Top Myths About Being a Guide
1) You have to be experienced to be an excellent guide
Although experience is vital when it comes to animal behaviour, understanding your guests and maintaining a safe experience does not mean that those with limited experience cannot be excellent guides or that they cannot have educated insights into a situation.
One of the most memorable lessons I’ve had was from an 11-year-old boy from India on his first safari. He shared his knowledge of the stars, a subject I thought I knew well. His limited experience in the southern hemisphere didn’t diminish the value of his insights. His unique perspective humbled and inspired me.
The other aspect to remember that guiding is a diverse field where one can be an expert in one field and still be a complete novice in another. For example, ask me a question about birding, and I will no doubt have an answer for you but ask me about soils, and I may stumble around with no real insights.
Playing to your strengths is important because we all have something we are good at, and there will undoubtedly be a place for your skillset as a guide.
2. You have to be a people person to relate to your guests
Guest interaction is what being a guide is all about. It would help if you connect with your guests to create a valuable experience and maintain their safety.
Guiding is so subjective that even an introvert can host a fantastic experience in the bush. For example, I worked in a lodge where one gentleman was known for being the quintessential extrovert. Often, you could hear the whole vehicle singing at the tops of their lungs and having a genuinely festive time. But I was a different kind of a guide. I loved stopping and turning the vehicle off to sit silently or hosting walks where we did not speak once for the entire thing.
Both sets of guests had different experiences from entirely different guides, but they loved their time at the lodge, and I feel it comes down to connection.
Guests can see their guide’s connection to the natural landscape, and they will feed off that. In addition to sharing these moments, they can create a strong connection between the guide and their guests, thus creating magical experiences no matter the guiding style.
3. Guests only want to see the Big 5
Ok, so there may be some truth to this. However, guests who only want to see the BIG 5 usually do not know what the bushveld truly has to offer them, and often, it is up to the guide to bring out their guests’ natural curiosity.
One of the greatest lessons ever taught to me was linking, where the guide finds parts of the bush that link to the animal in question—for example, showing guests the rub marks on a Marula tree. Explaining what the tree is and how elephants love their fruits links perfectly into the original mission of finding an elephant while still showing your guests something they may not be aware of. By doing this, you can build up hype before seeing the animal or get the guests to see something new and unique that may be their focus for the remainder of the trip.
4. Guiding is only for locals
There is no easy way to put this, but locals tend to have an easier time getting employed as bush guides due to the visa issues that most foreigners have to work around, which do not indicate their skill set or competency as a guide.
A guide that understands their guests knows their culture, and is easy to connect with is often a more relatable guide and tends to have a far more significant impact on their guests’ experience.
It is all about playing to your strengths, which means that not all great guides are local. It also means that by being a local guide you can improve your guests’ experience by getting to know the foreign cultures.
5. Guiding can be lonely
It is not often something we think about when becoming a guide, but the potential to feel slightly alone in an environment based around isolation can be a little concerning for some.
The long and short of it is that when we find ourselves in an environment with limited connection, we can put ourselves in a lonely space. Living in the bush can be one of the most incredible experiences of your life. For starters, you are surrounded by many like-minded individuals who are relatable because you both chose to work in an environment that celebrates wildlife. The other aspect to consider is the animals that you will connect with. The more time you spend in an area, the better you will get to know your animal counterparts, and in time, you can form quite strong and meaningful connections with these amazing animals.
6. Guiding has a limited career path
If you are pivoting from a pre-existing career, becoming a guide can be scary. How far can a guide go? A lot further than you may think.
There are many ways to view this, but in terms of career path, it is what you make of it. Some are happy being in a standard guiding position for their career, whereas others diversify. Some start a more media-focused journey or look at private guiding; others may even leave the guiding world altogether. Now I know what you are thinking: if you leave the guiding world, that would mean the career path is limited. But it’s the network that you generate as a guide that ultimately determines your career path.
Some of the most successful people I know started as a guide. They built strong relationships with their guests and, because of this, have turned their careers into profitable and rewarding ones. There is no limit to your path here; just like the field itself, it is about your skill set and what you are willing to put into creating your version of success.
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