Wilderness Experience - Field Guide Level 1

During the 55 days Field Guide Level 1 course I stayed in Selati and Mashatu and experienced a whole new world for myself! In between jobs, I decided to do something completely different than my usual office work to clear off my head and boy – was that different!

In a small team of 9 students, we learned all about navigating, surviving in the African bush and understanding the environment that surrounded us. We spotted so many amazing animals on our game walks and drives like lions, elephants, hyena, rhinos and my personal highlight – an African fish eagle (somehow the variety of birds really got to me). I was amazed about how fast our small group grew together during the lectures we learned and our time in the bush. Also the support our guide gave us during the stay was very good as he was a patient teacher and you could tell that he was passionate about the African nature. Together we focused on the things our guide showed us and learned step by step to identify the sounds of different animals, got to know their tracks and followed them to find their creator.

At first I have to say that I was a little nervous during the nights, as I grew up in a city with traffic noise and sirens during the night so it was completely new (and unsettling) to me to listen to nature and wild animals while falling asleep. After a While I got used to it and actually enjoyed the peaceful sounds:) In the end it was a once in a lifetime experience and if I got the chance, I would totally do it again!