Overview

As a Trails Guide student you spend four unforgettable weeks in the African wilderness, enjoying an incomparable nature training, learning how vital safety is in the bush and exploring your natural environment with all of your senses on daily excursions.

Details

This course combines a mindful approach to experiencing nature with unique personal development. As a Trails Guide student you will go on your first excursion of the day as the sun goes up. This hands-on units are followed by theoretical lessons teaching you everything you need to know about local plant and animal life, before you head out into the bush for a second time until it is dark.

Throughout the course, you and your international group will roam the African wilderness and acquire the skills that are necessary to be able to navigate and orient yourself in the bush. You will learn how to track animals, how to keep an appropriate distance to them, how to read their behaviour and how to ensure the safety of the entire group. Knowing about local plant life and how to make use of it, for example for medical purposes, is another part of surviving in the wild.

Together with an international team and an experienced guide, you’ll venture daily on long hikes into the heart of the bush, experiencing the African wilderness in a way that few ever do. The diverse course program includes navigation and survival training, Mokoro and motorboat trips, tracking, stargazing, and overnight stays in the wild. You’ll also attend fascinating theoretical lessons on wildlife, ecology, and meteorology. A key aspect of your training will be learning how to handle a rifle, a crucial skill for safely guiding guests on foot through the bush as a qualified Trails Guide.

Accommodation

The Kwapa training camp, located in Southern Okavango Delta close to Kwapa River, will be your home during your time in the Trails Guide course. You will be accommodated in a 3×3 meters high wall wilderness style tent which provides a bed, a night table and a LED-light. You will share the tent with another participant – a single tent may be available on request. Moreover, there is an ensuite-bathroom connected to the tents providing a bucket shower and a typical “bush toilet”. Besides daily meals, you will be offered tea and coffee throughout the day.

Testimonial

“It was an amazing experience. Everything about this trip was positive!” (Matthias, 31 years)

Dates, Services, Cost

15 Day: 06-03-2026, 20-03-2026, 01-05-2026, 15-05-2026, 26-06-2026, 10-07-2026, 16-10-2026, 30-10-2026, 13-11-2026, 27-11-2026

29 Day: 06-03-2026, 01-05-2026, 26-06-2026, 16-10-2026, 13-11-2026

Follow the link below to learn about additional start dates.

Services

  • Placement in the course
  • Assistance with travel arrangements
  • Assistance with selecting travel insurance
  • Assistance with booking flights
  • Pre-departure information pack
  • Risk coverage certificate
  • Accommodation during the course
  • All meals during the course
  • Drinking water
  • Transport between campsites
  • Game walks
  • Game drives
  • Classroom hours
  • Certificate
  • English-speaking support by long-term experienced staff
  • 24/7 support throughout the course

2026 Sharing Rate

  • 15 Day: 4,200.00 EUR
  • 29 Day: 8,200.00 EUR

2026 Single Rate

  • 15 Day: 5,460.00 EUR
  • 29 Day: 10,660.00 EUR

The prices listed above are calculated on the basis of a 17 Rand exchange rate (1 EUR = 17 ZAR).

The price stated in euros are approximate values. Due to sharp fluctuations in the exchange rate of the rand, all prices will be calculated at the time of enquiry.