EcoTraining in the media

In the footsteps of safari guides in the African bush

I am seated in front of my tent, browsing through my notes from last year’s Tracks and Signs course as we have just come across a leopard track during this morning’s game walk with our EcoTraining instructor Tayla McCurdy. Suddenly the atmosphere changes and I sense a presence. I look up from my notebook when a 2.5-meter (8 feet) tall elephant appears out of the thickets a mere 4 meters (12 feet) away from me, approaching silently.

Father’s Day Gift Guide: The Best Vacation Deals For The Family

Be a wilderness ranger for a week. Dads and their kids can enjoy bonding time by using a specialist guide to embark on game drives and walks in the bush.

Young South African Living His Conservation Dreams!

Josh hopes that his story won’t just inspire other young people who are working towards their own dreams but believes that he can use what he will learn to inform his generation about the importance of conserving the natural world.

Learn The Guiding Arts From Home

A happy consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic is that the leading nature training company, EcoTraining, started offering online courses over Zoom. This opened the door to enthusiasts from all over the globe, allowing them to study the theory component of the guide training programmes devised by the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa (FGASA).

Ietermagog's daagliks gestroop

Meer as 300 ietermagogs daagliks gestroop #worldpangolinday

EcoTraining Field Guide Course in the Maasai Mara

Are you looking for an exciting and educational wildlife experience in Africa that differs from an ‘ordinary’ safari trip to Africa? Consider a wildlife course! A wildlife course or safari guide training is especially interesting for those who love being in nature and wish to experience a wildlife adventure that includes learning about the natural environment and animals’ behavior - with the chance of obtaining an official FGASA qualification from the Field Guide Association of Southern Africa.

Beyond the Tracker's seat

The three lobes are very distinct. The leading edge of the main pad is flat. I orientate my flashlight to have a better view: The four toes are nicely rounded. There is no doubt: This footprint was left by a young male lion, only a few hours ago. I stand up, and look at my dome tent, barely two meters (6 feet) away. As the sun rises over the South African bush, the sky turns red orange, and the spoors are better lit.

In the tracks of wildlife in Africa

Seven days ago, our instructor Norman Chauke welcomed us to the one-week EcoTracker course. He introduced us to the 17 students on their one-year field guide training with whom we were to share the Selati camp facilities in the heart of the 33,000-hectare private game reserve bordering the Kruger National Park.

EcoTraining is creating world-class safari guides and passionate guardians of nature

We are very blessed to be living in Africa. This continent is home to so much incredible fauna and flora and magnificent scenery that it should not be taken for granted. Not just that, as Africans, we should be encouraging visitors to support our conservation efforts. EcoTraining allows for those who have a passion for the natural environment, to turn that passion into a career.

EcoTraining lei al 27 jaar gidse op

As die bosveld en natuurlewe jou opgewonde maak en jy van 'n beroep as veldgids droom, het EcoTraining vir jou die antwoord.

ECOTRAINING: UNLOCKING YOUR NEXT WILD ADVENTURE

EcoTraining is offering you the chance to come and experience an adventure of a lifetime, whether on one of our career courses or just for a bush breakaway, we have it all, the big five, unfences camps, twice-daily activities (either game drive or a walking safari), and hearty meals. These will be some of the most unforgettable days of your life.

No, I said SHOO! Lioness chews on a ranger's BOOT after pride surrounded his tent in South Africa

A safari ranger had a lucky escape when the tent he was camping in was surrounded by a pride of hungry lions - who decided they fancied his boots for breakfast.

Ed’s letter: Alone, on foot, in Kruger

The grumble of the 4×4 recedes into the distance. I’m all alone in Kruger. No rifle, no map, no knife. Only instinct and (patchy) common sense to guide me. My heart is thumping. Don’t run. Listen. Breathe.

Ranger training in South Africa with EcoTraining

Experience South Africa's wilderness and learn from the best gamekeepers!

Find the best African safari for you: 10 camps sorted by travel type

The idea of an African safari is a dream vacation for many people. Waking up amongst zebras, bush breakfasts with elephants, witnessing a lion kill – the definition of what comprises an ideal safari experience is different for everyone. Thankfully, there's a camp to suit every style of traveler.

Planning your epic trip to Africa and not sure where to start? Here are 10 African safari camps for every type of adventurer.

Metro: Escape - Exploring thrilling alternatives to big-game safaris

Rather than listen to a guide, why not learn some of their bushcraft? Based in a concession beside South Africa’s Kruger National Park, six-day Wilderness Trails Skills courses will see you tracking game, navigating without maps, going on night watches, starting campfires and generally picking up enough survival skills to dazzle Bear Grylls.

Wilderness Photography course

A fun and immersive photography course in the Northern Kruger Park, South Africa

20 of the best group trips for solo travellers

Striking out on your own needn’t be lonely or expensive. We round up group trips that increasingly cater for solo travellers and waive single premiums

Hyena's kiss under a baobab

“Leopards love baobabs – there are quite a few giants where one can see leopards resting in. They crawl up to where it is shady and cool. Temperatures in the Makuleke area sometimes reach 48 degrees – so it is just natural to lie on the cooling bark of a baobab.” Haritha Pilapitiya, Trails Guide

Fit für die Wildnis

Bei einem sogenannten Eco-Training pirschen Natur- und Tierbegeisterte in Afrika zu Fuß durch den Busch und lernen das richtige Verhalten gegenüber Löwen, Elefanten und Co.

Unterwegs in der Wildnis

Read this story about Heike Pander's trip to Africa with EcoTraining. This article is in German.

Mashatu: Learning from nature - Scott Ramsay - News24

I’d come here to better understand Africa’s natural heritage, to learn about things large and small, from dung beetles to baobabs. In the process, I inadvertently unlearned a few things that I had been taught in city classrooms.

What it is like to be a field ranger in the Masai Mara in Kenya

Masai field ranger from the Masai Mara in Kenya, Titimet Nampaso, came to South Africa and was taken for training through the Kruger National Park to Maluleke for training. His views on conservation are refreshing.

Field Guide Training: Mashatu, Botswana (January 2012)

Ever dreamed of spending a year in the African bush? That’s exactly what Londoner Philip Dumas did when he packed in the city drone for the thrill of the Botswanan wilds. Here he recounts an unnerving lion encounter while on an EcoTraining course geared at building up your wildlife wits and becoming a professional field guide.

Makuleke Trail: Getit Lowveld (May 2017)

To experience the wildest and remotest parts of the Kruger National Park (KNP) you should leave your cellphone and wristwatch at home. Nicolene Olckers dons hiking boots, packs her backpack and sets out to get bush-wise in the Makuleke Concession in the Pafuri region of the Kruger.

This camp is offering the cheapest safaris in Africa - The Telegraph (April 2017)

EcoTraining has been training bush guides for more than 20 years. Now, it is also offering short courses to tourists as a more immersive alternative to a traditional safari – and at a fraction of the cost.

Conservation students enter war on rhino poaching (February 2017)

A group of students studying in Cornwall have been playing their part in the war against poaching as part of a conservation experience of a lifetime in South Africa.

Die Kunst des Fährtenlesens - Leonie March (January 2017)

Im Norden des Krüger-Nationalparks wandern Elefanten, Giraffen, Löwen, Hyänen oder Büffelherden quer durch die Savanne von Südafrika nach Mosambik und Simbabwe – und hinterlassen Spuren. Die sind hochinteressant, wenn man sie denn lesen kann. Angehende Field Guides lernen das.

How dung beetles give birth to baobab trees – Scott Ramsay – Africa Geographic

We were dwarfed by a baobab tree in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve of south-eastern Botswana. I stretched out my arms against the trunk, then walked slowly around it and measured the circumference, which came to about 20 metres.

What makes a birding trip extraordinary – Rachel Lang

Relentless heat, exceptional bird-watching and uncontrollable laughter don’t let you forget. During EcoTraining‘s week-long birding course, we (fellow bush-loving friend Lauren and I) laughed until our stomachs hurt, doubled our bird knowledge, and showered three times a day to keep cool.

A trek on the wild side – Andreas Fox – Nation Newspaper online

Being on foot with an expert guide allows you to get the sensory experience and thrill of spending time with the animals, especially "Big 5".

Never ask to see a leopard on safari – Chris Stamper – Africa Geographic

As we were nearing the end of the our Level 1 FGASA course the guiding students were starting to explore the area for a suitable route for each of their assessments, whilst brushing up on a few of their new skills.

Abenteuer Ranger Training – Sabine Kreuz

Ob auf der Straße, am tosenden Meer oder unter wilden Tieren: Das Land der Regenbogennation ist so facettenreich und vielseitig, dass seine Highlights ein ganzes Buch füllen. Unser “Best Of” ist wie ein Kompass, der den Weg zu den schönsten Abenteuern weist: Einfach eintauchen und bei der nächsten Südafrika Reise inspirieren lassen!

Douwlina, a rhino’s story – Brightskypress

When you do the same thing every day, it’s easy to forget what the big picture looks like. The result you’re striving for starts to fade into the everyday details, and you’re suddenly bogged down by things that seem meaningless.

Bushboundgirl – Rachel Lang

The week-long EcoTraining Birding in the Bush course I attended with my fellow bush-loving friend Lauren de Vos took place in the northern Kruger National Park’s remote Makuleke Concession. The area could arguably be described as the Swarovski of South African birding destinations.

Baobab Stories – Heike Pander

Makuleke Concession in the northern part of the Kruger National Park in South Africa hosts some of the most beautiful and magnificent baobabs in the country. Hans-Jürgen Keck, a passionate photographer, photography coach and Africa fan, has been there in 2014.

Six adventure vacations includes tracking as one – Maryam (Canadian publication, The Globe)

If the Internet had been around when I left school I’d have found out how easy it was to become a safari guide. But alas it was not the case: instead I waited some 20 years for my mid-life crisis to take hold.

Von Berlin in den Bush – Bedouin Writer

Ich würde ja gerne behaupten, dass mein Plan, mich in Afrika zum Ranger ausbilden zu lassen am Boden eines zu häufig gefüllten Schnapsglases gelegen hätte.

10 dinge die ich im busch gelernt habe – Bedouin Writer

Ich befinde mich grad mitten drin auf der spannendsten Reise meines Lebens – zurück zu mir, zurück zur Natur, zurück zu dem kleinen Kind, das gern im Matsch spielt, das ich einmal war.

Tips for South Africa – Welt newspaper, Germany

Anreise Zum Beispiel mit South African Airways (www.flysaa.com) oder Lufthansa (www.lufthansa.com) nonstop von Frankfurt oder München nach Johannesburg.