Our Annual Guides Training: The Heart of Your African Safari Experience

At African Bush Camps, we believe a genuine African safari experience is deeply rooted in the expertise, passion, and intuitive nature of the guide.

Our guides are experts in immersing you in the splendor of the African bush, its wildlife and its people. Since establishing Somalisa, our first camp, we’ve consistently prioritized increasing the knowledge and experience of our guiding teams throughout Southern Africa, passing on our deep passion for our heartlands to you, our guest.

Our Guides Training

Every year, we close all our camps across Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe for one week of extensive guide training covering various topics related to their guiding field, tourism, sustainability and conservation. The much-anticipated event on the guiding calendar stirs excitement through our camps as team members from across our heartlands journey to Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park to participate—some for the very first time.

This year, we welcomed team members of all levels with over 450 years of collective experience gathered under one roof. For our guides, this is the perfect opportunity to connect, learn, share with their peers, and be inspired by those who have spent a lifetime in the bush.

Why is Our Guides’ Training Important to Your Safari Experience?

At the heart of an authentic African safari is a guide who is truly in touch and in tune with their natural surroundings. Our Guide Training is practical and adventurous; guides go out into the African bush to reconnect, hone their intuition and become one with nature. Together, they track and trace wildlife on foot through diverse landscapes, refine their knowledge of plant and insect species and complete vital medic training, equipping them with all the necessary skills to make your African safari experience wildly rewarding, one you’ll never forget.

The Rise of Female Guides at ABC

When we launched our Female Guides Program back in 2021, we aspired to have 25 female guides by 2025. Now in its third year, our two-year curriculum is designed to give local women the opportunity to learn about the travel, tourism and hospitality industries to create viable employment prospects close to home and ultimately diversify the largely male-dominated safari industry.

After completing professional training through African Safari Guides and hands-on training in camp, our recruits proudly become Trainee Guides at African Bush Camps.

Learn, Share, Inspire

Our new Trainee Guides are welcomed into camp by our professional guiding team, who play a crucial role in supporting and mentoring each new guide, helping them succeed by generously sharing their knowledge and wisdom and investing time into their development as future ABC guides.

When you visit our camps in Botswana and Zambia, you’ll notice our Trainee Guides shadowing other team members and learning on the go. By working together, our Trainees are inspired to draw on their local knowledge while gaining confidence and building the expertise to guide you on your next safari in Africa. In years to come, we look forward to seeing women transform the industry with their own unique touch and guiding intuition.