Sun Destinations

Guiding is an art form. A dance between awareness, knowledge, and intuition. It is about noticing the subtlest of movements through the dense bush: the black tip of a tail swooshing past, a glimmer of colour, a shape out of place. It is about reading the landscapes, from the spoor in the sand to listening out for the alarm calls of birds or squirrels.

It is a wisdom learnt and earned through spending countless hours in the wild. With nature as our greatest teacher, guided game drives and walking safaris offer guests the opportunity to immerse themselves in the wisdom of the wild. Guides share the language of the wilderness with guests, helping to deepen their connection to the natural world.

Guides are the storytellers that help make a safari an unforgettable experience. One where we learn not only about the bush, but also about ourselves and our place within the interconnected web of life.

Our passionate guides from the boutique Chacma Bush Camp share their favourite moments in the wild, what they love about the African bushveld, and why they love what they do.

Edward is an extraordinary storyteller. His bush knowledge has been honed from hours and hours (well, years really!) walking through the wilderness on foot.
After years working at some of the most iconic African reserves in the Lowveld, he found his wild home at Chacma Bush Camp. He takes guests on game drives at Chacma Bush Camp but his true passion and love of the wilderness comes from leading walking safaris.

What do you love about being a guide and working in the wilderness?

“My favourite thing about working in the wild is that no day is ever the same whether it’s a new face of a guest, an incredible sighting, the calls of nature and waking up to nature every morning is one of the biggest pleasures.”

What do you love about working at Chacma?

“My favourite part of working at Chacma and the area would most definitely be the landscapes and the elevations where together with good sightings is a view that our guests wont forget either with a morning coffee or afternoon sundowner. Im also very passionate about walking and thats just one of the perks of the job.”

What moment or experience is one that you’ll never forget?

“There is quite a bit that stands out working in the bush, and alot of sightings or moments il never forget but by far the best was on one morning where me and my tracker tracked lions on foot, where all of a sudden we heard and saw a warthog running full force towards us, we had to make ourselfes one with the big tree next to us as lions took it down right in front if us, just a few metres away.”

What about your most unusual sighting?

“My most unusual sighting was seeing 6 adult leopards feeding on a big male kudu carcass. Leopards are known for their solitude and for being highly territorial.”

What is your favourite sound or call in the bush?

“My favourite sound in the bush is the contact call of a scrub hare, it’s quite a deep sound, that you wouldn’t expect from an animal that size.”

What is important to you as a guide? What about the safari experience do you try and share with guests?

“One thing I often tell my guests is to take in everything from sound, smell, sight, and taste. A big part is also to enjoy the smaller things in nature just as much as the bigger things cause all and all everything together makes up a great safari experience.

I want for guests to find a true appreciation for nature and for what it is, its ever changing and unpredictable, as guides we have the passion and knowledge but at the end of the day nature should take all the credit and should always be respected equally.

Always expecting the unexpected and every drive/walk in nature is a fun exciting experience, never having to high expectations but to allow every moment on safari to rather surprise you. “

Trent Tamsen is the eagle-eyed, youngest guide and astute spotter at Chacma Bush Camp. He grew up visiting the Timbavati with his family. He recalls being when he was young and being so small that when he witnessed an elephant being darted, its toe nail was as big as his hand.

What do you love most about the bush?

“I love living in the bush because it brings us back to our roots when we used to live amongst all these animals. I love working in the bush because everyday is different and you don’t know what you are going to encounter and work with these animals humbles you.

Also just getting to see these animals every day and being very fortunate to do so as not many people get to see these animals.“

“My favourite sound in the bush is a male lion calling.”

What’s the most valuable thing you have ever learnt from the bush?

That we are not the apex predator out here and that these animals deserve to be respected.

What do you hope that guests take home from a safari?

I hope the that I can send them home with a piece of my knowledge that I have shared with them and I hope that I can give them an unforgettable experience that they will remember forever. 

Ruan is the latest member of the Chacma family. He spent his childhood escaping the hustle and bustle of Johannesburg and finding respite in the wilderness of the Kruger National Park on family holidays. His favourite place is out in the wild where no human noises or distractions can be seen or heard.

What is your favourite thing about being a guide?

“My favourite thing about working in the wild is that every day is unique and different in it’s own way. No 2 days or drives are ever the same.”

Can you share one unforgettably wild moment, one that’ll stay with you?

“I think I will always remember the feeling you get when a leopard looks you in the eyes and stares straight into your soul. Especially the cubs that have such an innocent look and don’t realise yet the beauty and power they hold.”

What is the most unusual animal behaviour you have ever witnessed?

“The weirdest animal behaviour I have seen was 4 male lions feeding on an elephant carcass and 2 rhino bulls walk up to smell and investigate what was going on, not showing any fear towards the lions but almost looking sad for the death of the elephant.”

What is the most valuable lesson you have learnt from the bush?

“The most valuable thing I learned from the bush is that small inconveniences don’t affect your life as much as you think they do. There is so much going on and working together that if one thing goes wrong, it will correct it self in the end.”

What sound or call instantly reminds you that you’re in the wild?

“A leopard rasping will always be my favourite call. These animals live in isolation except when mating but when they decide to call, every person and animal knows can hear that call. If close enough even feel the vibrations as the call reverberates through your body.”

What do you hope that guests take home with them after going on a safari?

“I hope every guest can take a little bit of my passion away with them once they have been on safari with me and understand why it is so important that we protect and learn from nature.”

Next up, Matt Smith. Our British-born guide who first got a taste for the African bush working on a conservation project in the Greater Kruger. He is also the man behind the lens of the unbelievable wildlife photography that we share!

What is your favourite thing about working in the wild?

“It’s exactly that, the things you can be exposed to are completely wild. Some things can be explained, some things simply cannot. The wild does things on it’s own terms, we can only try and make educated guesses and assumptions but working in the wild always has a way of catching you off guard and surprising you. Is it going to be a leopard around the next corner, or is it going to be a fascinating interaction shared between elephants and lions? The suspense, is what drives us to continue working in the wild.”

What do you love about working at Chacma Bush Camp?

” It would definitely have to be the ability to jump off the vehicles and actually walk in the bush as nature intended. Sharing the small intricacies and finite details of the smaller things that you come across, whether that be animal Track & Sign, Insects, Botany/ Vegetation etc. This is not something that all lodges offer, so I consider myself lucky to be able to partake and share this wonderful experience with my guests on trail.”

What moment stands out for you in the bush?

“Hard to choose but I’ll go with the first time I was leading a bush walk and managed to track the location of an elephant. But not just any elephant. The footprints & dung were massive. It was Ezulwini, one of the emerging tuskers of Balule.

In the distance I had spotted the group and they were making their way across a bushy plains towards a large game trail. I positioned our group to take a seat on a fairly large granite rock outcrop and we just had hoped they would make their way over to us. Luckily, they did. With Ezulwini the large tusker elephant bull in front they came directly past us, of course raising their trunks to smell us, or say hello, whichever way you want to interpret it in the moment!”

Anything you hope for guests to take home with them after experiencing the magic of the bush for themselves?

“I’d have to say a wider understanding of how the ecosystem operates, right down from the soil through vegetation to alas the animals at the end. I’d want them to experience the wonder and excitement of finding their first predators of the wild, and being humbled by the sheer size of some of the animals we share the land with”

Join our remarkable guides at Chacma on twice-daily game drives exploring the undulating terrain of the Maseke Balule both morning and evening.

For intimate and boutique bush experiences like no other, visit Chacma Bush Camp.
Contact our reservations team here to book your dream stay.