FGASA Field Guide Course Archives

Transforming into a safari guide

BY: Sanette Jonker One of our Bushwise Professional Field Guide course students looks back on her experience and discusses the lessons that she will take forward in her new career. There were two weeks left for us on campus, a place that had become home. As the first good rains fell in the Lowveld and...

Unplug and unwind: why escaping to nature is the ideal way to reset in the new year

Some images in this article were taken pre-COVID-19. BY: Annie DuPre, FGASA NQF2 and Apprentice Trails Guide Sometimes, you have to unplug to recharge. The world around us is busier, noisier, and more stressful than ever before, and with the holidays in full swing, we can often feel overwhelmed. At Bushwise, students know how important...

December in the Lowveld: how the bush decorates for the holidays

BY: Annie DuPre, FGASA NQF2 and Apprentice Trails Guide In the northern hemisphere, the cold December weather arrives and brings snow, winter coats, and warm beverages. On the opposite side of the world, here in the Lowveld of South Africa, Bushwise students are donning shorts and sandals, and trying not to sweat through their clothes...

A week with lions and leopards

BY: David Miles Camp manager blogs are written by our current students who each get a chance to lead and manage a group (of their fellow students) for a period of one week. I enjoyed being camp manager during an eventful week! The week started with game drives and practical observation tests. We learned about...

Feeling alive on game drives

Some images in this article were taken pre-COVID-19. The wild has beckoned adventurers, explorers and nature enthusiasts for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The thrill of never knowing what lies around the next corner, under the next tree or behind the next bush entices us to always push further. Going...

A Bushwise trainer’s note to graduating students

Some images in this article were taken pre-COVID-19. BY: Francois Theron This blog was written by Francois, one of our trainers. Here, Francois shares his advice to the students as they near the end of their Bushwise course. As the end of the course approaches, with assessments and theory examinations now behind, the students can...

The million dollar guide: How soft skills make a big impression

The images in this article were taken pre-COVID-19. BY: Annie DuPre, FGASA NQF2 and Apprentice Trails Guide When you’re training to become a field guide, you spend weeks memorising information, repeating facts and observations about animals, and learning how to interpret animal behaviour. But what about the soft skills of guiding that make a field...

Nearing the end of the course

BY: Lorena Peter Camp manager blogs are written by our current students who each get a chance to lead and manage a group (of their fellow students) for a period of one week. “This is it!” I thought. We were in the final leg of our Bushwise journey, with only one week to go before...

Promoting and protecting: a field guide’s role in conservation

Photo by: Callum Evans BY: Annie DuPre, FGASA NQF2 and Back-up Trails Guide In honour of Wildlife Conservation Day on 4 December, we’re proud to highlight the role of field guides in conservation. The main responsibilities of a field guide are quite straightforward – they guide guests in the field, whether in grasslands, savannah, rainforests,...

Building a career after Bushwise

The images in this article were taken pre-COVID-19. BY: Tracey Bruton This blog was written by Tracey, a graduate of Bushwise. Here, Tracey shares her career journey as a field guide after completing a course with Bushwise. I was born in Makhanda, in the Eastern Cape in South Africa, and moved to Cape Town when...