This course is ideally suited to anyone wishing to enter the lodge or guiding business at a professional level and can be completed part time or full time. The FGASA Level I (NQF II) Guide Training Course Includes:
- All practical training / field sessions in a Big 5 Game Reserve environment (Tembe Elephant Park & iMfolozi)
- "Leave No Trace" training / Wilderness Trail experience in the iMfolozi Game Reserve Wilderness Area
- All lectures / theoretical training, transport, meals and accommodation
- First Aid Level 1 certificate
- Weapons handling competency
- Leave no trace awareness certification
- Tidal Tao Snorkel certification
- All assessments and final assessment preparation
- All FGASA membership fees and registrations
- Lectures, subject matter experts and ongoing access to our trainers and staff (post training) via our various alumni platforms
Upon completing this course successfully, you will be allowed to work as a registered guide in most nature reserves around Southern Africa with a recognized high standard of training and field experience. (Please note that you will need to be 21 years or older to get a public driving permit)
Modules which we cover include: (Several of these are in additional to the minimal FGASA requirements)
- Creating a guided nature experience
- Geology
- Astronomy
- Weather and Climate
- Ecology
- Taxonomy
- The Biomes of Southern Africa
- Botany and Grasses
- Arthropods
- Amphibians
- Reptiles
- Fish
- Birds
- Mammals
- Animal behaviour
- Conservation Management
- Historical Human Habitation
- Marine Snorkel Guide Basics
- Wilderness Ethics & Leave No Trace Certification
- Wilderness Facilitation, Psychology and Soft Skills
- Tracking and advanced bush skills
- Weapons Handling
- Advanced Cultural Understanding
- Guest relations
- Career Guidance and Tourism Entrepreneurial Opportunities
- Environmental Education Facilitation
Practical Training
Our practical training includes a range of short day outings (for theoretical modules) but also includes a range compulsory longer field outings (for part time and full time students) - this is the really fun, valuable and exciting stuff. Our practical training offers experiences that few people will ever get to have. Including sleeping under the stars in the wilderness, doing night watch duty around the campfire and getting in touch with nature on trail in the same special way Dr. Ian Player designed it over 60 years ago.
These practicals include:
- 7 day wilderness trail experiences in iMfolozi Game Reserve Wilderness Area, including transport and meals from Durban. Possibly one of the most special and unforgettable experiences a guide can have. Here you will learn valuable tracking skills, leave no trace principles and wilderness ethics.
- Half the course period is dedicated to practical, in the field training in Tembe Elephant reserve in Zululand - this is where you learn valuable bush skills, tracking, how to deal with potentially dangerous wildlife, and skills for interpreting the environment around you. These practicals include transport, accommodation, and meals
- Subject matter specialist lectures and day outings, including transport for practical outings
- Level 1 First Aid Certificate
- Snorkel (AUSI) training, marine life and ocean skills
- Weapons handling competency - (Field and Shooting Range)
Students must be available for the specified dates for trails and practical training (for non residential / part time students).