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Untamed,
unfiltered,
and into the wild!
Bushwise
Primitive Trails Course - 6 days
Experience the raw magic of the African bush – on foot, off the grid, and in your element. Navigate a Big 5 reserve under the expert guidance of a senior trails guide to fully immerse yourself in the sights, smells and sounds of nature. Whether you’re looking for an unforgettable adventure or logging essential hours toward your trail guide certification, this short course is the perfect blend of grit and wonder.
DURATIONS: 6 DAYS / 5 NIGHTS
NEXT START DATE: 1 AUG 2026
FORMAT: IN-PERSON
ACCREDITATION: BUSHWISE
AGE: 18+
Experience the wild from a new perspective
Step into the African bush on foot with an expert trails guide, traversing a new corner of a pristine private game reserve each day.
You’ll learn to read tracks, interpret animal behaviour, and experience the thrill of tracking wildlife whenever the moment is right. You’ll build confidence moving safely and responsibly through a Big Five environment, with a deeper understanding of how the ecosystem works as a whole. As the landscape changes, so does your experience, with each day bringing new terrain, new tracks and new possibilities.
From the snort of an impala to vultures circling above, or a dung beetle crossing your path – every element tells a story. Keep your senses dialled in, and that story could lead you to elephants, lions and other iconic species.
As the sun begins to set at the end of each day, you’ll set up camp in a new, wild location – your home under the stars for the night. Since you’re constantly on the move, you’ll wake up to a different horizon every morning of your six-day trek.
This isn’t an ordinary trail experience; it’s a hands-on wilderness expedition where you’ll be part of the action. You’ll carry your own backpack with sleeping gear and food, help set up camp each afternoon, and take turns keeping watch under the vast African sky at night – an authentic experience of life on the trail.
Doing the Primitive Trails Course with Bushwise is your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to disconnect from the noise, step out of your comfort zone, and reconnect with nature like never before.
Why choose Bushwise?
Minimal impact
Respect for the environment sits at the core of the experience. You learn how to live in the wild without damaging it, from how you set up camp to how you move through the bush. Each site is left as it was found, with no signs you were ever there.
Experience that counts in your career
If you’re working towards becoming an advanced trails guide, the Primite Trails course goes beyond experience. The time spent on foot and the wildlife you encounter can be logged towards your Trails Guide certification.
Ethical guiding specialists
We’re aware of the harmful practices that still exist in parts of the industry, from crowding wildlife to restricting natural movement and causing unnecessary disturbance to vegetation. At Bushwise, training and fieldwork are carried out with a strong focus on respect for the environment, building the kind of responsible field practices that are essential in today’s conservation industry.
Award-winning trainers
The Bushwise team includes award-winning guides such as Nico Brits, a category winner at the Safari Guide of the Year competition in 2022. Our trainers are experts dedicated to continually expanding their knowledge and skills. Together, they bring over 150 years of combined experience across specialities like wildlife behaviour, conservation, rifle handling, botany, and more, making us a specialised and committed team.
Trusted for over 20 years
For more than two decades, Bushwise has been a trusted name in the wildlife, hospitality and conservation industries. Our long-standing commitment to quality education and industry partnerships means generations of wildlife professionals have launched successful careers with our support, making us a reliable foundation.
No.1 rated on TrustPilot
We’re proud to be the top-rated wildlife training provider on TrustPilot, with consistently high ratings across other review platforms like Google, Facebook, GoAbroad, and GoOverseas. Our graduates leave well-prepared, professional, and confident, and their reviews speak volumes about the quality of our training and support.
Qualifications
You can join this course for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, or as part of your path toward becoming a qualified trails guide.
Everyone who completes the course will receive a Bushwise Primitive Trails Certificate of Attendance.
If you are working towards trail guide qualifications, the hours and wildlife encounters you complete can be logged towards your certification. Depending on your experience, this may count towards either Foundation Trails Guide (Second Rifle) or Advanced Trails Guide (First Rifle).
Itinerary
Life on this Bushwise course. Here’s a closer look at how the primitive trail works:
Day 1
Arrive at Selati Game Reserve at 2 pm to meet your trail guide, do a quick check on all your equipment and prepare to head into the bush. Find your feet in the wild with the first short afternoon walk before setting up camp in the heart of the bush for your first night under the stars.
Day 2
Wake up in your tent as the sun rises, and enjoy a cup of coffee brewed over the open fire. Pack up and set off for your first full day on foot. You’ll walk through different parts of the reserve and learn how to read the landscape. Discover how animals use the area and what the signs around you mean. If you’re lucky, you might see an elephant, a giraffe or zebra along the way. After a break in the middle of the day, you continue walking until late afternoon, where you'll set up camp again and take part in night watch. This is your chance to completely take in the silence of the bush around you – something that most people will never experience in their lifetime.
Day 3
An early start takes you deeper into the reserve. With your pack on your back, you focus on tracks and signs and what they tell you about animal movement. If conditions allow, you may even follow fresh tracks of lions or leopard on foot. The pace is steady and focused, with a midday rest to enjoy your lunch and a cold drink in a scenic spot before continuing the walk. In the evening, you set up camp in a new spot and spend time around the fire reflecting on the day.
Day 4
The routine is now familiar, and you feel part of the natural rhythms of the bush. You pack up camp and head out for another full day on foot. You begin to connect what you see more easily, linking tracks, habitat and animal behaviour. As you move through the reserve, your confidence grows in how to read what’s happening around you. By late afternoon, you arrive at your next campsite and settle in for the night again. As you sit around the fire, share stories and tap into the immense knowledge of your guide.
Day 5
The final day is where it all clicks. You’ve changed from being just a viewer to an interpreter. With your tracking skills sharpened and your awareness dialled in, you’ll traverse the trails with new confidence. After a final, high-impact trek, you’ll stake out your last camp – the perfect place to reflect on a week that might have changed the way you see the world forever.
Day 6
Your final sunrise in the wild. After a cup of coffee, you pack up and begin the walk back to the main campus, taking in the bush one last time and reflecting on the incredible week behind you.
Welcome to your wild home
Instead of a campus, your home shifts each day. Set in different areas of Selati Game Reserve, you move through the landscape on foot, changing camp each night and experiencing different areas of the bush.
Selati Game Reserve is a vast protected wilderness in South Africa’s Limpopo province. Covering nearly 28,000 hectares, it is home to more than 50 mammal species, including elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and cheetah. These are the same species you may encounter while walking, along with plains game such as giraffe, zebra and antelope moving through open bush and thicker vegetation areas.
To help you prepare, you’ll join a pre-departure WhatsApp group before the course begins. You can meet fellow students, ask questions, and connect with the Bushwise team so you arrive with a sense of familiarity before stepping into the reserve.
| Life on the trail
Welcome to your wild home
Instead of a campus, your home shifts each day. Set in different areas of Selati Game Reserve, you move through the landscape on foot, changing camp each night and experiencing different areas of the bush.
Selati Game Reserve is a vast protected wilderness in South Africa’s Limpopo province. Covering nearly 28,000 hectares, it is home to more than 50 mammal species, including elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and cheetah. These are the same species you may encounter while walking, along with plains game such as giraffe, zebra and antelope moving through open bush and thicker vegetation areas.
To help you prepare, you’ll join a pre-departure WhatsApp group before the course begins. You can meet fellow students, ask questions, and connect with the Bushwise team so you arrive with a sense of familiarity before stepping into the reserve.
Dates & fees
Set start dates
6-day course | from £600
1 August 2026
2 June 2027
26 June 2027
31 July 2027
Payment plan
Plan 1
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Payment in full
Plan 2
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A deposit secures your booking
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First installment due 20 weeks before the course start date
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Final installment due 12 weeks before the course start date
Plan 3
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Custom deposit to secure your booking
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The balance is split into six installments leading up to the course start date
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What’s included
Learning resources
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Training conducted by experienced long-term staff
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Logged walking hours and encounters for trails guiding certification
Activities
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Overnight sleep-outs under the stars in a wildlife reserve
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Walking safaris and related activities
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Night watch rotations and camp duties
Support services
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Pre-departure support
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Location orientation
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24-hour in-country support
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24-hour emergency phone
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Emergency support from Bushwise on-site staff
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Daily briefing
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Final feedback session
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Access to our alumni program
What’s not included
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Flights
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Camping equipment
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Personal camping gear (sleeping mats, bags, etc)
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Cooking utensils and other cookware
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Water bladders (fresh water provided daily)
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All food and snacks
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Personal beverages
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Transfers to the campus on arrival and departure
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Medical and travel insurance
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Appropriate, neutral walking clothes
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Any other gear
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International and domestic airport taxes
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Additional drinks and gratuities
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Compulsory and recommended reference books
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Transport costs to the work placement
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Extra local excursions
Level up with IFGA Trails Guide Training
Already a qualified guide wanting trails certifications, or looking for a trails experience with the comfort of a permanent camp? Our IFGA Trails Guide Course, 27 days, could be a better fit.