What is a strong animal?
When I think of “strong” animals, the wilderness immediately comes to mind. Raw, hard, untamed, immediate and dangerous. For me, the wilderness is characterized by the unadorned struggle for survival, the daily confrontation between strength and weakness. I wanted to explore this wilderness and as an instrument I chose the “Ranger” in South Africa.
“Ranger” is an artificial term and actually consists of the three areas of guiding, conservation and protection – in other words, the roles of the nature guide, the field ranger and the anti-poacher (APU).
Nature guides are considered a link and mediator between wild nature and modern humans. They are extremely knowledgeable and experienced in flora and fauna and introduce people to the fascination of the wild. A good guide creates an immersive experience, only sketching out the direction of view for people and then enabling them to grasp nature themselves. Much like an artist.
In order to build up a rudimentary understanding of the wilderness as a basis for my expedition, I attended a school for nature guides in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, for a few months in 2024.
You can read about my experiences in Chapter no. 1.
In chapter no. 2, I turn to conservation and protection. I accompanied the field rangers and anti-poachers in the reserves and took part in their daily lives for a while.
‘Welcome home’ were the first words from Nunu, our guide, early this morning. Nunu Jobe was a legend among trail guides and known as the “Barefoot Rhino Whisperer”. He started out as a poacher at a young age […]
As Dylan strolled along the little red path and got closer and closer, I started to feel a little excited. Today was assessment day – the last step to becoming a nature guide! Actually, though, it wasn’t really a big deal for me. I had […]
A few days doing nothing but enjoying the wildlife and nature. Just strolling along the beach, swimming and savouring delicious food. A few days just letting your mind wander and being a ‘guest’ yourself – before you take the […]
Thick, cold drops of rainwater fell from my hood into the wet, dark orange sand, leaving a round, symmetrical circle in the coarse grains. I tilted my head to the side and squinted my eyes. In front of me were four […]
Twelve days of wilderness and camp life lay behind me and these were my last days here at Wilderness Camp. I felt I had seen every rock in this game reserve and it had become a kind of home. This area, the animals, the plants and the sunrises and sunsets were still special – but at the same time they had become ‘normal’ […]
I slid my seat down a bit, rested my head on the rear railing and closed my eyes. It was truly a luxury not to have to chase every encounter, because the next one was coming anyway – glorious ‘wilderness decadence’ […]
I pressed my face against the warmed, rough wooden posts and peered into the large cage. Five white rhinos huddled together, snorting quietly in the small enclosure. The dark shadows of the massive […]
The entire setup looked somewhat improvised. Old, almost profile-less tires, piled up into round stacks, served as a target mount. The sandbank of a dry riverbed served as a backstop. The targets themselves […]
It was dark. The small blue speedboat was illuminated by the headlights of a pickup truck, standing on a trailer directly in front of the building, while Sarah and her team were busily hoisting all kinds of things onto and off the boat, opening and closing car doors and communicating with each other through loud shouting. Nothing special at first glance, but I could feel the ‘adventure energy’ […]
‘Everyone is so quiet,’ Olga whispered to me on Friday morning, her eyes wide open as we watched the hippos diving in the water. The new group was indeed much quieter and […]
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