When people ask me why I became a ranger and moved to Londolozi, I wish I could provide a neat, picturesque answer—a childhood spent holidaying in the bush, and dreams of tracking lions since I could walk. But my story is far from that.
Growing up in Cape Town, I was surrounded by adventure. My family and I were always exploring new camping spots or conquering hiking trails around Table Mountain. From a young age, I developed a deep love for the outdoors. Nature has always been my playground and my sanctuary, long before I even knew what being a ranger truly was.
As I reached the end of my schooling years, I was faced with the pressures to choose a future career path. I knew I wasn’t cut out for a typical 9-to-5 desk job. My passion lies in connecting with others, in making a difference in their lives. So, I pursued a degree in Physiotherapy at the University of Cape Town.
My journey in working in healthcare took me from rural hospitals in Kwazulu Natal to busy hospitals in the city of Johannesburg. But it was during my time in Johannesburg, amidst the chaos of the Global Pandemic, that I truly understood the healing power of nature. Surrounded by patients grappling with physical disability and emotional trauma, I found comfort in weekend escapes to the Drakensberg mountains or the Kruger National Park.
It was during these moments of refuge, that I relied on nature to ground myself, where a spark was ignited in me. Firstly, it was the first time that I really understood what a ranger was and I got a glimmer of what life in the bush could entail—the dream of working with people while connecting them to nature. Yet, it felt like a distant reality, reserved only for those who had pursued careers in nature conservation, or the like, from the outset.
A move to London for international experience seemed like the logical next step in my career, but deep down, I knew it wasn’t where I belonged. It was during drinks on a Friday evening, that I had a chance encounter with a new neighbour, whose niece (Kirst Jocscelyne) had traded her “conventional” job after a few years of working in the city for a life as a ranger at Londolozi, that everything changed. The next day, I reached out to James Souchon, the Londolozi Head Ranger for those that didn’t know, and within a week, found myself on the selection course.
From scrambling to gather khaki clothes and embarking on the two-and-a-half-day journey from Cape Town to Londolozi, my whole life was propelled into a life-altering change. And now, as a member of the guiding team at Londolozi, I find myself in awe of the twists of fate that brought me here.
Working at Londolozi is more than just a job—it’s a space of healing, of self-discovery, of connection to the wild. Here, amidst the intricacies of nature, I’ve learned as much about myself as I have about the world around me. As I guide guests through this wilderness, I hope to impart just a small part of the wonder and reverence that I feel every day.
So, to those of you who wonder why I chose this path, my response is this: sometimes, life has a wonderful way of sending you on a journey to exactly where you are meant to be. And while I continue to explore all of Londolozi’s wilderness with like-minded people, I am grateful for all the lessons I have and will continue to learn here, to be present in nature every day and for all the people I have and will continue to share this paradise with.
