60 Day FGASA NQF2 Safari Guide

About

Our 60 Day course is FGASA endorsed and is designed to prepare you for a career as a Safari Guide. The course includes a combination of theoretical and practical training with time spent in the field every day.

From hearing and identifying birds via their calls, to using tracks and signs to investigate and explain what has taken place before you arrived, to understanding, anticipating and interpreting animal behaviour. Our course is designed to give you a firm grounding in all of the skills to allow you to safely conduct high quality vehicle based guided experiences.

No Field Guide course would be complete without getting to know the vehicles themselves. During the 60 days you will also receive training on the ins and outs of the game viewers including: basic daily vehicle checks; tyre changing; and 4x4 driving skills specific to game viewing.

Life on Course

Our days tend to start early to help our students get into the routine that will be expected of them at lodges. Following a sunrise coffee and cereals, the morning activity will begin (usually around 6am in the summer months). This can be a game drive, a guided walk, or a classroom session. We adapt the training to suit the students on the course and to account for weather etc.

A hot brunch is hosted when we return to camp (usually around 10.30)

After a couple of hours break we will get started with a midday training session this can include:

Tests
Self-study
Workbook completion
Track and Sign preparation
Midday waterhole visits
Discussions on FGASA modules
Species identification practice (by call or by sight)
Rest period

Around 15.30 (depending on the weather and the time of year) the group will head back into the bush for a practical Game drive / walk

A hot dinner is hosted when we return to camp (usually around 18.30).

Students usually have time for themselves in the evenings, but the course will include scheduled evenings for educational movies, astronomy sessions, and guest speakers.

We often tell guests that nature does not follow our schedule and this is apparent to students on our courses as well. We adjust and adapt each day according to what is happening on the reserve and the needs of our students. A scheduled game drive might transform into a guided training walk; there will be days where supplies are packed and the group heads out for a full day in the reserve, whether on foot or in a vehicle, only returning to camp in the evening; some nights the students will sleep out under the stars and learn about survival techniques and primitive bush skills; other days might be filled with lessons and camp-based activities to catch up after the all day excursions.

There will be regular tests throughout the course to prepare the students for their assessments. From plant identification and traditional beliefs; to tracking; birds; bird calls; frogs; mammals and many other subjects. Students will get the opportunity to present information on different topics to the rest of the student group and the instructors will conduct practice exams on the FGASA modules to prepare the students for their final assessment.

The course will include training on Track and Sign identification and Trailing. These are key skills for interpreting the bush around us and truly enhance the students’ understanding of animal behaviour. The students will receive the opportunity to be assessed as part of the CyberTracker system and may gain an internationally recognised CyberTracker Track and Sign certification.

Time spent on foot will be very valuable to the learning experience, giving students a chance to focus on the smaller aspects of the environment to complement their experiences with the bigger mammals.

With everything that needs to be covered within the 60 days there is not a lot of “free time” on the course. There will be the occasional opportunity to visit town for part of a day and there will be the occasional morning with a later start. In the lead up to the FGASA theory exam there will be a few days dedicated to focused study with optional group activities on these days.

The Venue

The course takes place in the Greater Kruger Area and surrounding game park regions. Students will spend their time amongst thousands of hectares of bush-country with all of the unforgettable learning opportunities that this presents.

The reserve is home to the Big 5, a wealth of bird species and general game, and is a partner in the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Cheetah Meta Population Project amongst other leading conservation initiatives. Students will have the opportunity for excellent game viewing throughout their course with the varied learning opportunities that these sightings entail.

Students will be housed in shared accommodation, allocated on a same sex basis, in a farmhouse close to the centre of the reserve with their meals catered for.

Meals

Brunch and dinner are prepared by our team and consist of hearty meals, such as pasta, stew, braais (also known as a barbeque), burgers, hot dogs, salads and vegetarian meals etc. Regularly during the week there will be a braai where the students will be asked to assist with braai-ing the meat - a key skill to develop during their time in South Africa. This will be on a rotational system where the trainers will also gladly (and enthusiastically) participate.

During the day between set meals the students will be able to snack on cookies, bread with peanut butter and jam, fresh fruit or cereals. Coffee, tea and squash-type juice will be provided too and also available all day as an in-between meals snack. Drinking water is provided.

Who Are We Partnered With?

Nature Guide Training
Goliath Training is proud to be partnered with Nature Guide Training (NGT) for the delivery of these courses. Nature Guide Training is one of the oldest and most respected schools within South Africa as well as one of the smallest and most personalised.

Goliath Training currently carry out all of the training for NGT’s FGASA Field Guide NQF2 courses.

Lee Gutteridge is the owner of NGT and is one of the few guides in the FGASA system to have achieve the FGASA Scout Qualification. Lee will manage the program from the administrative and logistical side, and will hopefully get to spend some time with you in the field as well.

Lee has been a field guide, tracker and field guide trainer for over 30 years. He is the author of 10 books to date on wildlife subjects including trees, tracking, birds, mammals, wildflowers, history and other subjects. There are very few trainers in the industry with his level of experience and publications, and even fewer with the same level of passion and enthusiasm for nature and learning.

Our principal trainer, Vaughan, will be your main teacher but you will certainly get to spend some time with Lee during the course.

Who Are We Partnered With?

FGASA

FGASA stands for the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa. FGASA is a CATHSSETA accredited training provider. CATHSSETA is the body in South Africa that issues the national guiding qualifications (a CATHSSETA qualification is required to legally guide in South Africa). FGASA is widely regarded as the acceptable / required industry standard. Lodges will usually specify a required FGASA level qualification when they are seeking to fill a vacancy.

Goliath Training is fully endorsed by FGASA and is one of FGASA’s specialist delivery partners.

Qualifications

Students will have the opportunity to achieve the following qualifications on the course:

FGASA Nature Site Guide NQF2 Certificate
CATHSSETA NQF2 Nature Site Guide Certificate
CyberTracker Track and Sign Certificate (the level is score dependent)

All certificates are performance dependent.

Course Content

The main focus of this course is for aspirant guides to achieve the FGASA NQF2 Nature Site Guide (formerly known as Level I) certificate and be deemed competent to begin their guiding career. Therefore, all modules of the FGASA manual will be discussed both in theory, and also demonstrated practically. However, the following subjects are covered in depth:

Guiding in the natural environment, including planning guided experiences
Navigation and Orientation
Radio Procedures
Weather and Climate
Geology
Astronomy
Ecology
Biomes of Southern Africa
Taxonomy
Plants and Grasses - identification and traditional uses
Arthopods
Fish
Amphibians
Reptiles
Birds
Mammals
Animal Behaviour - interpreting and anticipating
Conservation and Habitat Management
Historical Human Habitation

Course Facilitators

Your programme will be run by our team of experienced professionals who are dedicated to ensuring participants receive the highest quality experience available.

Vaughan Jessnitz: Vaughan has over 15 years of experience as a professional field guide, professional trails guide, researcher, and field guide trainer. Vaughan has worked for several prestigious lodges and training facilities over the years. With his wealth of experience participants are sure to have an active learning experience and a unique insight into conservation research. Vaughan is well known for his professional and fun facilitation style and there are few others in the industry with his expert knowledge of the insect fauna of the region or his hands on experience with large predator research. Vaughan is an Entomologist and a Cybertracker Track and Sign Specialist with an amazing knowledge of the art of tracking, which is, in-itself, a major component of Nature Guiding.

Lee Gutteridge: as explained above, Lee is the owner of Nature Guide Training and is one of the few guides in the FGASA system to have achieve the FGASA Scout Qualification. Lee will manage the program from the administrative and logistical side, and will hopefully get to spend some time with you in the field as well. Lee has been a field guide, tracker and field guide trainer for over 30 years. He is the author of 10 books to date on wildlife subjects including trees, tracking, birds, mammals, wildflowers, history and other subjects. There are very few trainers in the industry with his level of experience and publications, and even fewer with the same level of passion and enthusiasm for nature and learning.

Our principal trainer, Vaughan, will be your main teacher but you will certainly get to spend some time with Lee during the course.

What is included?

The programme fee includes:

Expert training
Shared accommodation in a nature reserve for the duration of the course
Great food
Game drives, guided walks, lectures
Transfer on day 1 and day 60 of the course to and from the designated drop of, or pick up points
Occasional Town Trips (as arranged by the training team)
CyberTracker Track and Sign Assessment
FGASA Theory Assessment
FGASA and CATHSSETA Practical Assessment costs and moderation fee
Course T-shirt
Use of the camp resource library
Potential guest lectures by industry experts

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