Safari Guide and Game Ranger Training Programs

Who are we?

We started in 1993 with a mission to raise the standard of guiding in Africa. EcoTraining is the oldest field guide training company in Africa. We were one of the first companies to conduct formal training programs for nature guides. For more than a decade, we have been sending people of all ages into the African wilderness to learn about the environment in exciting, in-depth and sensitive ways and to find out what it really takes to become a game ranger or a field guide.

EcoTraining is owned by Lex Hes and Anton Lategan, two highly-experienced guides who are responsible for the design of the course programs. Lex is one of southern Africa's top professional nature guides and is also a successful wildlife photographer and author with five books and numerous other publications to his credit. Anton has worked as a guide in some of southern Africa's top game lodges and traveled widely throughout southern Africa, visiting most of the remote wilderness areas in the region. Our courses provide participants with an exciting never-to-be-forgotten learning adventure. Our instructors have years of experience guiding tourists around Africa, and now they are giving something back to the wilderness that they love by sharing their knowledge, experience and wisdom with students who attend our courses. In addition, a cook and an assistant keep the students fed and the camp clean, so allowing students to focus on the learning experience.

Lex Hes - Co-owner of EcoTraining A naturalist and wildlife photographer, Lex has been involved in the world of wildlife for the past 25 years. Previously a guide at the world-famous Londolozi Game Reserve, Lex is now a popular freelance nature guide who imparts his wealth of knowledge of Africa's ecosystems in an easygoing and friendly manner. He is an author and nature photographer with five books to his credit including the highly acclaimed Leopards of Londolozi. Lex produces The Lex Hes designer range of outdoor clothing, symbolising his passion for nature and the bush. Due to the demands for his freelance nature guiding, Lex is mostly kept busy guiding tourists in Botswana and therefore is not able to spend much time at the camps.
Anton Lategan - Co-owner of EcoTraining Anton has worked as a guide in some of southern Africa's top game lodges and has travelled widely through southern Africa, visiting most of the remote wilderness areas in the region. Anton is involved in all aspects of managing EcoTraining, spending most of his time networking within and beyond South Africa. Anton is able to visit the camps occasionally to meet students and see how the course is going.
Bruce Lawson - EcoTraining Instructor Bruce is a passionate naturalist who has spent the last 15 years guiding in remote wilderness areas in many of Africa’s Big Game Reserves. Bruce is equally at home leading walking safaris as he is leading specialist birding tours. With a soft spot for elephants, Bruce devoted 2 years to leading ‘elephant’ walking safaris in the Caprivi National Park in Namibia, for people who wanted to experience elephants in large numbers, uninhibited by international boundaries. Bruce is at present a director of FGASA and vice chair person of the FGASA executive committee. He is one of only a handful of qualified SKS (Special Knowledge and Skills) Dangerous Game Guides and a National SKS Birding Guide. Bruce is an Advanced Rifle Handling Instructor Trainer for FGASA and is also a THETA accredited National Assessor.
Sean Patrick - EcoTraining Instructor Sean Pattrick has spent the last ten years living, working and traveling in deserts, deltas and the African bush. He is equally at home hanging from a helicopter photographing elephant and rhino captures or collaborating with magazine journalists over editorial photographic submissions as he is tracking the big five for guided safaris. S ean has guided at and also managed some top African lodges. His photographs and articles have been published in numerous magazines locally and abroad. Sean spent a year's apprenticeship to gain his PH licence. He has a FGASA level 3 qualification as well as advanced rifle handling and is a Theta accredited assessor. Sean's specific areas of interest include photography, tracking and birding.
Megan Emmett - EcoTraining Instructor Megan Emmett is a Nature Conservation graduate (Saasveld - SW Cape) who has subsequently spent most of her time in wildlife fields varying from documentaries and editorial submissions to field guiding and training. She has worked on game reserves throughout South Africa. Megan has a keen interest in birding and ecological functioning. She has an academic inclination and enjoys research and writing. She has been published numerous times especially in South Africa's 'Africa Geographic' Magazine. Megan is a level 3 guide, has advanced rifle training and is a Theta accredited assessor.
Rob Francis - EcoTraining Instructor Rob studied a Nature Conservation Diploma at Technicon Namibia. He has spent most of his past 18 years in the bush - guiding, training and managing camps. Rob has worked in the Lowveld, the Eastern Cape, Madikwe, Namibia, the southern Cape and Botswana. His interests are diverse, focusing more on entire ecosystems than on any one aspect of nature. Outside of guiding Rob enjoys fishing and canoeing.

Why choose EcoTraining?

	Why should you choose EcoTraining over and above all the other game ranger/guide training courses being offered? EcoTraining has been in the business of training guides since 1993. We were one of the first organizations to conduct these formal training programs. We have been around for a long time and we plan to be around for some time to come still. EcoTraining conducts their courses in great wilderness areas including one of the greatest national parks in the world, the Kruger National Park. Our students spend their entire course living in the middle of the African wilderness, with wild animals potentially right outside their tents. We do not conduct our courses in air-conditioned lecture rooms in urban areas and then take you on "field trips". The entire course is a "field trip". We don't just have "access" to wilderness areas, we actually live in the wilderness areas.
	Our camps are unfenced and mostly canvas, so you are in touch with the wilderness all the time. EcoTraining is owned and managed by two people with a passion for wilderness. Anton Lategan and Lex Hes have both spent most of their lives visiting and living in wilderness areas. They believe passionately in the need for students to come away from their stay with us with an amazing, exciting learning adventure under their belts together with a better understanding of the way wilderness areas work. EcoTraining is a company dedicated to training. We do nothing else, so we stay focused on making sure that our training programs are of the highest standards. EcoTraining's instructors have been around for a long time. Apart from other factors, we select our instructors based on the number of years of experience that they have had in the guiding industry.
	EcoTraining has been involved in community training with the Africa Foundation and the Makuleke Community, ensuring that local people living on the borders of our national parks gain access to training which will ultimately provide them with job opportunities. EcoTraining has conducted training programs for top tourism operators such as Wilderness Safaris, Tanzania Wildlife Safaris, KZN Wildlife, Heritage Group and various privately-owned game lodges in southern Africa. EcoTraining's course was the subject of a popular 13-part reality TV series called "Safari School" broadcast on Animal Planet.  EcoTraining limits the number of students on each course to a total maximum of 20, with a maximum of 10 students for each instructor. This ensures that the students get personal attention at all times.

Where we hold our courses

The advantage of our courses is that we conduct them in the middle of magnificent wilderness areas where students are given the opportunity to find out what it is really like to live in the African wilderness in the midst of wild animals and far-removed from the trappings of modern society.

Kruger National Park Camp Kruger National Park Camp is in the 23 000ha Makuleke concession in the northernmost part of the Kruger Park between the Limpopo and Luvuvhu Rivers. This is a true wilderness, steeped in history and situated in the remotest part of Kruger in one of the most biologically diverse areas. Scenery ranges from the beautiful, quietly-flowing Luvuvhu River shaded by Nyala trees and fever tree forests and teeming with hippos and crocodiles; to the awesome Lanner Gorge, palm-fringed wetlands and rocky outcrops with thousand-year-old baobab trees. All the wildlife that one would expect to see in a great national park such as Kruger is present: plains game such as zebra, kudu and impala, prides of lions, a high density of leopards, herds of elephant, both rhinoceros species and African buffalo, nyala antelope in abundance and also seldom-seen animals such as eland, suni and bushpig. There is abundant birdlife. This part of Kruger is known to be one of the best birding places in the park and is home to rarely-seen species such as Pel's fishing owl, wattle-eyed flycatcher and greyheaded parrot. Students are accommodated in comfortable, thatched, tented rooms placed on wooden decks in the shade of large nyala trees. Each room has an en-suite bathroom consisting of a shower, washbasin and flush toilet and also has a verandah overlooking the surrounding bush.

Selati Camp Selati Camp is a simple camp situated on the bank of the Selati River in the 33 000ha privately-owned Selati Game Reserve to the west of Phalaborwa in Limpopo Province. The reserve has a variety of habitats including thornveld, open plains, riverine woodland and magnificent granite hills. A wide range of animals lives here, including lions, elephants, rhinoceros and leopard as well as plains game such as eland, sable antelope, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, waterbuck, kudu, impala and baboons and monkeys. The camp consists of simple dome tents, shared bathroom facilities and a communal area overlooking the Selati River. Students bring their own bedding and sleep on mattresses on the floor of the tents.

Karongwe Camp Karongwe Camp is situated on the bank of the Karongwe River in the 9000 ha Karongwe Game Reserve, south-west of Phalaborwa in Limpopo Province. The reserve has beautiful riverine systems, rocky outcrops and savannah bushveld habitats and is home to a variety of game including lion, leopard, white rhinoceros, cheetah, elephant and plains game typical of African wildlife habitats. Students are accommodated in walk-in Meru tents with shared bathroom facilities. Students sleep on beds and bedding is supplied. A feature of the camp is the thatched sleep-out deck which provides the most intimate experience with the African bush while on course - close proximity to the enthralling sounds of the night life.

Level 1 Professional Safari Guide Course

This is our well-known comprehensive FSafari Guide training aimed at those wishing to follow a career in ecotourism as a safari guide or for those people passionate about nature who would like a more in-depth experience and understanding of it. Developed in 1993 and the first of its kind in the safari industry, it is recognized by leading safari game lodges and is endorsed by FGASA.

If you are not aiming for a career as a Safari Guide, but would like to learn about it for your own personal growth, the knowledge you gain will stimulate your safari and bush holidays and give them a whole new meaning for you.

28 days of living and learning in nature at our wilderness camps provides you with the practical and theoretical knowledge of the natural environment. Upon completion of the course, you will be capable of conducting game drives and interpreting the natural environment around you.

Our Safari Guide course consists of walks; one or two-daily lectures in our bush classrooms; game drives, as well as sleep-outs in the bush. Every minute of the day and night on this course is a learning experience, being constantly exposed to the bush. Our highly experienced instructors provide unique access to their vast knowledge and insight, making every lecture an inspiring experience.

Subjects covered in this course include Welcome and Introduction

The game drive vehicle
Ecotourism and Guiding
Spotlighting
Field guiding as a profession
Basic 4x4 driving
Attributes, skills and duties of a field guide
Planning of game drives and walks
Bush navigation and orientation
Radio procedures
Ecology
Reptiles
Geology
Amphibians
Soils
Sensitivity
Weather
Anticipating animal behavior
Plant communities
Career opportunities
Plant identification and uses
Identification and ecology of invertebrates
Grasses
Bush habitat management principles
Presentation skills
Creating photographic opportunities for guests
Animal tracks and tracking
Communication and facilitation skills
Bird identification and behavior
Dealing with guests
Animal behavior
Sustainable development and the wise use of natural resources
Approaching dangerous game
Ecotourism and local communities
Setting up a bush camp
Taxonomy
Sleep out in the bush
Working in the industry
Bush skills and survival
Testing and evaluations
Dangerous game / Basic rifle handling
Using binoculars

The course is endorsed by FGASA who have THETA accreditation. FGASA is the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa and THETA is the Tourism and Hospitality and Sport Education Training Authority of the South African government. These are the two bodies responsible for regulating standards within the guide training industry in southern Africa

1. SAQA Unit Standards
Nature Site Guide (NQF2)
8440 (TG08) Conduct a guided nature experience in a limited geographic area.
8478 (TG01) Create a guided experience for customers.
8456 (TG11) Conduct a limited guided nature experience

2. FGASA Qualifications

 DATES AND COSTS (QUOTED IN SOUTH AFRICAN RANDS)

Level 2 professional Field Guide Course

EcoQuest (Nature Quest)

This course, currently titled Nature Quest and is being changed to EcoQuest, is a fascinating nature programme for those people who want to obtain in-depth knowledge of the amazing variety of living organisms that exist in nature around us. In addition to learning about the behaviour and identification of many of the myriad insects, spiders, scorpions, other small creatures and birds in our ecosystems, we also learn about the underlying elements that support this amazing variety of life such as the geology, soils, plants and climate.

While we study how these smaller organisms interact with one another and their environment, we have the opportunity to learn identification and behaviour of the larger wild animals that roam our wilderness areas.  All the big predators such as lion, leopard, cheetah and spotted hyaena occur in our game reserve and they prey on the variety of plains game species such as kudu, impala, duiker, nyala, wildebeest, giraffe, zebra and warthog.  Spending 8 hours out in the bushveld every day provides countless opportunities to study the various animal tracks so that we can track and find the game on foot or by vehicle!

Safari Guide Experience

The Safari Guide Experience, based on our very successful professional Field (Safari) Guide Training programme, is for those people who would like to experience safari guide training, without obtaining the accreditation for a career.

We show you how to drive a 4x4 vehicle, to identify birds, plants, trees, tracks and how to track animals.  We teach you basic bush survival skills and how to navigate and orientate yourself in the bush.  We show you what it is like to approach dangerous game on foot and how you should handle these situations.  We teach you how to use binoculars properly and how to position a vehicle for photography.  Many previous participants on this course have loved it so much that they have gone on to do our professional Field Guide qualification!

Game Ranger Experience

The Game Ranger Experience is for those people who want to learn some of the principles of managing wildlife areas for conservation and preservation of the ecosystems.  Game Rangers are the custodians of our wildlife areas and are responsible for ensuring that our game and nature reserves are managed in a sustainable manner.  Tasks that they have to perform include evaluating and monitoring all aspects of the ecosystem and then applying management principles to ensure that the ecosystem is kept in balance.  These tasks include erecting and maintaining of fences and roads, the supply of water, counting, harvesting, capturing and moving animals, habitat management including the use of fire and measuring of veld condition and the maintenance of camps and vehicles. 

Our Game Ranger Experience will give participants a taste of what it is like to be a game ranger and will focus on some of the more interesting aspects of the job including the counting and monitoring of animals, the maintenance of fences, the supply of water, and how to measure the physical condition of animals.

Wildlife Photography

Venue: Galago Camp and another venue in the Limpopo province to be advised.

This course is not held at one of EcoTraining’s three camps. It will take place at Galago Camp in Djuma Game Reserve which is part of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. Galago Camp is a self catering safari camp offering families or small groups the use of the entire camp with total exclusivity. Accommodation is in five colonial-style en-suite bedrooms with air conditioning and ceiling fans.

1. • Camera and lenses (and any other camera accessories you may wish to use)
2. • Camera manual (Very Important!)
3. • Film for film cameras
4. • Flash if you have one
5. • Tripod if you have one
6. • Beanbag if you have one
7. • Card reader for your digital camera’s card if you have one
8. • Warm clothes for cool winter evenings on an open vehicle
9. • Cooler wear for hot summer days
10. • Hat & sun cream (all year)
11. • Binoculars if you have
12. • Malaria prophylaxis

Djuma Game Reserve is the northern part of the world famous Sabi Sand Wildtuin (Game Reserve). There are no game fences between it and the vast ecosystem that is the Kruger National Park (2 million Hectares/ 5 million Acres) where African wildlife reigns supreme and man is a temporary visitor. The Lowveld is the region between the Drakensberg Mountains and the Mozambique coast. For detailed maps of The Sabi Sand Wildtuin and Djuma Game Reserve please log onto www.djuma.co.za.

Lawson’s Birding in the Bush

1. o We will provide a variety of drinks, which can be purchased via an honesty system during the course and are to be paid in cash at the conclusion of the course.
2. o Entrance Fee to the Kruger, is R33 for the duration of the course, but you must indicate you are attending a Training Course in the Makuleke concession, when entering Kruger National Park. However, if you have a wild card, then no entrance fee applies.

Animal Tracks and Tracking 

This course is tailor-made according to a request for a group booking.  We partner with renowned tracking specialist and expert, Adrian Louw, to provide an in-depth animal tracks and tracking course at our Wilderness camps.  The standard of this course can only be one of excellence as Adrian is one of the most highly qualified trackers in South Africa.  Since we operate from private game reserves and a concession in the Kruger Park, we are not restricted to certain daylight hours of game drives.  If you should come across exciting tracks or game at twilight, the group could continue tracking and following game late into the night.  This sets EcoTraining’s courses apart from most safari excursions.

COURSE DATES 2007

COURSE DATES 2008

Frequently Asked Questions

With the large number of ranger/guide training organizations that have popped up in recent years, it can be very confusing trying to decide which guide training course to do. Here follows a list of questions that you should ask when you make your enquiries. The way that these questions are answered will help you decide.

1. How long has the training business been in business?
Over the years that EcoTraining has been in business, we have seen many training companies come and go. Make sure that the company that you are dealing with has been around for a few years. You don't want to book your course with someone who may not be around when it is time for your course to start!

2. Is the course accredited with FGASA and/or THETA?
FGASA is the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa and THETA is the Tourism and Hospitality Sector Education Training Authority of the South African government. These are the two bodies responsible for regulating standards within the guide training industry in southern Africa. If the organization isn't accredited by one or the other, be careful.

3. Are the trainers accredited by FGASA and/or THETA and do they have experience?
Make sure that the people who are conducting the training on the ground are accredited by FGASA or Theta. Also, find out how long the trainers themselves have been involved in guiding. We believe that trainers should have a minimum of 5 years experience as a working guide.

4. Which company is actually doing the training?
Many of the web-sites that you come across belong to travel companies or tour operators who are marketing guide training courses amongst a host of other products. These companies do not necessarily run the courses themselves, but are merely getting commissions from companies that do. Before making a booking, find out exactly who will be conducting the course. In addition, certain courses are conducted by game lodges or reserves simply to fill up capacity when their lodge guest numbers are low.

5. What is the instructor/student ratio and what is the maximum number of students on each course?
There should not be more than 10 students for each instructor, and you do not want to be in a camp with more than 20 students.

6. What training experience does the organization have?
An organization that has previously done training for recognized institutions and organizations is more likely to give you a good learning experience.

7. Where is the training conducted?
Make sure that the training isn't mainly conducted in classroom situations. The best learning experiences are gained by living in the wilderness for the duration of the program. In addition consider whether the "bush excursions" conducted are in a separate location from the camp and whether their activities or traversing are therefore limited, i.e. they may not be able to conduct night drives, they may be restricted to the formal roads, they might not be able to conduct extensive bush walks.

8. How long is the course?
If you are serious about learning about guiding, not much can be taught in a period of less than a week. In addition, you should consider a course where you get the opportunity to really experience a period of extended living in the bush.

9. What subject matter is covered?
Find out if the subject matter that is being covered on the course is related to your interests, relevant to your future employment prospects and taught those who truly understand it.

African Safari Consultants
1042 Willow Creek Road # A101 - 240
Prescott, AZ 86301

   Tel. (928) 717 - 8275     Fax (928) 717 - 9754