|
This web site is dedicated to the improvement of Trails Guides all over Africa. In order to know where you are going though, you need to look back to where you came from. This introduction is taken from Cleve Cheney’s African Bush Skills series and will give you a glimpse in to the world of the “Trails Ranger”. The original Trails Ranger whose dedication, hard work and commitment to excellence set the benchmark by which all future guides should be measured.
They were the Elite
INTRODUCTION
by Cleve Cheney
Sometimes in life one is compelled for good reasons to speak out at the risk of “ruffling feathers”. So be it - if I ruffle feathers, I ruffle feathers. I have been saddened over the past number of years to see the quality of field guides decline. Let me qualify that statement. Sure, there are a lot more around nowadays, they are a “dime a dozen” and the “average” guide has a modicum of competency. That is the problem - the average level of competence might have improved somewhat but the level of competency of top guides operating on foot in dangerous game areas has degenerated to a disturbing level. The “new order” has been churning guides out like sausages in a factory and they are no more the ‘elite (a very politically incorrect term in the new dispensation) that they used to be in the past. Perhaps I was privileged and fortunate to have lived during a “guiding” era when one was free to set a standard and not forced by outside political forces to comply with a system of compromised standards to accommodate people who were not capable of attaining the high standards we strove for at that time. I was also fortunate to have worked for the National Parks Board (now SAN Parks) at a time when it was unquestionably one of the best conservation organizations in the world (on a par with Natal Parks Board).
Perhaps I am talking about a profession that does not even exist today anymore. Perhaps it was a profession that lasted for only about 30 years before it was replaced by something that it was not ever intended to be. Let me share a little history with you and maybe it might help you to understand.
 Let us start at the beginning. It begins with a man of great vision who I was privileged in later years to come to know as a personal friend. Dr. Ian Player. He had been profoundly affected by the wilderness concept developed over time in the USA and Canada and in 1957 he conceived the idea of establishing a Wilderness Leadership School with the idea of educating people about wilderness its values, and learning to respect it. In 1963 his efforts came to fruition and the Wilderness Leadership School became a reality.
It was staffed by Jim Feely, John Tinley, Hugh Dent, and Barry Clements - all highly experienced ex Natal Parks Board rangers who also, through the influence of Dr. Player, had come to understand the wilderness concept, and developed a great reverence and love for wildland. The standard had been set.
In those days they were not called field guides or nature guides. They were far more than that. They were called Trail Rangers. They were highly experienced rangers who had a passion for wilderness and understood it. That is perhaps what makes the difference between what was and now is.
In 1974 Dr. Player resigned as a ranger after 22 years of service with Natal Parks Board to devote his time to the Wilderness Leadership School. Here again we found a man with a background of great practical bush experience and a profound understanding of wilderness that became involved in wilderness trails. These attributes - knowing what wilderness was about, a good background of practical bush experience and a high level of competence in bush skills - were to be prerequisites for any individual aspiring to become a trails ranger. There were no short cuts in those days.
 The “wilderness vision” was soon grasped by two rangers in the Kruger  National Park. Mike English and Trevor Dearlove. Their persistent efforts eventually paid off and they persuaded the National Parks Board to allow walking trails to be conducted in the Kruger Park under the guidance of well qualified and highly experienced rangers.
Selection criteria when applying for a post as a trails ranger in the Kruger National Park were very strict in those days. The “pool” out of which most trails rangers were appointed were from experienced Kruger Park, Natal Parks Board or Rhodesian (Zimbabwean) National Parks rangers, with good academic qualifications, a proven track record of practical bush experience, and a high level of appropriate bush skills.
In effect only the best were chosen and then only for a trial period during which they had to prove their abilities and attend “in house” intensive training, before being considered for a permanent post and eventually being allowed to lead trails “solo”. The standards were so high that many did not make the grade but those that did, were the best.
They received the best of training in weapon handling, tracking, advanced first aid, and bush survival skills and they were in every sense fully fledged section rangers who alternated between leading trails and being emersed in ranger duties such as patrols, anti-poaching, culling, and game capture. Many of them were involved in research projects at honors and masters level. They could truly impart knowledge to clients on trail from first hand experience.
 Because they had received advanced weapon handling training and had had practical experience in shooting elephant, buffalo, hippo, and lion as part of culling and research programs they were more than adequately equipped to deal with emergencies involving life threatening incidents with dangerous game.There was something more. Not only did the men selected to lead trails have good academic qualifications, wide background experience, above average bush skills and an understanding of wilderness concepts they had pride in their organization, in their uniform and who they were. These were highly trained men, dedicated to a cause. Being a trails ranger was not a job, it was a calling and a profession.
Between 1978 when the first trail took place and 1993, constant development in terms of quality of training took place. Shortfalls, when identified, were addressed. By the early nineties Kruger Park trail rangers became in the conservation world what could be equated to in the military as “special forces”. Men highly trained in a wide variety of skills, extremely fit and capable. To give an example. We realized that we often worked in very isolated areas, far from any medical help in the event of a medical emergency. Because there was none of the red tape and bureaucracy that exists today we arranged to have all our trail rangers trained almost to the level of paramedics. This was of course “unofficial” but we had identified a potential probl em and set about solving it.
Remember that all our trail rangers had completed some form of tertiary education so were well equipped academically to assimilate advanced “first aid” training from medical doctors who were stationed at the Sand River military base near Skukuza. They were taught to deal with serious medical emergencies in isolated circumstances and apart from general first aid, were taught to put up IV drips, administer drugs orally and by injection, intubate a patient, put in sutures, etc. etc.
This high level of training paid off and a number of incidents occurred which could quite conceivably had resulted in the death of trail participants had the trail rangers not been properly equipped and trained to deal with the situation.
One of the attributes we looked for in aspiring trail rangers were sober habits. When conducting interviews, teetotalers were viewed more positively. Trail rangers were not allowed to consume any alcohol on trail and trail participants were limited to what they were allowed to take with them on trail.
None of this is evident any longer. Guides (no! - they are NOT rangers or trail rangers) - wear any clothing, hats, caps, footwear. Some guides in Kruger look like they are advertising their favourite football teams, wearing “Orlando Pirates” or “Chiefs” caps when taking out guests. Hair is often unkept, rifles and equipment poorly maintained - there is little loyalty to an organization or a cause (which I can understand) - no esprit de corps. Alcohol abuse is a common problem. All that is required of a top guide in terms of first aid training is a level 1 certificate. Woefully inadequate! The level of weapon training is appalling. It is easy for me to draw comparisons because I was there then and I can see what I can see now. Young guides have only the now to see - they cannot compare to the past because they were not there to see. I assess guides for a living - so I know what the present reality is. It is indeed a sad state of affairs. I do not blame the guides I blame a system which has become corrupt.
 The rot set in in the mid 1990’s when politics began interfering and there has been a steady decline since then. Dr.U. de V. Pienaar retired as Park Warden of the Kruger National Park in 1990 (if my memory serves me correctly) and was replaced by Dr. Salmon Joubert. Both these men had spent most of their productive working lives in Kruger and had an in depth understanding of it’s dynamics. Under their very able leadership the Park reached a high point in terms of the way it was managed. Then the cold winds of political change began to sweep over conservation and pressures began to mount on Dr. Joubert which led to internal Park conflicts and conflict between himself and the then Director of National Parks Dr. Robbie Robinson.
Dr. Joubert, under mounting pressure, decided to transfer the “Trails” section out from under “Conservation” to the “Tourism” section as he had been convinced by people with very little understanding of the role and function of trail rangers, that this was where Trails belonged. We were incensed by this and predicted, (as has subsequently been proven) that this would bring an end to the Trail Ranger profession as we knew and defined it.
As a section we fought the “system” and the esprit de corps was never higher in the Trails Section as it was at that time. A clandestine meeting was eventually arranged between the Trails Section and Dr. Robinson where he afforded us the opportunity to state our case. He was convinced and ordered that the Trails section be placed back under conservation. This was a temporary reprieve for the Trails Ranger profession but the die had been cast. Dr. Joubert was outraged at his authority having been undermined and for the remainder of his term as Park Warden he was never well disposed towards trails again. At this time the allure of the mighty “dollar” was raising it’s ugly head and talk began about starting day walks and night drives. As Trail Rangers we realized what this would eventually lead to and history has shown we were right in our predictions.
 Friction mounted between Dr. Joubert and Dr. Robinson and eventually a new Park Warden was appointed, Mr. Harold Braak, who was to prove to be nothing more than a convenient scapegoat to be offered on the sacrificial alter of political change. His entry saw the exit of a wonderful era and the beginning of a slide into mediocrity. At this time I was a regional trails ranger with the Metsi Metsi, Napi, Wolhuter and Bushman trails falling under my section. The then Head of trails, Mr. Mike Landman, who had fought valiantly for his men against the rising tide of opposition, became very ill with a brain tumor. I took his place as acting head of trails and the battle intensified. We were told that we had to make affirmative appointments in trails. We were happy to do this as long as we could find suitable candidates. Intensive efforts failed to find candidates with suitable qualifications and experience.
Despite this we were forced to appoint people who had neither the correct qualifications or the type of experience and skills that had formerly been a requirement. It is ironic that some of those applicants who applied at that time and would never have even been considered in the past in terms of the standards required are now section and regional rangers in the Kruger National Park!
My good friend Mike Landman, who eventually succumbed to brain cancer, once said to me that there are, what he referred to as “jam stealers” in life who are a lot like jackals. They are opportunists. We had these in the Park as well.
There were some members of staff, both men and women, who were clamoring to be appointed to trails but, although they were afforded opportunity to prove themselves they just could not make the grade. They too were putting on pressure to have trails “relegated” to Tourism so that standards could be lowered to accommodate them. How disheartening to see that when the trails section was officially disbanded by the “new order” that took over in about 1997 with the appointment of Mr. David Mabunda as Park Warden that many of the “jam stealers” got their own way. But I get ahead of myself.
We were now sliding rapidly down the slippery slope of compromise and the situation deteriorated. The director of National Parks, Dr. Robbie Robinson, under pressure from animal rights groups, buckled and stopped elephant and buffalo culling as a management tool in the Kruger National Park in 1996.
Ten years down the line with the Kruger elephant population now standing at over 12000 (where it should be about 7500) the short sightedness of allowing pressure groups to dictate wildlife management policy is evident. It also meant that trails rangers would never again be afforded the opportunity of “live” training during elephant and buffalo culling operations. Most guides who now operate currently on foot in big game areas (including Kruger) have never had this type of exposure or experience - further evidence of a decline in standards.
The writing was on the wall and in April 1996, not being prepared to put up with compromised standards, I resigned from National Parks after close to 20 years of service. I joined Mpumalanga Parks Board but resigned after a year and a half when I saw exactly the same thing happening as what had happened in National Parks.
 Disillusioned by it all I decided to start training guides as a living - working in association with the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa (FGASA) who were attempting under conditions prevailing, to maintain some semblance of standards. They were however the next political target under an operation code-named NQF - National Qualifications Framework - (said tongue in cheek) which, working through THETA and other SETA’s has been nothing more than a political tool aimed at lowering standards in the guiding industry to accommodate those who would never have before qualified to be trail rangers.
Further complications with respect to guide training arose with the ridiculous new firearms laws.
I have tried for a number of years now to cooperate and work with the “system”. But it is corrupt and flawed and I cannot associate myself any longer with compromised standards and so I will “go it alone”. I still have a passion for wilderness. I still have a passion to see nature guides trained to the level of “Trail Rangers”. I cannot do this “officially”. The system will not allow it. So I will offer it “unofficially” by sharing what knowledge I have and what knowledge I believe top guides, who operate on foot in big game areas, should have by making a series of CD’s available on Advanced Field Guiding. If there is enough interest I will also begin offering unofficial non- accredited “Trails Ranger” courses which will provide the skills we expected in the past and which could be life saving.
One of the problems I see with official guide training at present whether it be through THETA, FGASA or whoever is that it is unbalanced. In the past where there was a good mix between academic knowledge and practical bush skills there is now an over emphasis on academic aspects to the point of it being laughable. You now have top guides that can classify a cockroach down to species level but does not know where to aim to stop a charging elephant! Practical bush skills, taught by suitably qualified and experienced trainers, is now very poor.
Cleve Cheney (2005)
|
