6-day Wilderness Trails Skills Course

About the Course

This purist wilderness experience is about traversing across some of the finest and most remote wilderness regions of southern Africa on foot. The course may challenge some personal boundaries as participants sleep in the open wilderness under the stars and travel light with minimal supplies.

It is more about the depth of experience than the distance as you learn to make a fire, find water from natural sources and leave a light footprint behind you. This unique course provides a perfect platform for aspirant or qualified guides or nature lovers, to discover and reconnect with meaningful wilderness encounters. This immersive nature experience can be an inspiring cornerstone in the lives and careers of all those with a passion for nature and its inhabitants, developing a lifelong culture of conservation.
While there are no formal subjects or lectures, the emphasis of the course lies on meaningful wilderness philosophy, low impact guiding skills and bush lore. The adventures are instructed by some of the most experienced trainer/guides in Africa, with a choice of stunning venues within the Makuleke Concession, Kruger National Park (KNP). Lessons taught on this course will not be found in any book, but learning will be ‘hands on’. Lessons include wilderness appreciation and the MIA (Minimal Impact Approach), situational awareness, setting up an eco-friendly camps and water purification, and ‘leaving no trace’ are but a few of the advanced skills you will learn.

Course Dates:

2026 Dates:

21 July – 26 July (Makuleke)
16 August – 21 August (Makuleke)
6 September – 21 September (Makuleke)
07 October – 12 October (Makuleke)

2027 Dates:

19 June – 24 June (Makuleke)
16 July – 21 July (Makuleke)
13 August – 18 August (Makuleke)
14 September – 19 September (Makuleke)
17 October – 22 October (Makuleke)

Plan for overnights stops

How to make an eco-friendly fire
Minimal footprint – how to guide in the bush leaving little or no evidence of your presence
Minimization is maximization
Wilderness – the importance thereof
Night watch
Planning for and collection of water replenishment
Mastering ‘Time’
Sounds of Silence – facilitating a wilderness experience.

Itinerary

Day 1
Meet at Pafuri Gate (KNP) at 13H00. Vehicles will be left at the student car park. The course commences from car park. Sleep out in the bush.

Day 2 – 5
Sleep out on trail.

Day 6
Final walk back to EcoTraining Makuleke camp. EcoTraining vehicle to transport back to Pafuri gate. Arrival time at Pafuri gate +/- 10H30.

Course Duration Outline

This course comprises of 6-days of traversing across some of the finest and most remote wilderness regions of southern Africa on foot.

Prerequisites for Participants

Fit and able to walk up to 12km per day whilst carrying your own backpack with supplies over the duration of course. Note: You will be walking 12km’s per day on average. This will be over each full day with multiple rest breaks throughout.
Be over the age of 16.

Accommodation

None, you will be sleeping under the stars in the open wilderness area.

*Note: This particular course does not include food and camping gear. A comprehensive list is provided below to those wanting to join the Wilderness Trails Skills course.

What to Expect: Given the dynamic nature of the environment, it is important to understand that individual experiences and wildlife sightings will vary among students. All visual content showcased in EcoTraining’s promotional materials has been captured authentically by our staff, students, and media team during activities within EcoTraining’s camps.

What To Bring

Sleeping bag (check temperature rating)
Sleeping bag inner (if needed for warmth & keeps sleeping bag clean)
Sleeping mat (foam roll mat) or inflatable hiking mattress (minimalist)
Cooking utensils (spoon to cook and eat with is sufficient)
Cooking equipment (stackable camping cooking set)
Hiking gas stove (plus spare gas canister in case you run out)
Personal first aid kit (small)
Torch/ head lamp (strong beam) – new batteries, plus spare
Personal toiletries & sundry – Toilet paper, Toothbrush plus small Toothpaste, Sunscreen
Personal clothing (absolute minimal)
- Neutral coloured: 1 set for walking, 1 set for sleeping.
- Spare pair socks
- Fleece and beanie for cold weather
- Rain poncho (can also be used as ground sheet to sleep on)
- Hat (preferably wide brimmed)
Good comfortable walking shoes/boots/trainers
Flip-flops for evenings and water travel
Backpack (40 – 60L max)
Water:
- A 3-litre bladder in your back-pack allows you to drink whilst walking and is easier to fit in your back-pack.
- If you take bottles only, ensure you have bottles equivalent to 3 litres per day.
- You will need to bring water purification.
Trail food:
- 5 breakfasts; 4 lunches; 5 dinners
- Trail snacks; energy drinks (i.e., Game powders).

Suggestions:

Tea/coffee: Cappuccino sachets; condensed milk sachets (if you like sweetened drinks) or normal coffee, tea bags, sugar and powdered milk.
Breakfast: Instant Oats sachets / rusks
Lunch: Savoury crackers; Tuna sachets; 2 min noodles; Cup-a-soup sachets or Cheese for crackers (best in cooler winter months); avocado (be prepared to carry skin and pip out); carrot sticks; cucumber
Dinner: Dehydrated dinners; 2 min noodles with the tuna; 2 min noodles with cup a soup to mix in; to any of these, you can add salami or biltong; avocado; carrots; wraps (add salami, avo, cucumber, cherry tomatoes)
Snacks: Trail Mix (nuts, dried fruit etc); Muesli/energy bars.

Tips:

Be considerate of rubbish as what is taken in, must be taken out.
Ziploc bags are great to have to allow you to store rubbish. Sealing your rubbish will ensure you don’t get ants in your back-pack.
The only rubbish remaining from most of the suggestions above is the packet and minimal utensils are required.