Safari Guide Training began in Africa and was born from the African Safari industry. It was developed to teach nature guides working in the industry and taking tourists out in the field to a specific and high standard. A safari guide’s job is to interpret the bush/wilderness and its wildlife and ecosystems to the guest and providing the guest(s) with a well-rounded and interesting experience. In addition, it teaches the guide how to be respectful to the ecosystem and its wildlife, and perhaps, most importantly; how to be safe (safety is a big priority in the industry).
Training as a guide basically goes through a number of stages, beginning at the minimum required qualification, level 1. In Africa that is regulated by the Field Guide Association of Southern Africa (FGASA for short) and is known as the FGASA level 1 course. This is the minimum required qualification to work in some capacity in the safari industry; starting as a basic guide in a vehicle. FGASA qualifications go up to level 3 and then also branch out further into specialist fields as guides move up in the industry. The level 1 course is for anyone wishing to go into the industry and is designed to teach people from scratch.
The 28 day level 1 courses immediately get students in tune with the bush. The camps are in remote and wild locations with wildlife free to roam as it pleases and learning is done out in the bush via daily bush walks and also game drives that the students themselves have to carry out and learn how to do. It is because of the intimacy students get with the wilderness and those experiences that come with it, that these courses have become very popular as an educational experience and a trip of a lifetime. It beats any safari holiday hands down and nothing will ever come close to it.
In a very similar way, guiding is also carried out in the vast open and very diverse ecosystems of the Australian continent. Guides here do virtually the same job – just in a different and in equally stunning wilderness areas. Now Australia is embracing the ethics of guiding and raising their standards too with safari guide courses modelled almost identically on the proven South African system. This will provide guests on safari or outback adventures in Australia with a safer and more informative experience. Kakadu National Park lends itself naturally to being the classroom for this learning.
Whether you are seriously thinking of doing this as a career or just wishing to have a very unique, and believe us, incredible and unforgettable experience of a lifetime, then this is for you!
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