In June 2014 I went on an adventure to South Africa for 5 months to undertake a Field Guiding course at Campfire Academy near Hoedspruit. My time in South Africa was amazing! There were so many memorable times – so many trips to the Kruger National Park; Rocking For Rhinos Festival; walks in the bush; amazing game drives; all the amazing wildlife sightings from those experiences; and just generally living in South Africa!
Unfortunately I didn’t update my blog as planned, excuse is I was busy being engaged in the course. It has been a little over a year since the day I arrived in South Africa (which is sad really) and I haven’t really written comprehensively about my time in South Africa. I feel the time has passed as it would become more of a tale rather than my experiences as they unfolded. However, as part of my Trails Guide Backup course – that’s the course to be a backup Field Guide for walking safaris – I was required to complete a logbook documenting 50 hours of training, including a minimum of 10 approaches to potentially dangerous game (there were many more than that). They were written to show competence in; approaching, situational awareness, safety, guest relations, and personal learning & development. I have decided to transcribe my Viewing Potentially Dangerous Animals (VPDA) Logbook onto this, my new blog, with a few amendments.
I may end up recounting other trips and experiences in South Africa on here… But in the meantime please enjoy my records of VPDA!