Bush Skills
"An in-depth bush learning experience in the Okavango Delta"
"An in-depth bush learning experience in the Okavango Delta"
The Bush Skills Course is perfect for the international traveler, seeking an intimate African bush experience, full of wilderness adventure and practical information.
The Bush Skills Course is perfect for the international traveler, seeking an intimate African bush experience, full of wilderness adventure and practical information. This 7-night course at our Kwapa Camp in the southern Okavango Delta is a highlights package of our longer more in-depth courses. It is also an ideal introduction for those wanting to do a self-drive safari with a bit more confidence. While there are informative ‘lectures’ the majority of the training happens out in nature on foot, in a 4-wheel drive vehicle and depending on water levels, by boat and mokoro (dug-out canoe). We cover basic survival skills, 4×4 driving, walking in the wilderness, animal tracking, dangerous mammal facts, geology of the Delta, astronomy for navigation, bird identification and useful plants.
The Okavango Guiding school is owned and operated by the Reed family. The well known Reed brothers, Grant and Brent who starred in “Safari Brothers” which aired internationally on National Geographic Wild.
The Okavango Guiding school is the first private guide training school registered in Botswana to provide training for guides on both the Field Guide Association of Southern Africa (FGASA) and the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) platforms.
Our training courses are conducted in the Okavango Delta which has been declared a World Heritage site because of it’s pristine ecosystems, it’s scenic beauty and abundance of wildlife. The Okavango is one of the most scenically spectacular wildlife areas anywhere in the world. The myriad of crystal clear channels and wildlife rich islands is a habitat unlike any other.
The learning experience is influenced by the natural beauty of the area and the habitat diversity. Kwapa has a combination of river channel’s, floodplains, lagoons as well as riparian woodland, savannah, mopane scrub, climax mopane woodland and grasslands.
Possibly the most amazing thing about the area is the fact that it is part of a wilderness that stretches unfenced for hundreds of thousands of square kilometres through Moremi Game Reserve, Chobe National Park, the Caprivi Strip of Namibia, southern Angola and southern Zambia.
Even in a great area with wonderful biodiversity you need a great field guide trainer. The trainer not only helps you to identify the species but also to interpret the behaviour and understand the complex and fascinating interactions between the species and their environment.
OGS has a team of safari guide trainers that are unsurpassed in their qualifications and experience.
Our training camp is situated in a private concession area in the southern Okavango. Major habitat types include savannah, woodland, mopane woodland/scrub, grassland, floodplain and riverine forest. Please note that Kwapa is not in the permanent swamps which makes it a better wildlife area but when water levels are low November-June the Kwapa River may dry up all together. Water levels in the Okavango are impossible to predict from year-to-year.
The area has resident populations of most of Africa’s iconic wildlife but our focus on all our courses is learning and discovering. We do not chase Big 5 but rather delve into the ecological interactions of all our wildlife regardless of the species.
Kwapa Camp has nine 3 x 4 meru-style tents with a short passage to an enlarged en-suite bathroom with bucket shower and short drop toilet. Each tent is furnished with two camp beds, sheets, pillows, duvet and towels. A battery-operated LED light is provided in the tents. There is a wash basin relaxing chairs on the covered verandah.
Accommodation is on a shared basis with the option of a single supplement for single accommodation.
The transfer is included in the course price and takes place on the first day of the course. The Okavango Guiding School trainer meets all students at the PPCC Indian restaurant across the road from Maun Airport at 14h00. The transfer to camp takes approximately 2-2.5 hours.
OGS Bush Skills Certificate: This course is for students wanting personal enrichment rather than pursuing a formal qualification to become a guide. They will receive an Okavango Guiding Certificate for participation in the course.
Shared tented accommodation
All meals at Kwapa Training Camp
Well-point water, cordial, tea and coffee
All training and activities
Scheduled transfer from Maun to Kwapa Camp return (1 transfer in and out per student)
Unscheduled transfers to/from Kwapa Camp
Travel insurance and all flights
Items of personal nature, including toiletries
Staff gratuities
Drinks other than those mentioned – these can be purchased in Maun before leaving for Kwapa camp
Contact safariFRANK to get started on your safari of a lifetime!