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“I managed to secure a place on the guiding course that EcoTraining was conducting in cooperation with the Allenby Campus (1996). With the theory done and dusted on campus, , our class headed to Elephant Plains Game Lodge in the Sabi Sands where we were met by Lex Hes, Anton Lategan and Kimbian Mnisi, our practical trainers.
Their passion and knowledge was infectious and the course was unbelievable to say the least. Lex was so willing to share everything with us as well as how to take photographs in the bush and he never missed a detail on leopard behaviour. From Kimbian, his tracker, we learnt that tracking was indeed a very important part of guiding, especially when it comes to the elusive spotted cats. Anton’s passion and knowledge and his way of sharing this made us never want to leave.
I wasn’t the easiest of students and gave the trainers quite a hard time. I remember the following incident that illustrates this well. On a training drive one evening a leopard sighting was called in. Having no bush driving experience, Anton asked me politely to move over so he could drive and we could go into the sighting. Upon which I rudely replied something to the effect of “How will I learn anything if you drive?” I think he was shocked at my overambitious attitude, but he let me drive and he was brilliant in that he guided me to get it right!
After finishing the course, I was very lucky to get a job as a guide at Elephant Plains. It was heaven!
Londolozi was still my dream and I applied to CC Africa (now And Beyond) for a job every week. They turned me away and eventually Lex helped set up an interview for me. I did the stringent company guide training at Phinda and Londolozi and at first was told that I didn’t make it. But a lot of tears and challenges later, I eventually made it and worked at Londolozi and a couple of other CC Africa lodges on and off for 10 years.
During 2006/2007, while at Londolozi, I took many leopard specialist trips and what an amazing experience it was, following only leopards day after day, night after night. I documented everything the leopards did and discovered that the information I had gathered was a gold mine. I also realised that this data was worth nothing if I kept it to myself and so I did a National Diploma in Nature Conservation with the future aim of a PHD to ensure that all the information becomes usable to leopard researchers working with disappearing leopard populations around the world. Dr Douw Grobler, a wildlife veterinarian, saw promise in the leopard work and he helped set up the Global Leopard Project (www.globalleopard.com) which now runs from Erindi Private Game Reserve in Namibia.
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Although I research leopards now, I still use guiding skills daily to help train guides and take guests to see the leopards of the research project. We capture, collar, habituate and monitor the Erindi leopards and share their stories as much as possible to help create awareness of the species.
EcoTraining, Lex, Anton and Kimbian gave me everything that has made me who I am today, made all my dreams a reality and ultimately ensured that my passion be used for the good of not only my life but hopefully all leopards worldwide. From my own fantastic training I have helped set up guide training in Namibia at Erindi which is breaking ground as nothing like this exists in the country yet. Today, EcoTraining students come to Erindi for their practical and many have stayed on as permanent guides. Thanks to EcoTraining’s standards and fantastic courses over so many years, Namibia is now developing a higher guiding standard.
EcoTraining will give you the very best chance you can wish for to follow any dream in wildlife, not only for guiding. It is the people of EcoTraining that are saving the world of wildlife by training and
inspiring their students.”
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