Your safari guide..your day on Safari

Your safari guide is the person that you will be spending all your time with…therefore read these hints, thoughts, below about your guide.

All guides in Southern  Africa are very well trained, have to pass extensive theoretical tests, national guide exams, and some of the camps themselves have further in house extensive training  for the guides.

Further, there is even  further specialized training to enable a guide to do walking safaris, be around the larger predators, etc.

Therefore by the time you land at your camp, you have in your guide a well trained , educated individual who loves the bush, nature, and wildlife, and is committed tomtit.

The body of knowledge that these guides are truly amazing…at one camp in Botswana, I was on a   game drive, with a local  Botswana guide,  where we had motivated birders on the jeep with us..this guide knew all the pages in the bird book…he could spot a bird flying, then  name it, and then give the page number.….

 You will be spending a lot of time with your guide, so get to know him….generally your guide will keep on talking, educating you, showing you…its up to you as to how much you want to absorb.

The more interaction, questions, discussion, humor, etc, the more you will benefit from your safari stay.

Some people just want to see the large animals…and don’t care for information…

While every body wants to see the large predators, its not always easy to find them….there is lot more within the bush than the large predators, so do not see this  as a failed experience if you don’t see them all, or just part of the Big 5…this is nature you are experiencing, on a Safari…nature within its real form…nothing made for our experience….the wildlife move, and you never know what may happen.

Remember when we go on Safari, we carry with us the amusement entertainment factor….our culture trains us to be amused, entertained at will ie television, movies, dvd’s….and we demand and receive instant responses  ie ATM’s, fast food  etc

In the bush, this does not happen….therefore, be open to what appears, what happens….you live at a different  rhythm, in the bush, from the early morning wake up call, to driving around, relaxing around the camp, evening game drives, surrounded by nature, moving at its own pace, where it wants to, including your camp.

 On Safari, we do not have the power, the control, Nature does….thats the beauty of the wild….we learn our place, in this system….and thus we can appreciate our safari, even more…..

Personally, the best use of your safari time is to get involved…you can then see   a bigger picture of the African bush, will appreciate it more, and feel more part of it. which is, the reason you traveled all this way.

You may occasionally met a guide who is quieter….not very interactive…if you have questions, ask them,,its your safari trip.

Recently I was at a camp in Botswana…we were on a night drive..the game had moved to the outskirts, into the wilderness areas, beyond out driving range….we heard that there were lions further north, near  a  bush airstrip..we drove there to find nothing….so the guide took a different route back home..it was pitch black…the tracker sat on the front of the jeep, with a spot light, moving it from side to side to pick up nocturnal animals…

He glanced at the road, remember we were driving down a dirt road, it was dark, the only light form the spotlight and jeep headlights, it was bumpy, etc….he spotted fresh leopard tracks, and we tracked to find about 5 minutes later a  male leopard. we  stayed with it for about 30 minutes….that is amazing tracking

Point to be made…even when the game viewing is slim..you never know what will show up.

As well, please l remember that most of the Black guides, speak 2 or 4 languages, are not college trained, so you may not experience pure Scientific language, and their accent may be at times difficult to understand …but the level of love for the Bush,, the in depth knowledge , about the eco System you are in, that your Safari  guides have, will amaze you….they are non stop with educational information……

What you want to tip is up to you, but usually $10 and up a day for the guides, a little less for the tracker, is normal for tipping.

However, what you want to give will be appreciated. Most camps have a separate box for camp staff tips, as its traditional to tip your guide separately from the camp staff.

Clothing on safari………..follow this link from my site   http://www.go2southafrica.com/Clothes/