Credentials and requirements to be a Field Guide

All Field Guides working in the Kruger National Park must be registered with the National Department of Tourism & CATHSSETA, after having completed their FGASA (Field Guide Association of South Africa) theoretical examination (pass mark 75%) and practical assessment. Each assessment has categories ranging from ecology, geology, botany, taxonomy, climate, weather, etc. Studying to be a field guide is quite a broad spectrum and is a challenge to complete. For exactly this reason, we think that people should rather opt to go on a guided safari in Kruger National Park first before thinking of going on a self-drive.

Why you may ask? Well for the simple reason that these Field Guides took the time and effort to learn about the natural environment that is the Kruger National Park. They have completed their assessments as well as their Kruger National Park orientation. Together with these assessments, they had to obtain a first aid certificate as well as a professional driver’s permit to be able to operate legally. All this takes a lot of time and effort and one would never consider doing this if one did not have an absolute passion for nature and everything wild and wonderful.

A day in a Field Guide’s life

Field Guides wake up in the early hours of the morning to ensure everything is ready before the safari commence. A normal day in a field guide’s life can start at about 3am (depending on the season) and end late at night. They work long hours but are passionate about what they do. Going on a guided safari in Kruger National Park will allow you the opportunity to sit back and relax whilst the Field Guide takes care of everything from pick-up, drop-offs, transfers, payments, permits, route plans, pit-stops, safety, rules and regulations. A good Field Guide will ensure that the day runs smoothly and that their guests are tended to at all times, making it an unforgettable and memorable safari experience.

Most guides are quite hands-on and work as often as they can.  For this reason, they get to know the Kruger like the back of their hand. This also provides them with the perfect opportunity to get in touch with their natural surroundings and familiarize themselves with certain behavioral patterns of some species.  This allows the Field Guide to learn and understand and interpret the behavior of some species way better than the average guy, visiting the Kruger once or twice a year. This hands-on experience allows the guide to understanding how everything is connected. One only gains this knowledge by experience! This knowledge will, of course, be shared with the guest during the guided safari in Kruger National Park and it will improve the guest’s overall experience due to the fact that they can fully understand and interpret what they see because of the guide and the knowledge that they share.

Route plans, time frames, safety and knowledge

As previously mentioned, Field Guides plan their own routes, based on their knowledge of the area, the condition of the roads and of course the species that they know roam in specific areas.  This is just another reason why we suggest that one go on a guided safari in Kruger National Park instead of a self-drive.  The guide’s valuable knowledge of the above-mentioned will obviously increase your chances of finding more wildlife and who knows, you might even find some of the Big Five animals.

Safety, time and route plans.  With experience, guides learn how to anticipate certain animal behavior and they will know how far they need to keep from certain species especially the Big Five animals that have their own reputation for being dangerous and unpredictable at times. This will allow for safe wildlife viewing at most times.  On some rare occasions, freak accidents have occurred in the Kruger in the past, but most of the time it was not the Field Guides fault. Most of the time third parties have been involved, making the situation unmanageable and unfortunately resulted in an unforeseen incident. We all know upon entering the Kruger National Park that you enter a nature reserve filled with wild animals, and where there are wild animals, anything can happen. Best, you always listen to your Field Guide and keep to the rules and regulations to ensure your safety.

Guides operating in the Kruger National Park know how long certain roads will take from point A to point B, making it easy to plan ahead. Especially if you are part of a group safari where there is a specific itinerary involved. Route planning and time management by Field Guides ensure a pleasurable and memorable experience, one that doesn’t require stress that is compared with self-drive and having to drive an unknown route for the first time. The Field Guides know where they are going and how long it will take them to get there!

Most Field Guides have a lot of nature related knowledge and can talk just about anything; big or small. This will also ensure you get an unforgettable experience and see small things in a new light. Things that were once unknown and uninteresting can suddenly become something fascinating and important to you, just because your guide pointed out its value!

What is the cost of a guided safari in Kruger National Park? 

Unfortunately, not everyone has the luxury to be able to afford a guided safari in Kruger National Park. Why is that? A Full day safari normally runs from pick-up to drop off time and can be anything from 8 hours onwards depending on your safari operator. So before you say it is too expensive, think about everything that is included.

Why is the price of a guided safari in Kruger National Park so expensive?

All the below expenses are taken into consideration when working out our safari rate per person

• Office staff salary
• Guide’s daily fee
• Daily open safari vehicle entrance fee
• Transfers from a pre-arranged pick-up location to Kruger and back
• Running costs of the vehicle that includes: fuel, general and cosmetic maintenance, keeping it clean and tidy, new tyres, alignments, rotations and vehicle services
• Vehicle installments
• Licensing & Permits: Renewal of license disks (roadworthy & operator card), NPTR operating license as well as the Kruger Permit
• Renewal of annual Field Guide registrations, First Aid certificates, Kruger orientation courses as well as Field Guides’ Professional Driver’s Permits, medical checks to be declared medically fit and Police Clearance (fingerprints)
• Uniforms: Staff uniforms, Guide Uniforms, winter and summer attire, sunglasses, shoes and sun protection
• Ponchos: Dry-cleaning and buying new ponchos
• Brand: Website, logos, business cards, brochures, logo embroidering, etc.
• General: Office space, stationary, computers, electricity, etc.
• Marketing: Website, hosting, social media marketing, Online booking and payment systems – Activitybridge & Paybridge, etc.

Next time you are planning on going on a guided safari in Kruger National Park, keep the price in mind and divide the total price per person with the number of hours you have spent from the moment of pick-up to the moment of drop-off. Now you will notice that it is actually not that expensive at all! After all it is a full day of entertainment in comparison to a night out at a local pub/night club or dinner; in addition, the guided safari in Kruger National Park will provide you with lasting memories.

We hope that you enjoyed this newsletter and all its information and hope it will help you to choose the best option which is: to self-drive or to not self-drive; that is the question!

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