This blog was written by Sibusiso Ngwenya, a Bushwise Professional Field Guide student. Each student takes a turn as camp manager, and writing a blog is part of the experience.

3 min read

My name is Sibusiso Ngwenya from Mpumalanga, also known as the place of the rising sun. Born and raised in a village called Mahushu next to Kruger National Park, Numbi Gate. The love for nature has been among my biggest passions from my childhood days until today. Growing up next to the Kruger National Park, one of the biggest National Parks in the world has been a great inspiration and fuel to my love for nature. 

Over the years I have been searching for opportunities to be part of the nature industry with no luck until I came across the beautiful opportunity that Tourvest together with Bushwise presented to my community. I took the initiative like everyone else in my community to apply for the opportunity and we were all called to come for an interview, but luckily I was selected with few others. When I got a call that I have been selected, I was extremely happy knowing that my dream of being part of the nature industry will now become a reality. 

Since the first day I arrived at Bushwise, it has been an interesting and life-changing learning experience. Everyday there’s something new that I learn. Like any other place where people come together, there are minor challenges that I have also come across, but the joy and beautiful things so far have made sure those challenges do not have a huge impact in my life. 

Coming across people from different walks of life, cultures, races and more has also been a great blessing to me. It has helped me in understanding that we are all different in this world but it is important to put our differences aside and work together to achieve a common goal. This has been a good platform to sharpen most of our skills that the industry requires like communication, teamwork and more. Being a camp leader and group leader was also one of my biggest highlights for the course and my best experience so far, it was not easy but it was enjoyable. 

Over the months we had numerous beautiful sightings on our game drives and even on our campus. One of the best sightings was a day when we were having our tea break in the morning at Makalali Game Reserve and a big elephant came and walked in front of us, it was a scary yet interesting sighting because it did look at us. Our instructor told us to stand still and enjoy the moment, the elephant won’t attack and it happened exactly that way. I liked all the modules, I even failed to choose one. My driving skills have also been sharpened more and more together with my guiding skill. Snake handling, hospitality, 4×4 driving and wheel changing, first-aid and more that are essential in our guiding career. I’m also looking forward to the upcoming training and opportunities. 

Bushwise is one of the best training institutions ever. I have met a lot of amazing people. I’m looking forward to becoming one of the best field guides in the country and in the continent at large. One of the best lessons I have learned is that anything you want in this life is possible only if you put your mind and energy to it consistently. 

Explore Bushwise programs today and kickstart your journey into the world of nature conservation. Apply now!