Tag Archives: trails guiding

Bhejane Pride

New Principle Trainer at Bhejane

Leave a comment

The Bhejane Nature Training pride has grown with the new appointment of Phillip Wessels as Principal Trainer and Assessor.

Bhejane Principle Trainer, Phillip Wessels

Adding Skill and Experience to the Bhejane Team

Phillip brings with him a wealth of experience and qualifications. Having taught at, and headed up, numerous prestigious wildlife education institutions. He is particularly looking forward to working with the Bhejane students on our three-year Advanced Nature Guiding and Wildlife Conservation course. Bhejane is the only nature training school that offers this intensive course which ensures a well-rounded education for the student.

Phillip is well aware of the limitations with shorter courses, in getting the students industry-ready. He is keen to impart his knowledge to those students looking to make a life-long career in the guiding industry.

With origins in Zambia, Phillip’s lineage has strong links with wildlife. His almost weekly trips to Kruger National Park as a child served to strengthen his connection with the environment.

Phillip’s career in the wildlife industry was launched through a chance encounter with a field guide. More than 20 years later, he has achieved professional status in the industry through the Field Guide’s Association of Southern Africa (FGASA). He is a registered Professional Field Guide, with Specialised Knowledge & Skills (SKS) accreditation in dangerous game and birding, Professional Tracker qualification and proficiency as a Firearms Trainer.

He is also proficient in Wilderness First Aid, well versed in Hospitality and Big 5 Walking Safaris, and intimately involved in Anti-Poaching Conservation. 

As a FGASA Specialist Training Provider, assessor and trails guide mentor qualified to conduct training, Phillip has a burning desire to share this passion and knowledge with learners.

“I am enthusiastic about sharing my vast knowledge with this new generation of nature ambassadors who stand to gain an in-depth understanding of the environment and a passion for guiding,” says Phillip.

About the Bhejane Nature Training Course

The Advanced Nature Guiding and Wildlife Conservation course includes FGASA Apprentice Field Guide, Apprentice Trails Guide, Marine Guiding, Track & Sign and Trailing, Advanced Rifle Handling FGASA Birding and several other specialist courses.

Heading off on a Primitive Trail, sleeping out under the stars.

Bhejane tailor made the course specifically because of the demanding nature of the wildlife guiding industry. The course meets the highest standards possible when it comes to training field guides.

Ideal for school leavers, by the time the student has graduated from the three-year course, they will be 21 years old . This is thee required age to obtain a professional driver’s permit (PDP), which is a necessity for working in the industry.

This opens the student to employment immediately after graduating.

“Over the last 10 to 15 years, we have seen the majority of students who have completed this advanced course remain in the industry and advancing to senior positions.

“Our guides who graduate from the advanced course really stick out above the rest,” said Dylan Panos, Bhejane Nature Training co-founder.

For full info on the course, visit https://www.bhejanenaturetraining.com/nature-guiding-wildlife-conservation-course.php

Your Guiding Career

How to Become a Fgasa Nature Guide

2 Comments

Being a FGASA Nature Guide is a dream job, envied by many. And for good reason. While it is certainly hard work, the rewards are numerous. Nature Guiding as a professional career has evolved steadily over the last two decades. Today it is a much sought-after career option all over Southern Africa.

Fgasa Nature Guide: Find Your Purpose
Is Nature Guiding your future?

Why Become a Fgasa Nature Guide

Fgasa is the most widely recognised standard setting and certification body for nature guides. It is enjoys recognition in Southern Africa and many other parts of the world.

Fgasa Nature Guide qualifications provides the perfect platform to launch your nature guiding career.

Bhejane’s Advanced Flagship Course

The Bhejane Nature Training Advanced Nature Guiding and Wildlife Conservation programme is a unique and comprehensive 3-year programme.

As the first of a new generation of industry orientated learning programmes, you will love you much fun learning is on this course. The programme combines the intimately related fields of Professional Nature Guiding, Conservation/Wildlife Management, Monitoring and Research, and Tourism and Hospitality. 

This enables the student to get a quality academic qualification whilst at the same time living and training in the bush. The 3 year programme is a good alternative to short informal bush courses with little value, or a lengthy academic programme that still leaves you unemployable.  

At Bhejane our focus is broader than simply training guides for prestigious and upmarket lodge environments.

Wildlife Tourism products are diverse and exciting! It follows naturally that your options for guiding are equally diverse and exciting. Bhejane prepare you as a nature guide so you get to know yourself better and find the correct niche in the industry that suits your unique personal and professional profile.

Do our fun quiz to find out what type of guide you could be.

FGASA Trails Guide Candidates

The Bhejane Playground

Bhejane’s commitment to purposeful career training will ensure that you can now do all of this in one place, gain valuable practical experience and qualify for an industry placement at the same time.

In addition to the benefits stated above, this is the only programme of its kind that prepares the student to work in both terrestrial and marine protected areas. Learn more about our exciting camps and courses here.

Fgasa Nature Guide
Open Water Diving on the FGASA Marine Guide Course

Base in Northern Zululand and bordering the Isimangaliso Wetlands Park the college could hardly be in a better place.  Widely recognised as an area of unrivalled biodiversity, this offers the opportunity to live, study and work in one of the most diverse natural environments in Southern Africa.

The programme is suitable for anyone that is interested in working in Wildlife Tourism and Conservation, either as a Professional Nature Guide, Wildlife Monitor, Research Assistant, Conservation Volunteer Coordinator, Marine Guide or Conservation Entrepreneur. The course caters specifically for students that want more than an entry level guiding qualification, and is looking for a more practical training approach than what is available through traditional academic qualifications. Download our Career Fact Sheets here.

Fgasa Nature Guide

Bhejane Nature Training is a fully endorsed FGASA Training Provider. (Field Guides Association of Southern Africa)

Join us today, to become a part of the Zululand Conservation Legacy . . . 

For more information contact Bhejane Nature Training at info@bhejanenaturetraining.com or go to our website, https://www.bhejanenaturetraining.com/

Your Guiding Career

Veldgids Loopbaan Ontwikkelings-Program

Leave a comment

Ons stel graag die Bhejane Loopbaan Ontwikkelings-Program bekend! n  Vars en visionêre benadering tot veldggids opleiding en opwindende byvoeging tot die Bhejane Kursus Portefeulje vir 2020.

Die program bevat 3 fases. n Fondasie fase, Ontwikkelings Fase en Goverderde Fase. Studente met geen vorige opleiding of ervaring begin by die Fondasie Fase.

Studente wat reeds basiese gidswerk of verwante kwalifikasies het kan begin by Fase 2 – die Ontwikkelingsfase. Die gevorderde fase is beskikbaar vir studente wat reeds fase 2 voltooi het, en verder in enige rigting wil spesialiseer, en ook  belangstel om werksondervinding te kry terwyl hulle onder mentorskap is.

Die program het n omvattende fokus en beoog om n diverse groep studente aan die industrie beskikbaar te stel. Studente het die geleentheid om in n verskeidenheid areas te spesialisser en gevolglik self te besluit hoe en waar hulle in die industrie inpas.

Die program sluit in as basis die syllabus en nasionale gids kwalifikasies van FGASA – die Veldgids Assosiasie van Suider Afrika.

Die FGASA komponente word verder gekomplimenteer deur n verskeidenheid spesialis en vaardigheids modules, wat die studente volledig voorberei vir n loopbaan in die Safari en Ekotoerisme industrieë.  Hierdie modules addreseer noodsaaklike werksgereedheid vaardighede soos  kommunkasie, konflikhantering, beplanning en organisasie in die werksplek, entrepreneurskap en die basiese diensvoorwaardes geldig in Suid Afrika.

Spesialis modules sluit in Natuurbewaring, Marienegids, Monitering en Veldnavorsings assistent, Spesialis stapgids, Spesialis voëlgids.

Die Spesialis modules kan ook as losstaande modules voltooi word buite die die konteks van die volle program vir gidse wat reeds voltyds werk.

Kontak ons vir die informasie paket en die 2020 registrasie datums, fooie en vorms.

Bhejane Pride, Uncategorized, Your Guiding Career

Nature Guide Career Development Programme

Leave a comment

We are excited to introduce the new Bhejane Nature Guide Career Development Programme (CDP). Whether you are just starting out, and have no prior training experience, or whether you are already qualified but need a further boost to launch your career, the unique phased approach of the programme allows you to hop on where it bests suits you!

3 Training Phases

The programme consist of 3 phases (Foundation, Development and Advanced Phase).  Students with no prior training or experience start at the Foundation Phase.

Students that are already qualified with basic guiding qualifications can start at Phase 2 – The Development Phase, while those that are looking for mentored workplace experience, and a headstart in specialist and advanced course modules can choose to stay on for Phase 3  – The Advanced Phase.

Career Development is Key

The programme is career focussed and aims to prepare students for active participation in the Wildlife Tourism industry, by developing competent guides, with well formulated career paths in the various specialist nature guiding and related wildlife tourism fields.

The course has been structured to include the national skills programmes as required by the South African Tourism Act, to be recognized and registered as a legal nature guide. These skills programmes are trained using the syllabus of the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa (FGASA)

In addition to these skills programmes, we have added “soft skill” components and Practical Guiding Skills that address areas of essential knowledge. This includes various topics such as Your Guiding Career Path, Specialist modules such as Birding or Marine Guiding, Industry and Workplace skills, Research and Reference skills, and preparation for further study once out in the industry.  Contact us to get the information pack with fees and 2020 intake dates for this exciting new programme.

Bush Theatre

A Week of Appreciation in the Life of a Bhejane Student

Leave a comment

There is something about the bush, the sound of the birds singing early in the morning, the branches breaking in the distance by elephants, the roar of the lion spreading through the mountains. Waking up in the cold winter morning staring ahead with your head peeping out the zip of your safari tent, overlooking the Mkuze River, having breakfast around a fire pit still warm from the night befores boma fire,feeling refreshed and ready for a full day of walking trails – This is how you start your day at Ebandla Camp.

IMGP2779

Working with Colin Patrick and his amazing K9 sidekick (Anne) is one of the best experiences, just by observing them work together, side by side and with a different insight! Trailing an animal gives you the courage to improve your skills. As soon as you find a fresh track, the hunt is on, bundu bashing through the bushes looking for any sign of the animal you are tracking in the sand, in the trees along the river banks – to find an animal you need to think like one!

IMG-20191027-WA0013 (1)

 

This is such an amazing experience because you can learn a lot about the animals behaviour, By asking things like ‘What type of food it eats?  Was it on its way to a specific location? or maybe just wondering around? by looking at the tracks you can see if the animal is relaxed and walking slow or on edge walking fast.

It is hard work and requires a lot of concentration, but the thrill of tracking a wild animal never ceases to excite me!

As the days go by tracking different animals and learning more about ourselves in the process just adding on to knowledge displayed all around us with every step we take. I remember how nervous I was for the assessment day -It was a perfect sunny morning, everyone was standing around the boma and you could just see the stress of test day show on their faces, but the we started walking and  I couldn’t help but to look at my surroundings and just seeing how beautiful nature really helped me to calm down.

We walked for a while before Colin stopped us and split us into two groups and briefed us on our task at hand – one group would walk for 15 minutes to get as far away as possible and hide away and the opposing group would have to track the hiders down! The assessment has begun. After 15 minutes one person was chosen to lead the track for the hiding group – As we tracked and trailed we finally found them and it was now our time to hide.

This process went on until everyone had a chance to track spreading this experience on for 2 days! Every moment as exciting and challenging as the next, when we were all done leading, Colin sat us down and the feedback process began.

IMG-20191027-WA0014

 

After meeting with each of us, we were all happy to hear how well the assessments went.

I was sitting outside enjoying the beautiful view that Ebandla camp has to offer and it just got me thinking of how amazing this week was, how wonderful it is to learn something new everyday and how amazing and thrilling it is to track an animal and become one and more connected with this beautiful country.

I could do this for the rest of my life.

 

By: Karla Swart (Advanced Course Student)