Kruger Park News Archive

The Kruger National Park is renowned for its birdwatching attractions and is regarded as one of the birding Edens of the country. With its list of over 500 species, some of which are not found anywhere else in South Africa, it is not surprising that birding-based tourism (avitourism) is gaining popularity and priority both in the park and on the South African tourism agenda.

In keeping with this trend, the Kruger National Park (KNP) has implemented a training strategy to empower its guiding corps with additional bird guiding skills. Two training sessions have been scheduled in the short term, the first comprising a 10-day guiding course presented by Nigel Anderson, training manager of BirdLife South Africa.

The course takes place at Letaba Rest Camp where 18 guides will do theoretical and practical training from 06h00 to 18h00 starting from April 20, 2006. "The objective is to register each of these guides as site guides," says Nigel.

The training covers three basic standards - to create a guided experience for customers; to conduct a guided nature experience in a limited geographical area and to conduct a birding experience in a limited geographical area. The course is sponsored by Sasol.