Close encounters and popcorn trees: musings of a young safari guide
Daniel Greyvenstein, known as Dani, is a 25-year-old ranger at Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve in South Africa – she tells us about her most memorable moments on the job including creating a very special tree for a young guest
Tell us, how does a typical day unfold for you?
I get up bright and early. As the saying goes, “the early bird catches the worm”, and that couldn’t be truer in the bush. After our dawn safari, if my guests are interested in doing a bushwalk, we normally do a short stroll after breakfast. Here, I focus more on the things you miss on game drives. We look at tracks, plants, insects and all the other small things. Coming back from our walk, I post daily photos on our social media pages of what is happening in the bush. After lunch, I have a short break where I’ll try to exercise before our afternoon safari. The last thing to do is enjoy a lovely meal with my guests where we will talk around the dinner table about the day’s memorable moments.
How did you come to be a safari guide?
I’ve always enjoyed being in nature and couldn’t imagine myself working in an office. During Covid, when I was stuck at home, I found an online guiding course. At first I did it to keep myself busy during lockdown, but soon I realised I want to become a guide. After lockdown I enrolled into a guide course, and the rest is history!
What’s the best surprise you’ve organised for a guest?
I had a three-year-old girl and her family in my vehicle. The little girl loved popcorn and asked her parents for it all the time. With permission from the parents, I organised a popcorn stop for her. We took packets of popcorn and hung it on a tree, and when safari time came, drove past our popcorn tree. The little girl’s face lit up when she saw the popcorn packets, and it was definitely a hit during the game drive.
What’s been your closest wildlife encounter?
We decided to go on a morning bush walk after breakfast with some guests, and in the distance we could see a herd of giraffes. We approached them slowly so that they didn’t run away. They kept a close eye on us as we drew nearer – we kept their safety and ours in mind. We ended up in the middle of five giraffes; being that close to them sent shivers down my spine and I will never forget the memory of standing among such graceful specimens.
How are you helping conservation efforts?
We are the reserve’s “second pair of eyes”. Although we have a high-level anti-poaching team, we would always call in any anomaly we spot. Conservation also includes habitat, so recently I was involved in the annual burning programme. This is done so that old foliage is removed and new grasses can grow – it also gets rid of non-indigenous species. Once, we came across a wild dog pack, with two individuals that had snares around their necks. Wildlife vets were notified about the wild dogs but needed help to relocate them again. After the morning safari a few of us assisted in locating them. The vets managed to tranquillise the two snared wild dogs. We waited a few minutes for them to fall asleep, but as soon as they did, we sprung into action to to assist the vets in removing the snares. It was an amazing experience to help and be so close to one of South Africa’s endangered animals.
Which are the best and worst aspects of your job?
The best is teaching people about our wonderful nature and wildlife. I thrive when I have first-time safari goers on my vehicle and I can share all my knowledge. Even stopping for impalas becomes exciting again… It is quite difficult to pick the worst aspect when you have a dream job. But if I must choose one, it is going out on a cold winter’s morning. I’m not a winter person at all, but it’s nothing that a cup of hot chocolate can’t fix when we have a coffee stop!
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