How I became a Nature Guide in Botswana

Svenja Stumpe
Oct 22
2 min read

Sleeping in a tent in the middle of nowhere, sharing said tent with a family of lizards, getting up at 5 a.m. every morning to go on game drives, learning about everything from elephants to grasses to droppings. Lectures came with sound effects courtesy of squirrels on the roof, sunsets were spent surrounded by wild dogs, and I fell asleep to the sound of lions in the distance.

Welcome to the bush life.

Arriving in the wilderness

This wasn’t my first time in the bush, but it was my first time in the Okavango Delta. From the moment I landed at the tiny airport in Maun and bounced along sandy tracks under mopane trees toward Kwapa camp, I knew I was in for something special.

There are no other safari cars, no signs of civilisation in Kwapa. Just you, your fellow students, the amazing camp staff and of course, lots and lots of animals.

Why I took the course

As a wildlife photographer, I signed up for the Nature Guide qualification to dive deeper into animal behaviour and ethical guiding. I did the full four-week course, but you can also split it into 2x2 weeks—which is perfect if you want to experience Kwapa in different seasons.

The part that scared me the most? Having to lead my own game drives for the group. As someone more on the shy side, the idea of guiding others felt quite intimidating. But both my trainers and fellow students were incredibly supportive and in the end, it turned out to be one of the most fun parts of the course.

A classroom without walls

Learning at Kwapa is a 24/7 experience. Yes, we had daily lectures on everything from mammals to astronomy to geology, but the best classroom was always the bush itself.

Every drive brought something new. One day, you might see absolutely nothing. The next, you stumble upon an aardvark in the morning and witness a pack of wild dogs hunting an impala in the evening.

And that’s the beauty of the bush, you never know what’s waiting around the next corner.

What I brought back

I returned not only with my Nature Guide qualification, but also with a deeper sense of confidence, curiosity, and connection to nature.

Kwapa taught me how to lead, how to observe more closely, and how to truly be present in the moment.

It also reminded me why I fell in love with the bush in the first place - and why I became a wildlife photographer. Because in the end, the purpose of a guide is much like that of a photographer: to share a passion for wild places and the natural world, and to inspire others to fall in love with it, too.