Okwa got wind of a leopard sighting not far from where we were. We arrived at the spot of the sighting to find two other game drive vehicles that beat us to the leopard. In the tree next to us, we found a stunning young female leopard. She was feeding on African wild cat. Suddenly she came down to get a half-eaten leg that she accidently dropped. It was such an intense moment. We had a leopard feeding right in front of us at barely 4 meters. She looked so relaxed while feeding that she paid almost no attention to us and the other two vehicles. Once she finished feeding she climbed back into the tree. We were so close to the leopard that we could hear her chewing her catch. We left the spot amazed and speechless.

As we left the sighting we got told that they found a lion sighting in another area. We have already been in Mashatu for almost month now, but apart from their roars at night and some tracks we did not have any luck with a lion sighting. Okwa said that he didn't know the area that well and we should not expect anything.

We managed to convince him to give it a try and to go and look for them. Our try was rewarded with a big pride of nine lions resting under a tree. For some of us it was the first time we saw lions in the wild. They were well fed and enjoyed a late morning nap. Some still had some blood from a kill and started grooming themselves. For the second time in less than one hour we were speechless and amazed with the beauty of two of Africa’s big cats. We set off back to camp and on our way back came across two hyenas and two secretary birds.

No doubt that this will be a day to remember. While we were driving back we also learned a very important lesson with regards to guiding: under promise and over deliver. Okwa knew that both the leopard and the lions would be there for a while, still he made us believe the opposite to lower our expectations and keep us thrilled during the entire wonderful day in Central Mashatu.”

Putting the students to the test!

The current crop of students recently completed their first practical observation test.  70 questions, most centering on identifying phenomena encountered in the bush, would prove a stern examination as to whether the previous 3 week’s information had sunk in.  The morning of the test was like any other but there was an air of unease within the camp.  Students were dotted around the camp, coffee in one hand, book in the other as they used these last vital moments to try to cement their new-found knowledge.  Wide eyes and furrowed brows seemed to be the order of the day.

For the next 6 hours, the students dredged their memory banks as Gerhard and I set them a number of questions related to what we found in the bush.  From tracks to trees, dung to bird calls, the students were subjected to all manner of questions.  Some rounds were tough, some were easier but all our budding guides performed admirably, and many surprised us with the level of detail that they had retained.  The practical observation test is a great way for the students to see how much they have learned but it is also when we find out whether our teaching has been successful!  The pressure is on for us all!  But I am very happy to report that everyone breached the 75% pass mark with many scores being in the 90’s!

This is the first of many practical tests that the students will experience during their quest for an EcoTraining qualification.  In the coming weeks they will have to tackle bird call and slide identification, snake slide ID, frog calls and a second, more challenging practical observation, not to mention a handful of written theory exams.  All of these skills will hopefully set them up well for their final test, the practical assessment, which awaits them in just 3 weeks’ time!

After 8 years guiding in the lodge industry, I have seen all manner of guides ply their trade in the bush.  Some have been good and some, not so.  For the guests that come on safari this may be their one and only chance to experience the majesty of this land, and it is a guide’s obligation to ensure that they have a life-altering journey.  EcoTraining is in the unique position to send out the next generation of field guides with the knowledge that we believe is essential to give a guest the best possible experience.  Make no mistake:  this course is tough, but the rewards one can reap from understanding the complexities and intricacies of the bush are priceless

Blog and photos by Ben Coley

THROUGH THE BUSH TELEGRAPH: Look before you leap – Selati

If there’s one guarantee in nature, it is that the unexpected is sure to happen, as sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. As this update from Christine Jutz from our wilderness camp in the Selati Game Reserve clearly indicates:

“Instructor Mark Gunn would always tell us that part of guiding and conservation is to clear the road of any overhanging branches, as this would prevent the creation of new roads and so disturbing the natural environment. So every once in a while, he would stop the vehicle and say “Tracker, take the panga and help me to get this branch.”

Then of course the following happened on one of the drives… Our ‘tracker’, fellow student JJ, jumped off his seat, grabbed the panga, and as he was walking to the sickle bush, everybody on the vehicle started yelling “Lion, lion!”

Less than five meters from JJ, two lionesses and a young male rose from the vegetation where they were sleeping before we attempted to clear the sickle bush.

JJ levitated back to the vehicle in a single bound, and the lesson was learnt: Look before you leap!”

NOTE: The picture is not of the lions in this story, it is however of the Selati lions. 

ECOTRAINING: PASSIONATE ABOUT CONSERVATION

From humble beginnings way back in 1993, when a handful of passionate individuals saw the opportunity to provide the tourism industry with qualified nature-guides, to the leader in this field today.

This is the story of EcoTraining.

For the past 20 years, thousands of people with a deep love for nature, an appreciation of all things wild and wonderful and a passion for conservation, have attended our courses in wilderness camps across Africa.  And armed with this knowledge, they have gone on to make a difference and spread the message of reconnecting with nature in a meaningful way.

Michael Clark, who trained with EcoTraining more than 10 years ago, is currently in Nepal, training up young Nepali naturalists. 

Says Michael:

“The variety of subjects is incredibly diverse and comprehensive, and the practical element provides you with experiences that are hard to put into words. Anyone who is serious about a career in eco-tourism or simply wants a sabbatical from work, the experiences you can have on a course can lead to a whole new way of life, and provide you with memories to truly cherish.”

Like Marc Lindsay Rea, who says he’s now living the dream, thanks in part to EcoTraining who has put him in a very privilege position indeed, as a fully qualified field guide leading people into the wilderness and onto memory-making adventures.

“I have such a thirst for acquiring knowledge about wildlife and nature from around the world and I am lucky to have the privilege to guide guests through these exciting places. I thank and appreciate everybody and every company that has put in many long hours to help get me to the position I am at now. Thank you!”

Yes, we are essentially a field guide training company, training guides for the industry. But with shorter courses and excursions on birding, tracking, photography and bush survival, and from anything between four and 28 days, we are also catering to the tourist with a conscience.

Today’s tourist is a thinking traveler who wants to have fun while gaining a better understanding of the natural world. And this is where a company like EcoTraining is stepping in and creating an experience with a difference.

Like Richard Schmid from Switzerland who was born in Mombasa and spent the first seven years of his life in Kenya. He went back to the country of his birth to take part in a 28 Day Field Guide course in the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.

For Richard there’s no other way to travel.

“I travel like this all the time, to go out and actually do something, on a course like this to be directly and actively involved in something. I now know so much more, my base of knowledge has broadened considerably and I’m not regretting it for one moment. We have an ecological responsibility and I think people are becoming more and more aware of it all the time.”

Through the years the EcoTraining qualification have become the trusted nature-guide training standard in the industry, giving people from all walks of life and from all over the globe the opportunity to become one with nature. We have trained all across the African continent and also in many other parts of the world.

And our wilderness camps in South Africa (Makuleke, Selati, Karongwe), Botswana (Mashatu) and Kenya (Lewa), is where it is all happening. It’s in these simple unfenced bush camps in the middle of these great wilderness areas participants truly get to experience what it is like to live in wild places. Under the guidance of experienced instructors, countless hours are spend walking or driving in the bush, and an understanding of our place in the natural world is cultivated.

Africa indeed just has its way with people. The continent’s wild and wonderful places lure people from all over the globe, to come and explore and then to return wherever they are from with vivid memories to last a life time.

You will get all this, and so much more, on an EcoTraining course.

But don’t just take our word for it. From the horse’s mouth, or in this case, Nick Baker, a former professional field guide course participant:

“The beauty of this 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… 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…  The bush does funny things to your head. It has got inside mine…”

Candice Wagener McGuire echoes these sentiments:

“I guide because I like sharing my passion with those around me, I love seeing how the bush inspires every single being. My day is made when I see how people brighten up when they spend their holiday in the bush, how the smallest things put a smile on their faces. When I guide, I feel like I’m making a small difference to keep Africa alive in everyone’s hearts.”

PROFESSIONAL FIELD GUIDE COURSE: Testimony that you’ll have the time of your life!

The time is NOW to make that jump into an adventure of epic proportions. EcoTraining’s professional field guide course will change your life and put you on a path sure to be more exciting than you can ever imagine.

The next one is about to start, in September, and for a limited period of time being offered at a special rate. Email enquiries@ecotraining.co.za and make sure that you are among the lucky ones!

Like Marc Lindsay Rea, who says he’s now living the dream, thanks in part to EcoTraining who has put him in a very privilege position indeed.

Here is his story, enjoy, and be prepared to book your place afterwards…

“When I was 11 my father went on a business trip to Phinda Private game reserve and returned home with a brochure of CC Africa. I was amazed by the images… From that day on I knew I wanted to work in the bush and become a ranger. 

So it was a natural choice for me to do a game ranging and lodge management diploma after school, which I passed with an overall distinction. During my diploma course I did two EcoTraining courses, at Selati and Makuleke. This was the first time I had actually spent a solid amount of time in the bush doing training. It was brilliant.

After my course and practical experiences at EcoTraining, I approached AndBeyond and passed their selection phase and relevant training and was offered a job at Madikwe Safari Lodge. Since starting my guiding career in early in 2006, I steadily climbed the ranks becoming a senior ranger, mentor, assistant head ranger and was then appointed as head ranger in October 2008.

For most of 2011 I spent my time working in Namibia at Sossusvlei Desert Lodge. I also spent time working in Botswana at Nxabega and Sandibe lodge in the Okavango delta for AndBeyond.

In 2012 whilst working as a ranger and a specialist guide at Phinda Game Reserve I was nominated by my peers to compete in the Safari Guide of the year 2012. I made it into the top eight rangers in the country and in the finals I won two out of the six categories we were all being assessed on.

I have completed my FGASA Level 3 and have also got my Level 2 trackers qualification. In addition I’ve got a full trails guide walking qualification with hundreds of hours of walking experience and dangerous game encounters on foot. This is one of my favourite ways of experiencing the bush and encourage all my guests to come tracking big game on foot with me.

After the competition Africa Direct noticed me and my skills in the bush and offered me a position to become a private, specialist guide in their company. I now get to travel all over Africa with my guests and am at the pinnacle of my guiding career.

I thank and appreciate everybody and every company that has put in many long hours to help get me to the position I am at now. Thank you!

In addition to the bush I have a massive passion for wildlife photography. I have been placed first and third in two international competitions: Africa Geographic / Canon Field Guides Competition and Wildside Nikon All Africa Competition respectively.

I have travelled to a large number of countries around the globe but nothing compares to the excitement of travelling Africa. I am very serious birder and am called a twitcher by many of my friends. Because of my love for birding I have explored the remotest parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia looking for all the special rarities.

In 2009 I founded a small non-profit organisation with the help of my work colleagues and some guests to support the Matetsi Community along the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe. We helped 150 people for 3 years supplying them with vegetable seeds, clothing, toiletries and fishing equipment to try make living a little easier over that difficult time in the country.

I have such a thirst for acquiring knowledge about wildlife and nature from around the world and I am lucky to have the privilege to guide guests through these exciting places.”

(Thanks for sharing Marc!)