The importance of Nature Guides

More and more overseas visitors to Africa arrive on our shores with an incredible knowledge of our wildlife, thanks to excellent wildlife and environmental TV documentaries being broadcast around the world daily.

Although self-drive safaris to places such as the Kruger National Park still occur, more and more of these sophisticated tourists, including locals, are arriving in private game reserves and exclusive concessions in national parks where they are taken on guided safaris with professional nature guides.

Guides with small groups of tourists under their care are in an enormously powerful position. With their knowledge and experience of the wilderness, they quickly have their guests eating out of their hands. What a respected guide says, goes.

This means that the guide has the potential to educate, inspire and change the lives of his or her guests in no small way. Not only can the guide teach guests about the wilderness around them, but he can also convey vitally important conservation messages which have a greater and deeper meaning in today’s modern world.

This places an enormous emphasis on the fact that our eco-tourism industry needs well-trained guides who understand the vitally important role that they play.

Lex Hes, EcoTraining Owner