PROFESSIONAL ARMED
GUIDE
WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER USING ONE...
Zimbabwe rightly prides itself in having the most stringent Guide examination process in Africa, and so it should. Our Guides are people who have on the whole grown up in the African bush amongst the wildlife and have lived the best part of their lives with wild animals as constant companions.
When you do a safari in Zimbabwe you are paying for a professional who has been well trained and more importantly well tested. As a result you will be able to get 100% more enjoyment out of your holiday as your Guide will be able to walk you safely amongst the animals whilst giving numerous bits of information concerning matters from insects to elephants plus all the trees and birds in between.
There is no question that a safari with a Guide is money well spent as your ability to enjoy yourself and get the full African experience as well as the knowledge that should come with it, can only be achieved by having someone with you who is able to accomplish this.
One of the biggest advantages of having a Guide present on the Houseboat is your ability to do regular walks into the Matusadona National Park instead of being confined to the Houseboat and tender boats.
More Detailed Information on your Guide
Guide’s Licences are only issued by the Zimbabwe Department of National Parks and then only after the recipient has passed two written and one practical examination. Potential Guides are required to take part in an apprenticeship with a Registered Safari Operator and work under the guidance of other licenced Professional Guides for a period of at least three years.
They first need to write what is called a “Learner Professional Guide Licence”, which is held one a year. On passing this, they are issued with a Learner’s
Licence, which allows them to carry a weapon whilst on a guided walk with a fully licenced Professional Guide and they are permitted to take clients on game drives in suitably closed vehicles.
Usually, after about two years, under the supervision of a full Guide, the Learner Professional Guide will be allowed to write their full Guide written paper. If they pass this then they need to be recommended by a fully licenced Professional Guide before they would be accepted for the practical examination, which will be their last test.
The practical examination is possibly the most important as this is where the Learner Guides have to show the examiners what potential they have. This examination takes the format of candidates taking the examiners “on safari” in one of the local national parks’ areas, which is nominated by the department. The examiners are made up of members of the Department of National Parks and representatives of the Zimbabwe Professional hunters & Guides Association. This exam usually lasts 7 days and the candidates are put through their paces with the examiners asking numerous difficult questions about the bush and animals that they come across during their walks and drives. An important part of this exam process is seeing how the candidates perform under stress and examiners will instigate situations where elephants, buffalos etc charge and will closely observe how the candidate reacts in these situations.
Successful candidates are then issued with a full Guides Licence.
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