There is no single path into guiding.
For some, a love of wildlife and the outdoors begin in childhood. For others, the journey starts much later, through an unexpected encounter or a career change that opens the door to something entirely new. What these journeys often share is a moment when something simply clicks, a realisation that the bush, wildlife, people and the outdoors are where they are meant to be.
As FGASA, we are proud to celebrate the women who are choosing guiding as a career and who continue to bring their knowledge, passion, strength and unique perspectives to the profession.
For Women’ Month, we spoke to three inspiring women at different stages of their guiding journeys: Mia Fourie of Kukama Wildlife College, Kimberlee Le Hani, the first female winner of Safari Guide of the Year, and Samantha Snodgrass, a guide at Shamwari Private Game Reserve.
Their stories may be different, but together they demonstrate the many ways women can find their place in the guiding industry.
Finding their way into guiding:
For Mia Fourie, a love of the outdoors and animals has been part of her life for as long as she can remember. “Growing up, I’ve always loved the outdoors and animals. I remember always being outside until the last bit of sunshine.” After working in several different fields, Mia found herself in the hospitality industry, where she discovered another important part of what she enjoyed; working with people.
It was then that everything came together. “What better way than to mix both my love for nature, animals and people all together in one job?” Mia was also looking for something different from the ordinary. She wanted a career that would keep her entertained, challenged and excited rather than one that felt predictable.
“So far I have not been disappointed once.” For Mia, being comfortable outdoors has also been an important confirmation that she is exactly where she needs to be. “I think the fact that I have always just been so comfortable in the outdoors and in nature just made me realise that this is what I need as a person.” 
For Kimberlee Le Hani, the journey into guiding came from a very different starting point. Kimberlee did not grow up knowing that she would become a guide. She had an established career in pharmaceutical sales before a visit to the bush in 2016 changed the direction of her life.
“I left feeling that I had found a place where I could truly slow down, be present and feel connected to something bigger than myself.” That feeling stayed with her. In 2017, she took the leap, trained as a field guide and began a journey that would shape almost every part of who she is today. “What started as a career change has become much more than a profession. The bush has become a place where I continue to learn, grow and connect, with nature, with people and with myself.”
For Kimberlee, it was the bush itself that first made her realise she had found where she belonged. She remembers becoming aware of the sounds, smells, landscapes and animals around her, and of the incredible stories unfolding in the natural world. “I think the bush has a way of making you listen differently.”
She realised that she did not simply want to visit the bush. She wanted to learn how to read it, understand it and share it with others.
For Samantha Snodgrass, who has been guiding since 2021, the journey developed through guiding and eventually into the world of trails, tracking and walking.
After completing her Level 1 training and assessment through EcoTraining, Samantha began her trails guide journey with Lowveld Trails. It was during this time, under the mentorship of Wayne te Brake, Brenden Pienaar, Jared Dell’oca and Lori Cilliers, that her perspective truly shifted. “Immediately, I knew this would be my life forever, and no matter what, I was going to make it work.”
Her journey introduced her to numerous mentors within the FGASA community and gave her opportunities to develop her knowledge of tracking and walking in wild spaces.
Samantha speaks with enormous gratitude about those who have guided her along the way, including Lee Gutteridge and Kersey Lawrence, whose mentorship helped shape not only her skills as a tracker but also her perspective on life and guiding.
Today, Samantha continues to develop her tracking career at Shamwari Private Game Reserve, where she can learn from Andrew Kearney, Jan Dykema and Minolan Munien in a new environment with new animals and new challenges.
Three women. Three different journeys. One shared realisation: guiding is far more than a job.
The reward of sharing the wild
While their journeys into guiding are different, all three women speak passionately about the people they meet and the opportunity to share the natural world with others. For Mia, one of the greatest rewards is meeting people from different walks of life and different countries, and being able to teach them something that she hopes will leave a lasting impression.
She particularly enjoys seeing the excitement on a guest’s face when they experience something that she herself finds exciting. There is something special about sharing that passion, seeing someone else develop the same love and appreciation for nature.
Kimberlee agrees that, ultimately, guiding is about people. She loves the wildlife, the unpredictability and the constant learning, but it is watching a guest experience something for the first time that gives her the greatest satisfaction.
Whether it is seeing a lion, hearing elephants communicate, understanding the significance of a tiny plant or simply sitting quietly in the landscape, those moments can stay with people long after they leave the bush. “The most rewarding moments aren’t always the big sightings.”
For Kimberlee, a truly meaningful safari can change how someone sees the world. “A good guide can give someone information, but a great guiding experience can give someone a feeling that they carry home with them.”
Samantha describes this same magic from the perspective of every new guest she meets. “The best thing about being a guide is that no moment can ever be replicated. Every sighting, every encounter, every experience is completely unique.” She loves experiencing the excitement of her guests and seeing the bush through their eyes.
“I never truly see the same elephant twice, because I’m always seeing it through different eyes, through the curiosity, wonder, and expectations of each guest.” For Samantha, guiding is also about helping guests move beyond simply seeing animals and instead learn to read the landscape.
A track becomes a clue. Feeding signs become part of a story. Slowly, guests begin to understand what happened before they ever see the animal they are looking for. And the learning works both ways.
Samantha enjoys the questions her guests ask because they often make her look at something from a completely different perspective. “I’ve got to learn so much through my guests asking new questions from new perspectives and I love that.”
Women finding their strength in a male-dominated industry
Guiding has historically been a male-dominated profession, and each woman has experienced the challenge of finding her own place within the industry. For Mia, having a strong personality has helped her adapt. She acknowledges that working in a male-dominated industry is not always easy, but sees the challenge as an opportunity to work harder, demonstrate her abilities and continually improve herself.
“It’s a good challenge for me as a woman to constantly work hard and to improve on myself.” Kimberlee has experienced similar challenges.
There have been times when she felt she needed to work harder to establish herself, to be taken seriously or to prove that she was capable.
But one of the greatest lessons she has learnt is that overcoming those challenges does not mean trying to become someone else. “I didn’t need to be the loudest person in the room or the most traditionally ‘masculine’ guide. I needed to become the best version of the guide I could be.”
For Kimberlee, that has meant consistency, continued learning, asking questions, admitting when she does not know something and being willing to put in the work.
It has also meant building trust through authenticity, empathy and integrity.
Her achievement as the first woman to win the FGASA Safari Guide of the Year title in 2023 was an important milestone, but she sees the achievement as the result of everything that came before it, the studying, early mornings, mistakes, uncomfortable moments and the decision to keep going.
“I hope that my journey can show other women that they don’t have to fit a particular mould to belong here.”
Learning never stops
A strong theme running through all three women’s stories is the importance of continual learning. Samantha is particularly passionate about the role that mentorship and FGASA have played in her development. For her, FGASA has helped transform guiding into a respected and recognised career while creating opportunities for guides to progress, specialise and continually develop their knowledge and skills.
She also values the FGASA community of mentors, specialists and experienced guides, describing the diversity of knowledge within the community as an opportunity to broaden her understanding of the natural environment and strengthen her skills. For Samantha, curiosity is one of her greatest strengths.
“My greatest strength is my passion and curiosity.”
Her genuine love for the bush drives her to constantly ask “why?”; why animals behave in certain ways, why they move the way they do and why nature is structured as it is. That curiosity is something she also encourages in her guests.
Rather than simply looking at animals, plants or insects, she encourages people to consider behaviour, movement and the role that everything around them plays within the ecosystem.
Kimberlee shares that same philosophy of remaining a student of the bush. Her advice to women considering a career in guiding is simple: be curious, be willing to learn and never be afraid of not knowing something.
“Some of the best guides I know are the ones who are constantly asking questions and still consider themselves students of the bush.”
The moments that stay with you
For guides, some experiences become part of who they are. For Mia, one such moment was an extraordinary sighting of a mother cheetah with her five cubs.
Watching these magnificent animals walk past left her overwhelmed with emotion.
“It made me realise that I have so much to be thankful for and that this is something that I’ve been looking for in a career for a very long time.”
It was a reminder of exactly why she had chosen this path. For Kimberlee, one of her most memorable experiences was much quieter.
An elderly couple who stayed with her loved to sketch, and their game drives became less about searching for the next spectacular sighting and more about finding something beautiful, sitting with it and observing.
Sometimes they would sit for hours.“There was no pressure to find the next big thing. We weren’t looking at the clock. We were simply there.”
The experience taught Kimberlee an important lesson: some of the most meaningful safari experiences happen when you stop trying to make something happen.“We sat. We watched. We listened. We sketched. And somehow, in doing so, we really saw.”
Samantha’s memorable moments are also rooted in the process of discovery, in walking through wild spaces, following tracks, interpreting signs and helping guests understand that the experience begins long before an animal comes into view.
For her, every day offers something new, and every encounter is an opportunity to learn.
Advice to the next generation
What would these women say to a young woman considering a career in guiding?
For Mia, the answer is simple:“Always ask questions.”
She encourages young women to speak to people already working in the industry, ask what guiding is really like and find out whether it is something they genuinely want.
Kimberlee offers similar advice.“You don’t have to know that you belong before you begin.”
She encourages aspiring guides to be curious, keep learning and, most importantly, not feel pressured to change who they are to fit into the industry. “There is room for different kinds of guides.”
There is room for quiet guides, passionate guides, scientific guides, storytellers and educators. There is room for people who are exceptional with guests and people who are deeply connected to conservation.
“Your particular strengths are what will eventually make you valuable.”She also emphasises the importance of perseverance.
“There will be days when you question yourself. There will be moments when you feel like you aren’t good enough or don’t know enough. Keep learning. Keep showing up. Keep asking questions.”
Samantha’s own journey reinforces that message. Her career has been shaped by the willingness to learn from mentors, to develop new skills and to continually challenge herself. Her story demonstrates that there is no finish line when it comes to becoming a better guide.