Lesson 5- Don't Forget the Small Stuff!

Here is a very important lesson about not relying on the 'Big 5'

There is always much more to guiding than just showing tourists the so-called “big five” animals. There are many times when you are out there in the bush when none of the big five are to be seen and one can sometimes drive or walk for an hour or two without seeing something “big and hairy”.

This is when it becomes vitally important as a nature guide to maintain interest for your guests with the many smaller things in our environment that are around us at all times.

The most obvious living things that you’ll be driving or walking past will be plants, mainly in the form of trees, many of which are large and spectacular, but also in the form of shrubs and, in summer, many varieties of beautiful wild flowers.

If you are a new guide, make a note of the most common, obvious plants that you see on a daily basis and do some research on them. There are many very useful books that can give you interesting information on plants including Bushveld Trees, Lowveld Trees, Medicinal Plants of SA, People’s Plants, Food from the Veld, Wild Flowers of the Okavango and one of the best, Trees and Shrubs of the Okavango. These books have a wealth of interesting information about plants that you’ll see during your guiding trips.

Also, spend some time with the indigenous people living in your area of operation and ask them about their traditional uses of plants. You’ll be amazed at what plants can be used for, and your guests will be even more amazed as you pass this information on. By chatting to the locals, you can end up getting information that is not found in any guide book.

This will make those quiet times between the big game animals much more interesting for your guests.

Thank you to Lex Hes from our 28 Day Widlife course for this lesson. You can see more information about this course by clicking here, or click on the menu.