For the rawest, most exciting bush experience that one could wish for. . .

This intensive and primitive two-week experience takes one back to the raw basics of life in the bush.  It has been designed with a wilderness-orientated background in mind and is aimed primarily at teaching tracking skills to the participants whilst allowing them to spend their time with us in the vast wilderness of the Tuli Block in Botswana; along similar lines as explorers once did in a bygone era. 

Tracking is one of the earliest known sciences to mankind and yet is a dying art these days due to all the modernisation that has taken place; along with the fact that raw tracking is continually becoming more obsolete in the monitoring research of animals and their movements as telemetry and satellite collars become more favoured.  Tracking skills have, however, been proven to be invaluable in the research world.  Therefore the formal qualification issued upon successfully passing the course components will be of great help to those wishing to pursue a career in field-conservation. This project assists in reawakening the art of tracking. 

Successfully selected team members can expect to undergo a rigorous physical and mental training programme, primarily in how to identify animal tracks and locate animals from the tracks and signs left on the ground, along with other bush skills.  The first week is orientated predominantly around track identifications as this is the first step in tracking.  The second week sees every participant given the opportunity to lead the group in an attempt to track down a high-profile animal (elephant, leopard, lion, cheetah or hyaena).  Coaching will be given to the tracker of the day by our highly-skilled course leaders (Cybertracker level 3 or 4 accredited trackers).

Accommodation is in dome tents and cooking is solely on an open fire, whilst showers are taken from a cold “bucket shower” or we might wash in one of the natural pools that we encounter.  There may be nights where we cannot make it back to the camp before nightfall on a tracking excursion and these nights will be spent in the bush around a fire keeping watch, until we can make it back the following day.

Food is basic yet substantial and fresh produce is minimal due to the lack of fridges and freezers.

A high level of physical fitness is required in order to ensure that you will cope with all the walking that we do and exceptional mental stamina is a necessity in keeping a constant and concentrated lookout for animals and following their tracks for lengthy periods.  Therefore certain age and other restrictions do apply to candidates and a doctor’s approval needs to be granted before acceptance onto this project.  Prior experience on a conservation project in Africa will assist in gaining a position on this raw life-changing wilderness experience.

Dates for 2012 are:

11 April 2012 - 25 April 2012

15 August 2012 - 29 August 2012

26 September 2012 - 10 October 2012

 Please Note:  This is not a game-viewing project, but a raw, tough tracking experience with a large physical and mental stamina component that is not for the faint-hearted.