Our Field Guides

At Jaci's we pride ourselves on our experienced and skilled team of rangers. Currently, we have seven field guides who love sharing their extensive knowledge of the African bush and wildlife and the joy they derive from it.

All our field guides have different passions and interests in the bush, which include birding, tracking, as well as the flora and fauna of Madikwe.

George

George Boya was born in Soweto, Johannesburg in 1967. His parents then moved to Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, where he completed his schooling. In 1987, George moved to Limpopo's Waterberg area and worked on a game-capture scheme where he had his first close encounter with Africa's wild animals.

His passion for African wildlife grew from those early conservation days and he soon attended his first guiding course, later becoming a professional field guide. Today he has more than 19 years of bush experience. George's life journey has taken him to the Kruger National Park, the Mabula Game Lodge and now Madikwe, where he has been for the past six years. George may have a quiet demeanour, but he is very passionate about the bush and is one of the most knowledgeable guides on local birdlife in the North West Province.

George has also spent many a devoted day working on a school curriculum for underprivileged youngsters, sharing his knowledge with South Africa's future ambassadors.

Olly

Olly grew up in a village in Welverdiend in Mpumalanga province. His mother worked as a chef in one of the lodges at the Kruger National Park, so he was exposed to the wild at a young age. One of his friends at the lodge was a tracker, so Olly was also privileged to go on game drives and soon learnt how to track animals on foot.

While he was still attending school, the lodge put him through tracking courses during the holidays and when he completed high school, they employed him as a full-time tracker. Two years later he left the lodge because  he wanted to rather become a guide.

Olly was among the first to write his Field Guides Association of Southern Africa (FGASA) exams. This is the standard used by the South African guiding industry. After passing, Olly got a job with a company that offered daily excursions into the Kruger National Park, and he stayed with them for 11 years until he felt it was time for a change. He then approached Jaci’s where he has remained since 2008. Olly has a flair for sharing the fun and joy of the bush with children, igniting their interest in the things he enjoyed at a similar age.

Johan

Johan was born and raised in Nelspruit – close to the Kruger National Park – for the first 14 years of his life. His passion for the wild was nurtured by many family visits to the game reserve and increased when his family moved to Uganda for two years.

Johan acted on his passion by venturing into the tourism industry at his friend's lodge in the Bwindi forest, where gorillas are the main attraction.

Acknowledging his calling, Johan decided to do a year’s guiding course in the Eastern Cape, where he started focusing his knowledge on particular fields and interests like his love of African birdlife. He worked in the Eastern Cape for over two years, after which time he left to assist with his family’s bed-and-breakfast establishment in Nelspruit.

During his time there, he managed to notch up a few more qualifications and expand on his knowledge of the natural world. Johan then moved to Madikwe during October 2008, after falling in love with the reserve when visiting it for the first time earlier that same year.

Thomas

Thomas Manyama is a highly experienced and well-qualified game guide with more than two decades’ work in the field to his credit.

He underwent his Field Guides Association of Southern Africa (FGASA) training in the Waterberg and in Madikwe and is proud to be a qualified trails guide, walking safari guide and advanced weapons handler.

Thomas spends most of his time taking visitors to Jaci’s Lodges on game drives and walks, during which time he shares his vast knowledge of and love for the wild.

Having also worked in various reserves in the Waterberg, Magoebaskloof and Tzaneen, Thomas says Madikwe is a special place with an abundance of animals. He is particularly passionate about Madikwe’s Big Five, wild dogs and cheetah, but is also something of an authority on endemic birdlife.

Thomas hails from Bela-Bela in the Limpopo province. He is married to Hendrica and has three children, including a son who is also showing an interest in wildlife.

David

Botswana-born David Mosiane is a qualified game ranger who has been at Jaci’s Lodges for just over four years.

He hails from a village called Gopane near the Botswana border close to Zeerust. It was here that David grew to love the animals he tracked and hunted in the veld as a boy.

“I decided that I really wanted to work with animals,” he recalls.

As a tour guide, 34-year-old David says he hasn’t chosen a favourite among the wild animals he sees daily, because this might make him always look for that particular creature. 

“Clients need to see many different animals like lion, kudu, impala, elephant, leopard in different places, so it’s best for me and for my visitors not to not have a favourite,” he explains.

However, he does admit to wanting to learn as much as possible about the lion and elephant, two animals he holds in high esteem.

David has had many amusing experiences while out on game drives with visitors to Jaci’s. The funniest of these was stopping the vehicle to pour drinks for guests, and being approached by two rhinos.

“I told the visitors to stay behind the vehicle, but not to climb into it, which they did,” he says.

The two rhinos slowly approached the vehicle, and while one proceeded to chomp the lettuce garnish on a snack box of sandwiches, the other munched its way through the ice that was keeping drinks cold in the cooler box.

The visitors were both amused and intimidated by the antics of the two large beasts and were quite relieved when David started the engine and the rhinos moved off. But no one can deny that they were rewarded with a wonderful African tale to take back home.

David loves his work and enjoys answering the numerous questions posed by visitors.

“I’ll tell you one thing about being a field guide, every day is different and every game drive is different. Such variety makes me enjoy this job,” he says.

Paul

Born in Johannesburg in 1980, one of Paul Slyer's very first memories was when his parents took him to the Kruger National Park on his first safari at the age of three. He only remembers two things from that first wildlife encounter – the animals he saw and crying bitterly when they had to leave.

From then on he visited as many parks and wildlife destinations as possible and over the next 28 years, his passion for nature grew to the extent that he felt the urge to travel further afield.

Paul has visited the whole of East and Southern Africa, experiencing its wildlife, people and stunning landscapes; he's worked on a dive and sailing boat in the Whitsundays, Australia and spent time discovering local cultures, sights and cities in Western Europe.

He funded his travelling addiction by working in the IT industry, but since turning 30 has decided to leave his desk job, settle down in the bush and further his passion for wildlife by launching a career in wildlife photography. He loves nothing more than sharing his knowledge, experiences and enthusiasm for the animals and plants around him.

Even though he is new to the guiding industry we believe his enthusiasm for people and the outdoors will provide a very entertaining and educational holiday.

Yolandi

Yolandi was born in Pretoria and grew up in a quiet neighbourhood where the noise of traffic was just a distant murmur. Being out and about in nature gave her the most pleasure in life and always brought a smile to her face. "Everything I did was better if I could do it outside," she says. 

"I have always been a big animal lover, and whenever I walked without my dog I somehow managed to pet someone else's dog through the fence, or secretly picked their flowers as I walked through the neighbourhood," she adds.

A frequent question Yolandi had to answer as a youngster was: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" She was always quick to answer: "A game ranger!"

Yolandi believes that if your talents are your passion and you can merge your lifestyle and your job, then you should focus on making this a reality.

In 2006 she completed her field-guide course at the Limpopo Field Guide Academy, following which she gave computer classes to children before starting part-time field-guiding at the De Wildt Cheetah centre.

It was a phone call from a friend that finally brought Yolandi to Madikwe, where she guided for a few years before finding a home at Jaci's Lodges.

Now she says she needs to answer the question, "Why field-guiding?" This is also an easy one ...

"There is no better way to watch the sunset or sunrise; or you can fall asleep to the sound of roaring lions and whooping hyenas. Then there's listening to frogs and crickets on a clear and starry night (which I thought was the noise of the stars when I was young), and waking up to the welcoming sound of a variety of birds and the fresh, crisp morning air – what more do you need?" asks Yolandi.

Now that she's developed a new interest in photography, Yolandi says: "My studio is the open plain of Madikwe and my subjects the diverse animal and plant life that never ceases to amaze me ..."

Francois

Growing up on a farm in the heart of the Free State, Francois Kroon always knew that city life was not for him. He was born in 1985, the younger of two boys, and enjoyed a carefree childhood on the farm in the mountains of the Vrede district.

Francois and his brother spent many holidays horseback riding, fishing and camping. As two competitive little boys, they started a never-ending contest to identify the most bird species, a challenge that still endures today. It was during these childhood adventures on the farm that Francois developed an enormous respect for nature, acknowledging and admiring all the details of the bush.

After finishing school, Francois completed his field-guide training at the Bush Academy. He worked at a private game reserve in the Eastern Cape for four years before making a change for the different scenery at Madikwe in 2009. Since then, Francois has also completed further training in advanced rifle handling and trail-guiding.

Francois is someone who never seems affected by stress – he is always smiling and enjoying himself. He remains calm in any tricky situation and seems to pass this state of tranquillity onto the people around him. It is obvious that he draws such fulfilment from his life in the bush and he effortlessly inspires others with his passion and knowledge.

From Twitter

• Dates for the new Photographic Workshops have been set and they are selling out fast. http://t.co/2vk08Ao1 jacislodges – 6 hours, 9 minutes ago.
• You've heard of Black Rhino's and White Rhino's, but have you ever seen a Red Rhino? http://t.co/eKcYHTpG jacislodges – 7 hours, 6 minutes ago.

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