Ranger Training: Your basic wildlife course in Botswana

Course length:

7 nights

Starting point:

Meeting point is opposite Maun airport at 2pm on the first day of the course. The time is chosen to fit in with international arrivals

Accommodation:

A lightweight 2-person hiking tent with mattress, sleeping bag, inner sleeping bag and pillow.

Activities:

• Practical experience of navigating the African wilderness, survival techniques in the bush, the ancient art of tracking, bird and mammal identification and much more....
• Walks and overnight stays in the wilderness.
• Tracking and tracing wildlife.
• Encountering and approaching potentially dangerous animals on foot.
• Stargazing and astronomy
• Theory lectures and presentations by qualified and knowledgeable instructors on a variety of topics ranging from local geology, ecology and hydrology to astronomy and weather/climate.

Who should do this course?

• People who want to reconnect with themselves and are looking for a simple experience in the bush to help them recover, renew and reboot.
• Experienced safari-goers who are now looking for a deeper, more holistic experience in the African wilderness.
• School and/or university graduates looking for a life-changing time-out experience.
• People with a sense of adventure who want to do more than just a typical backpacking trip.
• Survivalists who want to gain the skills necessary to survive in the wilderness.
• Guides who want to learn many of the practical aspects that are often only discussed in theory.

Participants' objectives and qualifications:

This course is not a stand-alone qualification. Participants will receive a certificate of attendance. All hours on the trail can count towards a current or future trails guide qualification.

You do not need any previous experience. However, you should have sufficient English language skills and a generally good level of fitness.

Itinerary:

First day:
The African Guide Academy trainer meets all participants at the Duck Cafe opposite Maun Airport at 14h00. This allows the students to arrive on the international flights on the first day of the course (flights normally land at 13h15). In order to have enough time to arrive at Kwapa Training Camp while it is still light, we can only grant a grace period until 15h30 in case of flight delays. We strongly recommend that you take out travel insurance to cover your overnight stay and unscheduled transfer to the camp if your flight is drastically delayed.

Daily activities:
‍Each morning we wake up early, have a light breakfast and set off on foot into the wilderness. We return to our camp for lunch and rest. In the afternoon we set off on foot in a different direction.

We will spend a maximum of 3 nights in our wilderness camp before moving on to another location on foot. Depending on the water level, we will load our equipment into mokoros (dugout canoes) or the equipment will be transported by vehicle while we take our supplies for the day.

Last day:
‍We walk or mokoro back to Kwapa Training Camp where a vehicle will be waiting to take us back to Maun, arriving at the Duck Café around 11am.

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Please note that this is only a rough outline, which can and will change depending on guests' needs and external factors - and on some days it may not be followed at all! We leave it up to the wilderness to determine the best possible experiences.

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