Bushwise Guiding experience

By securing a place on the Bushwise Safari Guide Course I managed to fulfil what had been, in the dim and distant past of my school days, just an unrealistic dream - living on a game reserve studying the animals. I knew in advance that as a mature student I would not be eligible for the work experience placement, so determined to make the most of every opportunity throughout the course, ultimately I saw and learned so much more and had more fun and wonderful experiences than I could have imagined when I booked the course.
I was amazed on our first game drive not only how many animals we saw, but by how close they allowed us to approach, the evening concluding watching a pride of lions by spotlight just a few meters away slowly waking, playing and preparing for their night-time activities. The second game drive introduced the scary news that from that day onwards the students would always be the drivers and guides despite our very limited knowledge, certainly ensuring maximum attention was paid in lectures to learn as quickly as possible.
The weeks flew by and were fascinating, morning and evening game drives watching animal interactions, lectures covering all aspects of guiding as well as specialised mini-course such as tracking, first aid, photography and rifle shooting. Weeks off were filled with trips to Kruger on my own mini-safaris or simply staying on an almost deserted camp watching wildlife which was far more in evidence with the reduced numbers of people and noise.
Living in close confines with others for a long time can obviously prove challenging, but sharing that time and space with others sharing a passionate interest, everyone willingly helping, supporting and encouraging each other all working towards a common goal, truly is a wonderful experience and strengthens hope for the future of the earth’s endangered wildlife.