African Safari

A field guide is essentially a trained bush tour guide whose job it is to accompany tourists in the bush and to interpret nature in a meaningful and interesting manner.  During a field trip, the guide is a, teacher, friend, game warden, doctor, storyteller and sometimes cook for his guests!  The tourism industry on the African continent places a huge responsibility on the shoulders of field guides.  They are the ones that either make or break a safari holiday for travellers.  In saying this, it is advisable to make sure your field guide has at least three years bushveld guiding under his belt and even then these field guides are still very 'green' so to speak.  Experience accounts for just about everything in the field guide's arsenal, besides the many different qualifications that are needed like tracking, botany, astrology, game management, weapons handling to name but a few, he must also be a great communicator and  have a genuine passion for nature. 

A field guide should also be able to give safari goers an insight into cultural and heritage facts of the area they are viewing and a general overview of the country's breaking news headlines.  These are often topics of discussion the field guide encounters.  It is virtually impossible for a field guide to be an expert in every field of guiding, so it is important for the guest to make sure that the type of African safari they are going on is conducted by a specialist field guide.  For example, if you were to go on a African hunting safari you wouldn't want and expert in fauna and flora showing you the ropes especially where weapons are involved.  Field guides are also required to have a valid commercial passenger vehicle licence, so if you are going on a 4x4 driven safari it is in your best interest to have a qualified driver. 

Many travellers going on African Safaris tend to want to go it alone, but it is always advisable to have an experienced field guide at the helm.  A safari in Africa is a dangerous affair if you are an inexperienced bushveld traveller.  One can easily become lost and the likelihood of finding help off the beaten track is very scarce.  Your experienced field guide will undoubtedly have a keen sense of the area you are in, eliminating the risk of getting lost.  If you intend on going on an extended safari for days at a time your field guide's first aid knowledge might come in handy to sort out basic first aid needs.  

One of the most important criteria forgoing on an African safari is obviously to come into contact with wildlife and that's where a good field guide comes into play, locating animals in the bush with tracking techniques that take years to develop.  It's a skill that needs a good understanding of the animals themselves as well as the habitat they live in.  Many field guides are contracted to one of the many nature reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, lodges or game reserves across Africa, which makes it easier for them to locate animals in their own 'backyard'.  The basics of field guiding remains the same, whether it be, for example, identifying grass species or animal identification or even tracking spoor, but the rest is left up to the field guide to interpret using common sense and a keen eye for the situation or environment.  

Going on safari in Africa has always had an appeal for man ever since the first explorers traversed and mapped the African continent.  Since the days of Livingstone and other esteemed explorers, the safari traveller has always relied on local knowledge and indigenous people to help show the way.  The modern field guides have past explorers and indigenous masters to thank for the techniques and bush skills that are still used today, even though they still have to adapt in an ever changing environment.  While on a safari remember to treat the environment with respect and care, thereby ensuring our wildlife heritage has a long and prosperous existence.