Bushwise Avis 

All the staff is incredibly friendly and helpful. Being a student there was one of the best experiences.

Amazing training staff, administration and facilities - this experience changed my life and got me following my true passion.

I had an excellent experience with Bushwise!! The Bushwise team (office & trainers) is always kind and helpful.

Highly recommend doing your field guide course with them!!

The training is great and trainers are well educated on all course material that needs to be covered. The camp was great and the food was amazing, theres nothing like coming back to camp after a hard days work and knowing there is delicious food waiting for you.

Started of my guiding journey with Bushwise clueless about almost everything that relates to guiding.
The patience from the trainers all the their teaching their time they spent teaching not only me but all the students has helped me become the guide iam today.
Iam now working at a 5 start lodge thanks to Bushwise which is something i never thought would happen but look at me now, happier than ever.
In short iam grateful to Bushwise trainers and the office team for making my dream a reality .

I don't have any experience but am interested in the opportunity

Everything was just perfect. The course and lessons. How our lectures guide us and deliver helpful information. Not to forget the student support team as well. Always made sure everyone got important notifications and emails. I'm sad because I'm done with the course, because I enjoyed it very much. But I'm looking forward to my next chapter, which are the exams. Then From there, raise some funds for the practicals. I'm glad and honored to be part of Bushwise. Love. Dylan.

The course is excellent and I could recommend it more. The trainers and staff are amazing, couldn't ask for a better team. Vegetarian food was great.
Saw a honey badger 10/10

My experience as a Bushwise student has been amazing. They have trainers who are hands on not only on our academics as well as ensuring that we are taken care of. The chef is an exceptional cook and the food is always scrumptious. Everything is well organized and planned in terms of the activities and lectures.My advice to anyone who would like to train to be a field guide I highly recommend Bushwise it is the best place to be for any Aspiring field guide. You will get to aquire so much knowledge and discover so much about yourself along the journey.

If you’re considering enrolling in a guiding course, I would recommend researching other options too before fully committing to Bushwise. While the training is of good quality and learning directly from the environment is an incredible experience, there are several aspects (particularly regarding Bushwise’s management), that I found disappointing.

Management and Misleading Practices
A key concern for me was the impression that Bushwise places a higher priority on profit than on providing an enjoyable and transparent experience for students. For example, there were significant discrepancies in course fees, with some students paying up to 35% more (amounting to as much as 7000 euros) than others for the same program. When I sought clarification, my concerns were not taken seriously and were dismissed with references to their terms and conditions, described as part of their "business strategy”.

Another example is the optional trails course. We were told there were only 12 spots available (despite over 25 students needing one) and were pressured to pay quickly because it was supposedly ‘first come, first served’. However, it later became clear that all students were accommodated, rendering the sense of urgency unnecessary. Additionally, the cost of this course was higher than the pre-arrival quote, which added to the feeling of being misled.

Facilities and Living Conditions
The facilities at the SAWC campus were another area of concern. The food provided for breakfast and off-weeks was minimal, the kitchens and tents lacked proper hygiene, and the overall condition of the SAWC campus is poor. For the price of the program (19.000 euros in my case), I believe students should be able to expect better standards.

Lack of Support and Transparency
Another concern is the lack of a safe and supportive learning environment. Questions about performance or the qualification process are often either avoided, met with vague responses, or even lead to repercussions for asking. Additionally, some students were afraid to provide honest feedback in forms and reviews, fearing it could impact their future, as they depend on Bushwise for a placement/internship. This approach makes it difficult to address concerns or seek clarity on important matters.

Strengths of Bushwise
Despite these challenges, I do want to highlight an area in which Bushwise absolutely excelled; I greatly appreciated the quality of the trainers. They demonstrated exceptional knowledge and passion for the field, making the learning experience in the bush incredibly captivating.

Value for Money
While the training and natural environment are undeniably valuable and worthwhile, the overall experience fell short due to the issues mentioned above (management, transparency, and living conditions). I believe there is room for improvement in these areas and I hope Bushwise will address these issues to enhance the overall experience for future students.

My experience at bushwise has been great. Got to meet many new people but that comes with difficulty as well with dealing with different personalities.
I have learnt so much these past 6 months being here, it has been amazing learning and doing what I love and am so passionate about. We have seen some pretty cool animals, the best being the wild dogs that we get to see quite often.
The trainers taught us very well and they have so much valuable knowledge to share!
Got to experience getting stung by a scorpion but didn’t die luckily!
Obviously there are some down sides to everything, bushwise themselves do need to work on their communication a lot, and if you have any dietary requirements like being gluten free, or vegetarian, the chefs at the campus I was at didn’t cater to it and I have had some pretty terrible meals and some you couldn’t even call a meal. Was very disappointed by that and even after bringing it up the chef hadn’t changed at all, so I’ve lost a lot of weight as there isn’t any where I could really make myself meals either and buying food did become expensive after the amount we paid to be here. The chef also needs to work on not getting so involved in students lives and talking about people behind their backs and spreading rumours.
But I don’t regret coming at all and definitely learnt a lot that I will carry with me for my life, would recommend to people, but bushwise themselves need to work on some things.

Upon discovering Bushwise I knew that the 6 month course plus a placement would be the perfect fit for me! Overall it didn’t disappoint! The Bushwise trainers are the people that make the course what it is and there is no complaints regarding them! Their knowledge and ability to get the best of if you is high level!
The course as a whole I think can be structured better with more time focussing on topics or activities many people wouldn’t have done before! The external companies Bushwise use to help with the training are very good! Some of the activities need to be planned better and the training given needs to be more catered to specific people’s needs rather than a group as a whole.
I have had communication problems with Bushwise, often waiting for days to reply at a time. Not over minor issues either, over matters that are important to me being able to continue on the course!
The Southern African Wildlife College is a good campus, the location of being so close to Kruger National Park is a huge draw! The concession we can drive is very limited often having to drive the same roads everyday! Bushwise seems to restricted on any changes that can be made on the campus. The food is very hit and miss! Honestly you probably get 1 good meal a week, which isn’t good when you are following a busy schedule.
Overall I would recommend Bushwise as they have an ability to get the best out of the students they are learning! However, I think the experience would be a lot better on a different campus! I’ve made a friend of life and if anything that is the best thing to come from the course!

A high intensity super jam packed course that brings you directly into the bush and on track with all you need to know. The trainers are amazing with incredible knowledge and knowhow that they share with you.

The course schedule for the NQF2 is a high intensity one and you will need to study hard, advice would be to start already at home with recommended books as stated on the bushwise website. As always, when you already know some basics you can only become better! Every day is a safari day out here! The campus is directly situated in the bush and has facilities to make life out here, away from home even better. Wildlife, bush, swimming pool and your occasional visit back into towns.

I really liked the growth of everyone on the course on a personal level and professional too, the trainers have personal interest in every student and will take the time for you to get you where you need to be. So yes, I recommended the course with bushwise! They are attentive and will run the extra mile for you to get you started on your guiding adventure.

What is you don’t want to be a guide? Well get ready to be amazed and have the skills, knowledge and amazing experiences for a trip of a lifetime.

No course if perfect, there might be personal hiccups on the way or things that are not a 100% correct. But remember, this is Africa and we are all human. Bushwise understands this and always tries to learn from mistakes and or tries to change situations for the benefit of the students. In this you can trust Bushwise to protect the interest of the student.

So longs story short, you up to learn, be amazed and get unmatched bush experience: choose Bushwise!

I loved doing the 60 day Bushwise course , it’s a really good alternative to doing the 6 month course if you’re struggling for time. It’s hard work and very condensed so you have to be prepared to be busy the whole time! But it’s really fun and really worth it. Our trainer Andrew was great too!!

Course parameters and learning were good couldn’t apply what we learnt practically at SAWC and lost out on a lot of animal behaviour

Bushwise is an excellent training provider to become a field guide. Everything was run well. Only criticism I may have is due to the amount of information you learn, some of the learning components feel rushed. Otherwise incredible training provider.

Bushwise it's one of the best field guides training institutions. Their staff is friendly and well equipped for the job. It has been an interesting journey for me to be part of bushwise. I got equipped with various skills and knowledge ranging from Botany, Birds, Hospitality, Track and signs, Conducting game drives, Riffle handing and Shooting, and many other useful things. I will forever be grateful for being part of bushwise.

The kindness, honesty and learning experience that was recieved for the people such as Claudia, Darren, Nico, FP and Trevor.

I joined the Bushwise course for the online program and absolutely loved it. The passion showed by the trainers is second to none, and I learned so much in 12 weeks. Definitely recommend this as a way to gain knowledge about wildlife and decide if you're interested in a career in guiding or something related.

I have had the most amazing amazing time at Bushwise and I simply can’t recommend this course enough! I’ve learnt so much and met some truly incredible and inspiring people. A special mention to Uncle Pines and Trevor who have taught me so much and have made the course so much more special and memorable; you have become two of my biggest role models! Definitely one of the best experiences of my life and I’m really going to miss it!