Mashatu partners with eco-training for guides training
Staff Writer | Monday October 5, 2015 11:20
According to Pete Le Roux the director of Mashatu, a portion of the game reserve, the southern part to be precise, has been allocated to the training institute, Eco-Training, to deliver wildlife guides courses to many young Batswana who come here to acquire the qualifications.
This is where the Amarula Trust funded wildlife guiding courses have been taking place since 2011, producing qualified wildlife guides and creating employment for the youth in the process.
It is a spacious environment teeming with different kinds of birds’ species among others. A wide variety of wildlife species are in abundance too including herds of elephants, lions, leopards, birds of prey, hyena, jackals, elands, impalas, kudus, and huge snakes, among others.
The place is also alive with a wide variety of plants species too.
Perhaps the most attractive feature about this side of the Mashatu Game Reserve is the famous Cecil John Rhodes tree, where the legendary man who transformed the developments and politics of southern Africa, once passed by, and literally engraved his name , C.J.R, forever on the bark of a tree in this game reserve.
The southern part is a scenic view thanks to its magnificent rocks, including a one circular formation of the rocks that is simply break taking and staggering with its unique and beautiful scenery.
Just adjacent to this magnificence is another eye-catching rock-formation which also happens to be rich with archaeological history of the famous Mapungubwe culture that straddles South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana.
Stonewalls, signs of agrarian activities of many years ago, are still visible to the eye as one explores the ancient home in the rock enclosure.
Wildlife guides training cannot be complete without an environment with rich culture and flora and fauna to help introduce the students to the practical world of wildlife guide.
Located right around the great Motloutse River that meanders through this part of the Game reserve, the students are swimming in the abundance of the best that Mother Nature can give.
Pete Le Roux who says he has been running tourism on the property for 30 years now, says training courses such as these for the guides are vital to give travellers the best experience.
Le Roux describes himself, as a former guide actually, no wonder he values this aspect of tourism business. He has taken his son through a similar course en route to doing training in bush flying.
Le Roux is interestingly eyeing to hire at least three graduates from this on- going guides course, since he says, a number of his long serving guides are now approaching the sun set of their lives.
Anti-Poaching
Le Roux says the continued operation of Eco-training, the institute that offers training programmes on this southern part of the game reserve has helped a lot in combating and reducing poaching activities on this side of the game reserve.
Just adjacent this portion of the game reserve is the Talana Farms, which hires hundreds of immigrants who often get tempted to kill game for meat. It is also located to an abandoned ranch through which poachers have in the past encroached into this side of the game ranch to terrorise wild life.
Eco-training institute is now based almost full time on this side of the game ranch where their busy activities have helped scare off the poachers, thus preserving the wildlife species for future generations, according to Le Roux.