One brainstorming session later, the unexpected pause quickly turned into an opportunity. If we couldn’t host camps, we could invest in our team. Setting up a temporary base with our local partners at Nourish, we got to work.
Over two weeks, Tinyiko, Sonto, and Vinolia achieved new certifications in game lodge management and housekeeping supervision, while Bongani and Koki began studying for their NQF4 Guiding qualification, thanks to donated materials by the industry’s leading professional body, FGASA. Over four intense days, they also worked tirelessly to expand our environmental curriculum, learning 13 new games and activities for the year ahead. From wildlife corridors to resource challenges – we can’t wait to try them out!
Towards the end of the training, and buoyed by our collective success, the whole team headed to My Africa Adventure Farm for a celebratory day out. Helmets on, engines roaring, nine quad bikes rolled out into the bush. Any nerves quickly disappeared as laughter and whoops echoed across the landscape. Ostriches, zebras and tiny duikers crossed our path as we climbed higher towards the Drakensberg mountains and the next challenge: the zipline.
Here, the confidence of the quad bike ride soon gave way to nervous laughter as everyone peered over the edge. Tinyiko stepped forward first. A countdown began — and suddenly she was flying. One by one, the rest followed, cheering each other on until everyone was safely back on the ground and ready for a well-earned lunch.
But the biggest challenge was still to come.
The final day of training brought the course many had been quietly dreading: snake handling at the Hoedspruit Reptile Centre. With more than 600 snakebite incidents reported each year in South Africa, fear of snakes is common – and often leads to retaliation against harmless species. As such, learning how to identify and safely remove snakes is as much about protecting people as it is about protecting wildlife.
Under instructor Given’s calm guidance, the team moved from fear and panic to confidence – handling a puff adder, a snouted cobra and even a large African rock python.
“I used to be terrified of snakes,” Tinyiko shared. “Even pictures in books scared me. My grandfather died from a snakebite, so I would run away and sometimes injure myself. Now I know I can stay calm and not run. It was scary, but it has made me a changed person.”
Vinolia agreed: “Now I know that snakes are important. They kill rats that spread disease. I will never kill a snake now.”
More than two weeks after the floods first closed our gates, training came to an end. What began as an unexpected delay became a chance to learn, grow and push beyond our comfort zones. Now, it’s finally time to reopen. Freshly energised, equipped with new skills and ideas, and more excited than ever to welcome the first groups of the year. Let’s go, Koru Camp!
