“THE ONLY WAY TO GET TO KNOW THE BUSH, IS TO LEAVE YOUR FOOTPRINTS THERE”
Trails Guide Course
This four-week course is designed for those who want to specialise in leading walking trails, as opposed to vehicle-bound activities. The emphasis is on the practical aspects of safety, approaching potentially dangerous animals on foot, advanced firearm handling and tracking. Your wilderness survival skills are also honed.
In this course you will complete 50 hours finding and understanding approaching and dealing with large game safely and ethically as well as an additional 10 hours of mentoring to hone your skills herein. This is an in depth and extremely rewarding course, designed to immerse you in the bush, at ground level.
There is nothing quite like seeing a rhino on foot or walking along an elephant path where your footprints lie next to that of lion, hippo, elephant and leopard.
What is included?
Accommodation and amenities (excluding snacks for on the walks but with regular trips into town you can stock up on these as the course progresses).
FGASA and ARH costs.
Who can do it?
Anyone! However to be able to receive a qualification from FGASA you must be older than 18 and have completed NQF 2 (Nature Site Guide).
Participation is open to anyone interested in the natural environment. If you already have a FGASA qualification – NQF2, NQF4 or Specialist Field Guide, AND Advanced Rifle Handling – you can attain the Apprentice Trails Guide, which will be assessed during the course. If you are already a Specialist Field Guide and Tracker 3, you will get the opportunity to prepare yourself for SKS (DG). People who hold no FGASA qualifications and do not wish to get employment as guides can also participate, but will not be able to get a FGASA Trails Guide qualification.
The course is physically demanding, and a reasonable fitness level is required.
How does it work?
The course is run over four weeks. It can be done as a complete Trails Guide course, if you do the Advanced Rifle Handling as well; this you will have to do prior to the start of the course You can do the ARH with Bob Nixon, 0833070837.
View Potentially Dangerous Animals:
It takes place entirely in the natural environment. A maximum of eight learners per course, and you have two fully qualified trainers. Early mornings consist of walks, where practical aspects of trailing are covered. During the middle of the day, theoretical aspects like potentially dangerous animals and their statistics, behaviour etc., and the science of tracking gets attention. The afternoons are devoted to tracking exercises and other practical skills, like navigation, First Aid etc. The introductory exercises are done in the Magalies Nature Area, and we do trailing in a “Big Five” reserve (e.g. Pilanesberg) in order to get the necessary approaches/encounters. During the course the FGASA syllabus for Trails Guide is covered in full. We guarantee you 50 hours and a minimum of 15 encounters to log.
Learners are also assessed against the NQ unit standards applicable. Sufficient approaches are executed to qualify for the Apprentice Trails Guide, however if you are planning to qualify for TG or SKS (DG), you will need many more approaches (see criteria on FGASA web site).
As an additional option, you can also do a two-day Bush Emergency First Aid course at a cost of ZAR1 500. This is optional because learners on the 4-month course will already have done a Level 1 course.
How do I book?
Check in and registration takes place from 14h00 on the starting date of the course. On the final day, the exam ends at around 13h00, after which you are free to go.
Your practical Trail Guide Back-up assessment takes place continuously through the duration of the course. You could, of course, just opt to do the course for personal enrichment, in which case you do not need to meet the above criteria.
Trails Guide Workbook, Manual, Dangerous Game Log Book, 1X EXAM FEE AND PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT MODERATION FEE are all INCLUDED in the course fee.
Remember that accommodation is in a tented bush camp, with running hot & cold water and flush toilets, and electricity to charge your electronics.
