Savannah Guides final update from the August Experience

Ulovane update: It has been two weeks since our guests from Savannah Guides returned home to Cairns in Queensland Australia and we sure do miss them! 2017 is looking exciting for Ulovane Environmental Training and Savannah guides. We will be offering 4 intakes throughout the year, of 4 weeks each. The 4 week Nature experience will give the candidate exposure to a variety of guiding taking place in South Africa, including vehicle-based safaris, walking safaris, marine guiding, and specialist bird guiding. The main aim of the experience to share, learn, enjoy, and most of all to appreciate nature in all its glory! We still have one more group arriving this year 07 November – 04 December and we are keen to get started!!

Thanks must go to Shane Ross a previous Ulovane student, who introduced us to Savannah guides and set the wheels in motion! Shane spent a year traveling through Africa, after his 10-week course with us. Please have a look at his blog and crazy adventures – http://itstartedinbamaga.wordpress.com/. We hope he will be joining us in hosting one of the Savannah guide groups next year!

Huge thank you to Russell and Sam Boswell for keeping in touch, answering 100’s of questions, and being amazing support from the other side of the world!!

You 4 legends that joined us for 4 weeks, thank you for coming in and giving us all inspiration and lots of laughs!

Ivor did a final update for us, the short version!

After an eye-opening week on Tracks when we didn’t know the difference between a Bush Buck, Spring Bok, Bless Bok, breeze block or Reebok just to see Andrew commit suicide on level 4 track assessment day one but not before declaring war on the entire Common Duiker population, which it seems is now on the endangered list. Following that, on day two to see Schalk taken apart, mauled in fact, by a Yellow Mongoose in public. Mammal’s week was next.

Cripes they are everywhere, in all shapes and sizes and we got to have our boots on the ground with them! Surprising for us to realize that the buffalo is given such a high rating as a dangerous animal when so much other stuff is around. The cheetahs were a real highlight along with the eagles, as all the animals are.

As visitors, we just loved the giraffes, impalas, and all the newborns.

Onto Marine for another great week’s experience and sleep-out by the river. Of course more birds, birds, birds. A great program with many sites and experiences, really well done.

This last week has been Birds and more birds non-stop birds. Sightings, sounds, and trying to link hundreds for assessment day was fear incarnated. Luckily we are visitors, not full-time students, therefore, were spared the intense rigors of study, phew.

The most stunning memory has been the depth and breadth of the professional knowledge of the Ulovane instructors, their dedication to training, their students, and the Ulovane training processes. Fantastic!

We will take many tips and great memories back to Australia.

A huge thank you

And yes you will see us again

• Ivor

“Experience is not necessarily accumulated over the extent of time lived. In my opinion, it is accumulated over the degree and variety of activities a person has been involved in”  Nike Thaddeus