Working with your safari guide
It takes many people to create the perfect safari vacation, from the specialist at Journey Beyond who puts together your itinerary to the bush pilot who flies you to your remote lodge. One of the most important people in ensuring you have a phenomenal experience, however, is your safari guide.
Professional safari guides are the men and women who lead your safari activities (including game drives and walking safaris). It’s a profession that comes with unique requirements: to be a great guide you need to be a people person, but also comfortable with living in a remote location for weeks or months at a time.
Multitasking at its finest
The duties of a safari guide include hosting, keeping guests safe, and interpreting the wonders of the bush. Guides – whether or not they are paired with a tracker – are responsible for finding the wildlife you want to see, interpreting their behavior, and anticipating the most exciting animal action. And they do all of this whilst driving a 4WD drive vehicle across challenging terrain.
Safari guides need to be equally skilled as mechanics, bartenders, baristas, storytellers and entertainers. They require the ability to get on with both younger and older guests, from many different countries.
It’s good to talk
Whatever your hopes for your holiday, you should take the time to share these with your guide when you first meet them. Whether you’re a dedicated birder or you’re looking for an elusive species (be it a leopard or an aardvark), chat to your guide so that they can tailor your experience to your wishes. The more they know about you, the better a job they can do.
During activities, if you’re not sure of something or want to learn more, feel free to ask as many questions as you wish. Safari guides love to share their knowledge and experience, and will enjoy discussing any topic from identifying animal tracks to the medicinal properties of plants. They also enjoy learning more about the places where their guests are from.
If you see it, say it
Safari guides tend to be eagle-eyed, and of course they know the areas you’ll be exploring together, but they can’t be looking in all directions at once. From the raised seats in the game viewer vehicle, you’ll have a slightly different perspective on the surrounding bushveld. It’s very possible that you may spot something that your guide has missed, and he or she will never complain if you do. Even if it turns out that you’ve only spotted a tree stump or a termite mound, it’s always worth calling your guide’s attention to anything unusual that you’ve seen.
Being a good guest
Before your first game drive, your safari guide will take you through a few rules. They’re not at all onerous but following them will help to ensure everyone’s safety and enjoyment. There are also safari etiquette rules to do with how you interact with other guests and with the animals you encounter.
Switching seats in the vehicle after each activity lets you and your fellow guests see the bushveld from slightly different angles, and gives everyone an opportunity to sit further forward in the vehicle (closer to the guide, but lower down), or further back in the vehicle (higher up for an improved view, but can be bumpier on rough ground).
Tips are not expected – but they are appreciated
If you’ve enjoyed your safari experiences with your guide (and tracker) and you feel they’ve gone above and beyond their job descriptions, you may want to leave a gratuity for them at the end of your stay at the lodge or camp.
It’s not necessary to tip after each activity; instead, you can give a gratuity just once on the day you depart. Typically, tips for safari guides are separate to the tips you may choose to leave for lodge staff (these are usually divided equally between all staff members, excluding the guides).
To learn more about optimizing your African safari experiences, contact Journey Beyond today.