Two young volunteer trail guides from the Wilderness Leadership School in Durban have been afforded the opportunity to extend their training. Artist Gqwetha and Vuyani Mbuzwa graduated from the South African Tracker Academy earlier this year, achieving excellent results in spoor tracking and identification.
Trail guide instructor, Sinegugu Zukulu, saw huge potential in the two young men when he trained them as guides in 2009. He then recommended them to the South African Tracker Academy to further their training. The academy sponsored the year-long training which included practical tracker training at Samara Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape for six months, and another six months of training at Kruger-based Londolozi.
“I met both Artist and Vuyani in September, 2009. They were part of a group of 15 young volunteers that I was training as trail guides. I saw that they had a lot of potential, and loved being out in nature, so I stayed in touch with them. What really stood out about these young men was that they were both orphans, and yet they had overcome many obstacles in their lives and were dedicated to their volunteer position as guides. I became a father-figure to both of them and encouraged them to pursue their passions,” says trail guide instructor, Sinegugu Zukulu.
Artist Gqwetha grew up in the rural area of Pondoland on the Wild Coast of South Africa. “I lived in a forested coastal village that was full of wildlife, so I grew up hunting wild game and birds and fishing in the ocean,” says Gqwetha.
The young man was also part of a group of men from his village who trained their hunting dogs to scare away monkeys from their corn fields.
“The turning point in my life was when I began training as a trail guide for tourists. Sinegugu Zukulu was an inspiration to me, and he taught me a lot about seeing the environment as a resource that needs to be conserved and protected. Now my aim as a wilderness man is to inspire and motivate people to protect the environment.”
Gqwetha currently works part time for the Wilderness Leadership School as a backup guide and is a member of the youth Forum for Climate Change that is being organised and mentored by “Project 90 x 2030”. The campaign aims to encourage the people of South Africa to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by the year 2030.
Vuyani Mbuzwa grew up in Lusikisiki, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. An orphan, he is one of five siblings, and is the only breadwinner in the family. “I heard about environmental studies through a workshop that was held at my school,” says Mbuzwa. “I knew that it was something that I wanted to do. “My greatest inspiration is my grandmother who still refuses to eat refined foods from grocery shops as she claims they are unhealthy. She strongly believes traditional food dishes are much healthier. She refuses to enter a room with a tiled floor as she claims it is like living in room full of lightning. She prefers a cow-dung polished floor as it is synonymous with nature. She is natural,” says Vuyani.
I have always felt at home in nature. I believe that it’s where people belong, and that’s why I love introducing people to the wilderness and teaching them about why it’s so important to conserve our environment. I don’t just take them out for a fun walk, they must connect on a spiritual level with their surroundings.”
Mbuzwa currently works part time together with Gqwetha for the Wilderness Leadership School as a backup guide. He hopes to find a permanent position as a tracker so that he can provide for his family in the future.
“I am grateful to Sinegugu for being a part of my life. He is like a father to me, and I can always go to him for advice on how to deal with life and various situations. I have absolute trust in him.”
The Wilderness Leadership School is supported by the Wilderness Foundation. It is based in Durban, in the Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve. It was founded over 50 years ago as the vision of Dr Ian Player and his friend and mentor, Magqubu Ntombela. The Wilderness Leadership School offers learning opportunities through experiential education – by offering varying levels of outdoor experiences in wilderness and natural environments.
