TRACKING COURSE: WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY?

What is that, who made it, when was it here, what happened? And if you didn’t see it, does it mean it wasn’t really here, there or wherever?

Get a glimpse into ancient skills taught by local African experts and in the process have an unbelievable adventure when you book your place on one of the upcoming tracking courses. EcoTraining has joined forces with Alex van den Heever and his team of traditional Shangaan trackers (The Tracker Academy) for a unique experience. It is fun. It is hands on. It is life changing!

Dates: 10-16 April (7 Days, Mashatu, Botswana); 10-23 April (14 Days, Mashatu, Botswana); 5-11 May (Selati).

Sent an email to enquiries@ecotraining.co.za to book your place.

But don’t just take our word for it. Read what Candice Wagener McGuire wrote about her experience on an EcoTraining tracking course. If that doesn’t whet your appetite…

"Let's talk about tracking! No, I don't mean the kind of tracking when your vehicle gets stolen. I mean the traditional art of tracking - the way the hunter tracks for his food and the way how many people still do today. 

A week with some of the best people in this field really teaches you a lot of things. Lessons you never thought you'd learn - tracking is an art that takes years to perfect. You glance down at the ground, a big circle has been made and you notice the disturbances and 'marks' in this circle.

Each day you'd wake up early in the morning, have tea and coffee and then you hit the road... The rest of the week plays out in the same way - heading out to a new destination, stopping and looking at tracks and then moving again. Then coming back to camp to refuel, vehicle and humans alike! Then a few minutes of relaxation with a lecture thrown in before lunch. The afternoon arrives all too quickly and we hit the tracks again. 

Everything starts to become clear as you start to realize what's what and how to identify a track. The week continues and evaluation day arrives and the camp is in a frenzy...

The fun and games come when the assessor makes his circle around the track. Everyone takes a look and give their answers...

Which brings me to the question, what is Tracker's Knee? It's getting up close and personal with the ground to see the tracks more clearly: if you don't have it, then you weren't really putting all the extra effort in!

The sun starts to set, the last letter of the last question is formed and it's over. Everyone is happy, because we've done our very first tracking exam! Everyone's smiling, the trainers are proud and you walk away feeling like you've done your best. 

The tracking course week is over, each day leaves us enriched with even more knowledge of the bush and tracking, great respect for our trainers and traditional trackers all around was earned. It was indeed an amazing experience to have gone through and shared. 

So go on, sign up for a course in tracking, take a look at what the bush has to offer and get Trackers Knee!"

(Thank you Candice for sharing!)