Field Guide Courses Africa

Safari tour guide adventure in Africa: Immerse yourself into Southern Africa’s untouched nature and enjoy an incomparable nature guide training surrounded by vast landscapes and fascinating wildlife.

Learning in and from Africa's nature

No matter, if you are looking for a career change in the midst of the African wilderness or simply a time out in the bush for digital detox – as part of a nature guide training in Botswana, South Africa,Tanzania and/or Kenya you definitely get the chance, to have profound experiences in unspoilt landscapes and to explore and understand the impressive ecosystems of Southern Africa.

You will meet people from all over the world, learn from some of the best guides and witness stunning wildlife encounters including the impressive Big Five – lion, elephants, buffalo, rhino and leopard.

Obtaining an official FGASA certificate

Depending on which of our nature guide training programmes you decide to join, you can acquire an official FGASA accredited certificate after a final exam at the end of the course (FGASA = Field Guides Association of Southern Africa). A FGASA qualification serves as a door opener for finding field guide jobs in Southern Africa – therefore, your FGASA certificate will help you along your way to becoming a professional safari tour guide.

Field guide training courses in Africa

Professional preparation programmes for nature lovers striving for a job in the safari industry or short wilderness courses for personal enrichment – there’s a suitable nature guide training course for pretty much everyone.

Our courses are designed to offer you further education and personal growth in equal measure, and will not obligate you to receive a qualification. Here you can learn more about the following training courses:

• Professional Field Guide
• Apprentice Field Guide (former Field Guide Level 1)
• Apprentice Trails Guide
• Safari Guide
• EcoQuest

FGASA accredited training courses – with certification

One-year training as Professional Field Guide in Africa

The Professional Field Guide course is definitely a highlight among our nature guide training courses:

The one-year field guide training course leads you to four different camps in South Africa and Botswana – examples for camps are Makuleke in Kruger National Park, Karongwe, Selati and Mashatu. This experience teaches you expert knowledge about the African fauna, the fascinating plant life, and professional safari guiding. It sharpens your senses, brings you close to nature and challenges you – to put it in other words:

The Professional Field Guide training provides an incomparably rewarding learning and lifetime experience amid the pristine natural landscapes of Southern Africa. When successfully passing all necessary exams, you will be be given an official FGASA certificate at the end of your training.

28- to 55-day Apprentice Field Guide (Level 1 training)

If you can’t or don’t want to spend an entire year abroad, but still realize that time is ripe to spend a longer time out away from everyday life or even to turn life around, our FGASA Level 1 course (Apprentice Field Guide) amidst the African wilderness might be the solution you have been looking for – leave your daily routine behind and immerse yourself into pure nature.

A field guide acts as a facilitator between humans and nature, has a profound knowledge about the flora and fauna of the wildlife area he takes care of – and, of course, is passionate about nature and living outdoors.

A field guide can identify animals by their sounds, can read their tracks, and knows how to interpret weather and weather phenomena. He or she is familiar with the use and effect of wild plants and does not have any difficulties with navigating in the wild. A field guide can bring safari guests closer to nature and wildlife, always paying attention to safety and security. If you add the Trails Guide afterward, you also have to show that you can handle a rifle.

As a student in this Apprentice Field Guide training course, you spend one or two months in South Africa and/or Botswana and experience interactive theoretical lessons together with hands-on training in the untouched wilderness of Southern Africa.

Your knowledge is tested in theoretical and practical exams; presentations serve to deepen what you have learned. Subjects like ecology, animal and plant life, animal behavior, bush safety, conservation management as well as conducting safari tours and tourism are part of the course schedule

If you want to obtain a qualification you can finish the course – after successfully passing all necessary exams – with a Apprentice Field Guide certificate (FGASA Field Guide NQF2). Officially accredited by the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa (FGASA), it enables you to find a field guide job and to work as a nature guide in specific wildlife areas in Southern Africa.

28-day guide training course as an Apprentice Trails Guide

Wildlife training course in South Africa and Botswana: Furthermore, the Apprentice Field Guide certificate gives you the chance to acquire a back up Trails Guide qualification as a next step. If this is what you are striving for, you should consider taking part in our Trails Guide course.

But no matter if you already are a qualified nature guide or simply a true outdoor enthusiast, eager to acquire new skills and to experience a real outdoor adventure: As a Trails Guide student you acquire expert knowledge about your environment, sharpen your situational awareness, and learn about the meaning of the stunning natural environment and wildlife that surround you. The main goal is that you are confident walking through the African bush on foot and navigating yourself and others safely.

Hands-on units include navigation and survival training in the bush, bush walks and mokoro rides, stargazing and wilderness sleep-outs, tracking as well as comprehensive rifle training. Classroom hours reveal more about animal taxonomy, ecology or meteorology.

At the end of the course, you will be able to safely guide your safari guests on foot. If you aim at obtaining a qualification you can join a final exam to become a FGASA Trails Guide NQF2.

Short wildlife training courses – without certification

28-day Safari Guide course in Africa

The safari guide training in the African wilderness is not as intense as the courses mentioned above, but still provides a unique learning experience in nature: This training enables you to experience Africa’s nature in a very special way and teaches you important nature skills and knowledge. For 28 days you and your international group live and learn in camps, situated in breathtaking national parks and game reserves.

As part of theoretical and practical training units, you acquire further knowledge about the natural environment you live in. Moreover, you’ll learn how to professionally conduct safari tours in the wild. The safari guide training is offered in magnificent wildlife areas in Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Botswana.

7 to 14 days EcoQuest in Africa

Our one- to two-week EcoQuest amid Botswana’s or South Africa’s wilderness is an ideal option for all nature and outdoor enthusiasts who would like to gain a first insight into the African bush. The experienced instructor familiarizes you and your group with the secrets of Africa’s flora and fauna and provides you with valuable background knowledge on the amazing ecosystems.

Another extra: The EcoQuest course can also be joined as a family – this way, even the youngest ones explore and understand the unique environment of African wilderness within five days. By teaching them about wildlife, biodiversity and conservation, they develop a deeper connection to the environment and realize man's dependency on nature – important for setting the course for sustainable and environmentally aware living and acting.

Nature and guide training with Natucate

Natucate helps you become a skilled safari guide in Africa: Immerse yourself into the tranquility and vastness of Africa’s wild nature, explore the wilderness with all of your senses, adapt to nature’s pace and find your way back to the roots – and probably to yourself as well.