Safari guide jobs
Safari guide jobs
A safari guide job is right for you if you’re passionate about wildlife, you love learning about the natural world, you’re comfortable hosting and interacting with all kinds of people, and being outside makes you happy.
There are many different kinds of outdoors guides. In South Africa, the most common are fsafari guides (also called nature guides or field guides), adventure guides and culture guides. So what is a safari guide and what kinds of safari guide jobs are available? Let’s dive into the details.
What is a safari guide?
Safari guides are ambassadors of the natural world, serving as the first point of contact between tourists and wild spaces. They facilitate human-nature interaction by sharing their knowledge with guests on guided experiences. Safari guides host visitors to lodges and reserves on game drives, bush walks and other activities. They interpret the elements of nature and wildlife for their guests.
To successfully do their job, safari guides must be knowledgeable about ecosystems and the living and non-living things found there. They promote conservation while instilling an appreciation for nature, from the smallest insect to the largest mammal.
What does a safari guide do?
A safari guide job is first and foremost hosting visitors, but there are other responsibilities as well. They might assist park rangers or game rangers doing conservation work. They could also be responsible for administration at the lodge, handling reservations, guest requests and more. Safari guides in protected areas like Kruger National Park might have additional responsibilities including conservation or camp management. Safari guide duties depend largely on the particular lodge, reserve or park where the guide is based.
Entry-level safari guides will often shadow or assist senior safari guides until they’re ready to guide on their own. You must gain practical knowledge and skills before becoming a fully-fledged safari guide and moving from Nature Site Guide NQF2 to NQF4. The job is also very physically demanding and requires long hours; safari guides typically rotate working multiple weeks in a row with a week or two off between cycles.
Overall, safari guide jobs are extremely rewarding and exciting. Safari guides meet people from all over the world who are interested in wildlife and nature, and share their specialised knowledge with them. Safari guides see amazing animal interactions and observe interesting behaviour. While it may be challenging, it’s also fulfilling.
What kinds of safari guide jobs are there?
There are different types of safari guide jobs, depending mostly on qualifications and experience. Entry-level safari guides are currently known as CATHSSETA Nature Site Guides (NQF2).
As safari guides work and gain hours, animal encounters, and experience, they may take on additional responsibilities. The most common job titles are field guide, safari guide, nature guide, senior safari guide and head safari guide.
Bushwise provides recruitment services for all its students and alumni to find the best field guide job for them. Contact us directly to take advantage of the Bushwise recruitment service. You can also find advertisements for safari guide jobs on many job boards online or directly on lodge and reserve websites.
How do I become a safari guide?
The best way to train for a safari guide job is with a safari guide course, or CATHSSETA course, through a training provider like Bushwise. Bushwise offers CATHSSETA-accredited training through our IFGA Safari Guide Course 6/12 Months and IFGA Safari Guide Short Course 2 Months. Through this in-person and campus-based course, you’ll gain the knowledge and skills you need to excel in this industry.
Through this course you can get all the certifications you need to qualify for safari guide jobs, including:
CATHSSETA Nature Guiding, NQF2 certificate
Basic Wilderness First Aid – US ID: 119567: Perform Basic Life Support and First Aid Procedures
SASSETA Firearm Proficiency certificate, including:
knowledge of the firearm control act, unit standard: 117705
handle and use of manually operated rifle or carbine, unit standard: 119651handle and use of manually operated rifle or carbine for business purpose, unit standard: 123519.
Cybertracker Track and Sign and Trailing qualification (CATHSSETA)
Terianne
from the UK, joined Bushwise in 2010. After finishing she went back to the UK and worked for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Tess
finished with Bushwise in 2011 and went home to Australia to work in bush regeneration in wild habitats.
Sophie
who is from Switzerland, joined Bushwise in 2011. She volunteered at a reserve in Botswana and then worked as conservation manager in Nepal.
Daniel
from the UK ran his own photography company and managed a wildlife concession in Botswana after Bushwise in 2013.
Francesca
is from the UK. After Bushwise, she worked on a research project with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Anna-Marie
graduated from Bushwise in 2013 and went back to Australia to work on wildlife documentaries and at a travel company back home.
Michael
returned to the UK in 2016 to finish his degree in Environmental Management, and went on to manage a lodge in Botswana.
Nathan
joined Bushwise from the UK in 2017, afterwards he went on to conduct elephant research in Malawi.
Ellie
graduated in 2018 and returned to the USA to work in wildlife rescue.