18 – 30 years old (must be 18 on 1 Sep 2024) when applying
Minimum of 19 places
August 2025
11 nights (12 days)
£2,000 (excluding flights)
Saturday 30 November 2024 at the Quality Hotel, Coventry – for those wishing to apply please note you will need to attend the face to face interviews.
1 November 2024
Applications are now closed for this trip. Please check back in September 2025 for details of next year's YFC Travel opportunities.
Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a Game Ranger or Field Guide in South Africa? Join us on a 12-day conservation adventure and find out what it takes! This adventure is a unique blend of adventure, hands-on field guide tracking and conservation training all topped off with a tour of Soweto and a deep dive into the history of apartheid.
If you’re looking for a hands-on, educational experience, this is ideal; and if you want to progress your career in wildlife conservation even further, you can complete your FGASA qualification – the stepping stone to becoming a field guide.
You will head to the Northernmost province of South Africa to stay at your base camp on the Mongena Game Reserve. Expect to sleep under the stars in safari tents nestled amongst the grassland - your camp is completely unfenced so you can feel completely immersed in nature, the sound of jackals calling, hyaenas whooping and lions roaring at night will be something you will grow used to as you doze off in your cosy safari tent!
The weather is mild most of the year, but it can dip below zero at night during the winter months (mid-May to mid-Aug). Daytime temperatures are always fine, although during summer it can get really warm. Layers are the answer and just apply that to the time of year.
The game reserve is situated in a transitional zone, between the grassland biome of Gauteng and the Savanna biome of Limpopo province and between the arid western regions of South Africa and the wetter east. This unique position means you will encounter an amazing array of animal and plant life. Not only is the reserve home to Africa’s Big 5 (with both black and white rhino); you could also catch glimpses of spotted and brown hyaena, cheetah, hippo, Nile crocodile, giraffe, zebra and more.
This carefully curated itinerary makes for a unique African experience.
After travelling to the Limpopo Reserve, you’ll begin your tracking and field guiding work. Here, you will be given practical and theory sessions, teaching you everything you need to know about the local fauna and flora. You will spend days observing and interpreting sights and sounds, identifying signs of wildlife and traversing (by foot or by Jeep) the wide expanses of the Reserve.
Given the nature of wildlife tracking, no two days will be the same – and itineraries are subject to change based on the needs and whims of the wildlife! However, your adventure will touch on a huge range of topics, including ecology, taxonomy, biomes, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals, fish, behaviour, tracking and signs, conservation management, and, of course, guiding. Not only that, but you will be skilled in bush cooking, driving Jeeps around the Reserve and identifying every species of wildlife.
You will also have the opportunity to gain your Cyber Tracker Assessment. Based on your theory and practical lessons, you will be able to identify tracks on the ground and be able to conclude which limb of which animal made that track, and whether they were running, walking or hunting at the time – quite the party trick!
After an incredible experience in the Reserve, you will be experiencing South Africa like a local, with traditional cuisine and local guides to give you a real taste of South African culture – even exploring the township of Soweto by bicycle.
After spending three weeks in Africa, gaining an insight into field guiding, I am now pursuing a career in guiding, all thanks to Flooglebinder. The trip was jam-packed with new experiences, most unexpected and it was fun all the way through!
We got to assist in a rhino darting and spent most of the time tracking animals and enjoying our time by the campfire in the evenings. We gained qualifications in tracking and first aid. I would definitely like to join other trips in the future. They really care about wildlife and conservation and sustainable tourism.
Thank you so much for the experience!
Previous YFC Travel Participant
YFC Travel is generously supported by Young Farmers Ambassadors and NFU Mutual Charitable Trust.
