Growing up close to wild spaces has its benefits. Not only does its expose you to nature and the outdoors from a very young age, but it also allows one to visit these areas more often and to grow an appreciation for it. I count myself lucky, as I grew up in a small town on the foothills of the Soutpansberg Mountain range in the far north of South Africa. My little hometown of Louis Trichardt was also a stone throw away from the world-renowned Kruger National Park. Regular visits over the years to the park, being it camping or staying in the famous round chalets/rondavels, definitely made an impact on me and played a vital role in my lifestyle and career today.

2012 and 2013 was decision time, a time when I had to start deciding on a career path. I had just completed my Honours in Bachelors of Commerce at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. So my dilemma was, do I stay on course with my honours degree and take up a job which would find me in an office with a well-ironed shirt, pants and polished shoes all day, or was it going to be a total detour and pursue a path as a nature/safari guide?

The decision didn’t come easily, but I took the plunge and haven’t looked back! I enrolled in a Level 1 (apprentice) field guiding course during 2013, which took me miles away from the big city of Johannesburg and put me in a tent for 2 months. And if that was not enough, I then enrolled for a trails guide course with the same training provider (Africa Nature Training) for a duration of 2 weeks. The great thing was that both, my Level 1 and trails guide course was held at a facility at Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve in the Sabi Sands. This placed one foot in the door and I was lucky in that I received an offer to work as a field guide at Sabi Sabi after being screened and interviewed.

So there I was, working a 6 week stint (no weekends or public holidays) with a 2 week break after each stint. What was meant to be formal wear, turned out to be khakis, veldskoene (bush shoes) and a cap. I had worked for Sabi Sabi as a full-time guide for just under 3 years, guiding out of all 4 of their lodges, which was great in that it gave me experience with working with guests from all walks of life. On the wildlife photography front, things started to take shape and grow while I was part of the social media team, which entailed writing blogs, sending daily images for posts, and providing images for marketing material.

Soon came a time when I decided to alter my path and become a freelance field guide, as well as take my interest of wildlife photography to the next level. This meant that work opportunities would not be consistent, but the upside was that I would be able to explore more reserves and expand my horizons. Over the years, and till today, I still work as a freelance field guide and photographic guide. I’ve guided at Sabi Sabi on a freelance basis, as well as other lodges within the Sabi Sands such as Elephant Plains Game Lodge, Chitwa Chitwa and Silvan Safari. I’ve also guided in the far northern parts of the Kruger National Park (Makuleke Contractual Park) at a lodge called The Outpost.

In between all of the safari guiding side of things, I’ve also led a few private photographic safaris and recently teamed up with Legend Safaris as one of their freelance photographic guides. I’ve also done a few freelance guiding stints for Contiki where I guided their groups on their South African safari portion of the “Cape, Safari & Falls” itinerary.

A year before the pandemic struck, I spent two months in the beautiful city of Cape Town where I completed my qualification as Provincial Guide for the Western Cape (including Port Elizabeth for the Garden Route). I now hold a Provincial Guide qualification for Western Cape and Mpumalanga and I am planning to add more provinces in the future.

My travels over the years as a guide has allowed me to visit many reserves within East Africa and Southern Africa, and I look forward to exploring more destinations in the future, not just within Africa, but all over the world!