ONE YEAR KRUGER FIELD GUIDE TRAINING COURSE
KRUGER NATIONAL PARK SOUTH AFRICA

A one year course designed to produce high caliber professional Field Guides. This course would also suit those looking to gain the ultimate bush learning experience with the time to dedicate to their passion. You will have the opportunity to work with and learn from some of South Africa’s most experienced guides across a variety of sites that will give you experience of everything Africa has to offer.

	Location:	KRUGER NATIONAL PARK SOUTH AFRICA	Dates:	19 October 2009 - 14 September 2010
	Fees:	£8,495 - 52 weeks	Payment:	30% of course fee is required as a deposit at time of booking – the balance is due 8 weeks before departure
	Reference:	AA011	Special Offer:	£100 off course fee for 2009 bookings

General Information

This one year course offers the ultimate training experience in Field Guiding available. You will live in and work in the bush for a year to let you become part of the bush and gain all the experience you need to be a professional guide. Your training will be divided into two distinct parts. For the first half you will rotate around the three camps offering you constant stimulation to your learning. Between the three camps there is a huge variety of ecology, geology, wildlife and climate giving you all the experience you need to equip you for a successful guiding career. For the second half of the course you will work at a Safari Lodge as a trainee guide, allowing you to gain all the experience necessary for your FGASA certifications.

The course aims to equip you with the knowledge and practical skills that will form the bedrock of a successful and inspiring career. This however is only a small part of what the course has to offer, it is only by becoming truly immersed in the bush that a person can develop that feeling of being at home in the wild bush that is the trademark of all great guides.

Please note: we also offer a 28 day FGASA Courses for those looking for an experience of a professional guides training. Please click on the links below for further information:
Field Guide FGASA – 28 days

Qualifications that can be achieved during this course:

• Basic First Aid
• Field Guide FGASA Level 1 Theory (subject to 75% pass mark)
• Field Guide FGASA Level 1 Practical assessment (subject to passing the theory and being deemed competent on an assessment drive)
• SASSETA Competency Certificate – Rifle (qualification – rifle handling only)
• Advanced Rifle Handling (Basic, Intermediate/back-up, Advanced/Lead)
• FGASA Trails Guide Back-up
• FGASA Level 2 Theory
• Birding with Bruce Lawson
• Tracking Qualification - Level 1, 2 or 3 (optional)
• Wilderness Medicine - Level 1 and 2
• Guiding experience logged towards FGASA Level 2 practical assessment

In this One Year course, six months of theoretical and practical training with our highly qualified instructors in which you will complete various separate certificate courses should get you well prepared for 4 -5 months of actual nature guiding at lodges with guests.  Providing that you have passed your FGASA Level 1 Theory and Practical, we will place you at a lodges so that you can work with experienced guides to learn from them and to learn on the job so that at the end of the year course, you are potentially not only qualified but also experienced. By this time you will be a prime candidate and should be snapped up immediately by a lodge for a guiding job.

This on-the-job component will give you the practical experience and opportunity to use all of your theoretical skills acquired in the first phase of training as well as building up towards the logged time necessary to undertake the Level 2 Practical Assessment.

Course Structure

This is an abbreviated course structure. The full course syllabus will be sent to all participants in their pre-departure details.

• FGASA Field Guide 1 theory and Practical Assessment
• Rifle training; driving experience; frogging, lion on telemetry, elephant tracking
• FGASA Field Guide Level 2 Theory
• FGASA Trails Guide, Advanced Rifle Handling, View Potentially Dangerous Animals, Trails Guide Theory
• Tracking course
• Birding basics and Advanced Birding
• Wilderness Medicine: Level 1 and Level 2
• Encounters on foot
• Navigation and Orientation

Subjects covered

The Introduction to Guiding in the Natural Environment

Creating a Guided Nature Experience

• Briefing for guided experiences 
• Communication and Presentation Skills
• Orientation Skills
• Finding Food and Water in the Bush and Basic Bush and Survival Skills

Astronomy

• Introduction to the Southern Skies and Astronomical Phenomena
• Planets, Common Constellations and Prominent Stars
• The Moon, The Sun, Eclipses and Their Effects on the Tides

Geology

• Why the Study of Geology is Important for the Nature Guide

Basic Ecology

• The Definition of Ecology
• The Major Components of an Ecosystem
• Levels of Organisation in Ecology
• Food Chains
• Trophic Pyramid
• Symbiotic Relationships
• Predation and Competition

Weather and Climate

• The Main Causes of Weather
• Wind and Clouds
• Southern African Weather Patterns
• General Climate of Southern Africa

Botany and Grasses

• Nature and Classification of Plants
• Anatomy of a Tree
• Tree and Shrub Identification
• The Uses of Trees and Shrubs
• Grasses
• Ecology, Anatomy and Pollination of Grasses
• Veld Types
• Grazing and Ecological Status
• Plant Succession

Basic Taxonomy

Fish

• Definition
• Ecological Role
• Reproduction and Growth
• Feeding Behaviour
• Locomotion
• Senses
• Pigment and Colour
• Neutral Buoyancy
• Lateral Line System

Birds

• Identification
• Characteristics, Passerines and Non-Passerines
• Feeding and Nesting

Animal Behaviour

• Group Hierarchies
• Group Behaviour
• Animal Behaviour
• Communication
• Protective Behaviour
• Territories and Home Ranges

Biomes of Southern Africa

Arthropods

• Class Insecta  
• Class Arachnida
• Centipedes and Millipedes
• Amphibians
• Reptiles
• Characteristics and Orders
• Order Chelonia
• Order Squamata (lizards)
• Order Squamata (snakes)
• Order Crocodylia

Mammals

• Characteristics
• Foot Structure
• Digestive Systems
• Orders
• Statistics and Flagship Species

Conservation Management

• Fire
• Bush Encroachment and Alien Plant Control
• Erosion Control
• Road Maintenance
• Animal Population Control
• Water Provision

Transfrontier Parks and Biosphere Reserves

Historical Human Habitation

In addition to these subjects, attendees will aslo do:

• Introduction to Eco Tourism
• Planning of Game Drives and Walks
• Dealing with Guests
• Tracks and Tracking
• Approaching Dangerous Game Animals
• The Game Drive Vehicle
• Off-Road and 4x4 DrivingNight Drives

Philosophy

The aim of the course is to give the students that attend it everything they need to further their own interests and development, be that en route to a professional guiding career or purely to learn more about the bush that inspires them. The courses aim to foster not only the knowledge and skills essential to allowing the students to become excellent guides but also to show them something of the philosophy and approach that is an integral part of our interaction with the magnificent bush environment. The course aims to give the student a new outlook on the environment and perhaps even life. It is recognised that by inspiring the students that attend the course, they can go on to pass on their enthusiasm and attitudes to those they meet after returning home or to careers in the guiding industry.

Certification and Accreditation

This Field Guide Course is accredited by FGASA who have THETA accreditation so this means our courses adhere to THETA standards. 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.  For this course, we will assist you by registering you for FGASA, THETA and eventually DEAT.

Typical Itinerary

A typical daily programme at the camp follows a routine of rising early, usually before sunrise, enjoying hot coffee and biscuits while you listen to the bush waking up and then leaving the camp for an outing into the wilderness.

The outings are extremely flexible and determined by the unpredictability of what is found during the outing in combination with the subjects that have to be covered.  The outing could be a game drive following up on the roar of a lion heard during the night or a walk learning about the plant species occurring in the area.  It could be a walk following fresh elephant tracks, learning how to track the animal and finding it or it could be a game drive to a waterhole where animals come to drink.
  
Learners return to camp in the late morning for a hearty brunch which is followed by a lecture on the subject of the day.  Study and rest time is then followed by afternoon tea and another outing into the wilderness until sunset, if walking, or until well after dark if doing a game drive.

Afternoon outings could include night drives looking for nocturnal animals such as owls, bushbabies and leopards or it could be a walk looking for and learning how to identify interesting birds.  It could be time spent studying the night skies or it could be a time for learners to test their 4x4 driving skills.

It is then back to the camp for dinner, stories around the campfire, discussing the day’s experiences and wondering about tomorrow’s adventures.

The emphasis is on practical day-to-day experiences in the bush.  The daily outings are flexible and may focus on specific subjects such as animal tracks and tracking, birds, plant identification or animal behaviour, or may involve game viewing and learning about the ecosystem in general.

Please note: that it is very important that you have a valid driver’s license when you attend the course, as driving makes up a large component of the course.

Support

Support and advice is available from your Project Managers whilst on the project and from the UK Amanzi Travel Team.
Find out more about Amanzi Travel support.

Orientation

A comprehensive information pack will be sent upon booking and further advice and information will be provided via telephone and email before departure. A full orientation will be provided on arrival by the course coordinator.

Accommodation and Meals

The training programmes take place in South African bush camps that collectively have access to 66000 hectares of untamed and stunning African bush. Depending on which of the three camps you are at at the time you will have the opportunity to view and interact with buffalo, elephant, rhino, lion and leopard as well as a huge variety of antelope and bird life.

The accommodation camps are designed to allow you to get up close and personal with your environment. The camps are uncluttered and authentic game reserve camps. The camps are unfenced allowing the occasional nocturnal visitor. This means the sounds of the bush will literally be right outside your accommodation, it also provides a perfect opportunity to practice your tracking skills through and around the camp each morning.

River Side Camp

The River side Camp is situated on the banks of the Karongwe River in the 9 000 hectare (22 239 acre) Karongwe Game Reserve, to the south-west of the Kruger National Park.  Accommodation is in walk-in safari style tents with shared bathroom facilities.  This camp is a good place for viewing leopard, lion and cheetah as well as elephant and white rhino.

As the camp itself is unfenced, we often have four-legged guests in the camp.  Hyena make nightly patrols of the camp and are often seen by learners who choose to make one of the viewing decks their home for the duration of the course.  Elephant, cheetah and lion have also made appearances on occasion.

Kruger Park Concession Camp

The Kruger Park Camp is situated in the 24 000 hectare (59305 acres) Makuleke concession in the far northern and most remote part of the Kruger National Park.  Accommodation is in safari tents on wooden decks covered with thatch in the shade of nyala trees.  Each unit has a verandah overlooking the bush and an en-suite bathroom with a flush toilet, shower and basin.

Most of the animals that are found in the Kruger Park can be viewed in the concession.  Large herds of buffalo and elephant are not uncommon and the birding in this incredible part of the Kruger Park is unsurpassed. This camp is also unfenced in order to allow animals free movement in their natural environment.

Selati Camp

The Selati Camp is situated on the banks of the Selati River in the 33 000 hectare (81 545 acre) Selati Game Reserve to the west of the Kruger National Park.  Camp accommodation is simple and rustic in dome tents with shared bathroom facilities and there is a communal area where participants gather for meals and lectures every day.

Selati is a good place for viewing lion, white rhino and elephant.  General game is plentiful and you might even get to see the large herd of eland, as well as the rare sable antelope.

As is the case with our other two camps, the Selati camp is unfenced, and animals do on occasion wander through the camp.  Learners have woken up in the morning to find the tracks of elephant, leopard or lion around the camp.

Meals

Early morning wake-up     Tea, coffee, biscuits and fresh fruit
Brunch after activity       Cooked breakfast, cereals and fruit
Afternoon tea                 Light snacks
Dinner                           A balanced, warm plated meal (Meat, vegetables and salad)

Getting There

Flights should be arranged into either Nelspruit or Johannesburg (OR Tambo) Airport. From here we will arrange your transfers to the camp for registration and orientation days before embarking on the rest of your course. 

Project Fees

What is included

• Lectures
• Game drives, walks and activities as above
• Entry to Kruger Park (for Makuleke Courses)
• All FGASA registration, examination and moderation fees
• DEAT registration
• SASSETA
• Competency Certification
• Wilderness Medicine Course
• 3 x sets of uniforms (shirts and shorts)
• Course T-shirt, cap and beanie
• Pick up at OR Tambo International Airport on the first day the course starts
• Drop off at OR Tambo International Airport on the last day the course ends
• Transfers between the camps
• Accommodation
• Meals
• Tea & Coffee

What is excluded

• International and domestic flights including arrival and departure fees if applicable
• Travel insurance to cover your project (to include cover for repatriation)
• Tourist Visas
• Any accommodation before and after the course and during your time off periods of the course
• Personal items, clothes, travel goods etc
• Spending money – for drinks etc
• Laundry
• Beverages
• Transfers to and from the camps for weeks off – these will depend on where you wish to spend your time off. We can help arrange any necessary transfers for you.