How to become an Adventure Guide (including mountain guiding)

An Adventure Guide is a type of tourist guide. Under the banner Adventure Guides are found the various types of Mountain Guides including Abseil Guides.

The other 3 types of guides are Cultural Guides (who for example, visit museums), Field Guides (who operate in game reserves) and Nature Guides who would operate in perhaps a nature reserve.  All guides are subject to the Tourism Act no.72 of 1993. This means that the 3 conditions listed below must be met:

1. Register as a Tourist Guide with the relevant Provincial Registrar.
2. Be in possession of a certificate of competency issued by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).
3. Sign and adhere to the code of conduct and ethics provided by the Provincial registrar.

The process

• Complete a skills program called a Generic Adventure Site Guide Certificate (GASG). Your GASG must have the scope for the activity you wish to guide.
• Select a scope within which you want to qualify. E.g. Mountain Walking Guide.
• Go through the training and assessment process.
• Be found competent and receive a certificate of competence from the training provider.
• Take this certificate along with an ID photo and a level 2 First Aid and register with your provincial registrar of guides. The registrar issues you with a guides ID card.
• You are now a legal Adventure Guide.

Obtaining a Generic Adventure Site Guide certificate

The training provider that you register with for your GASG will take you through an assessment process. During the course of this assessment you will need to complete the following:

• Practical assessments
• Theoretical assessments
• A logbook proving your experience within the field you wish to guide.

The assessments will deal with the general skills needed to operate as an adventure guide, but depending on your scope, will also include the technical skills required for your chosen adventure activity you want to guide.

All of the above assessments and documentation will be put together in a Portfolio of Evidence, which will then be submitted to CATHSSETA. If you have been found competent, you will be issued with your certificate of competency. You will then be able to go to your provincial registrar with your first aid certificate to register as a guide.

Scope

The GASG that you obtain will allow you to register as a guide only within the scope for which you have been trained. This means that if you for instance, qualified as a Mountain Walking guide, you will only be able to guide people within that activity. As a Mountain Walking guide, you will not be able to guide clients in abseiling.

Once you have been assessed for these skills and have been found competent, you will be able to update your GASG and card and begin guiding in these new activities.

An Adventure Site Guide can be a National Qualification provided your logbook shows that you have sufficient experience in at least 3 of the provinces.