International Wildlife and Conservation Organisation, the Born Free Foundation, demonstrated their commitment to improving guiding standards in Kenya by sponsoring our Most Responsible Safari Guide 2008.

The award ceremony was held on Saturday afternoon at Bateleur Camp. We had managers and guides from Mara Serena, &Beyond (Kichwa Tembo & Bateleur Camps), Olonana and Mpata Safari Club. Mara Siria gave their apologies for not being able to be there. 

The ceremony at Bateleur Camp (trainees from Koiyaki Guiding School at back -in red).

The Award was introduced to help raise guiding standards in the Mara Triangle in relation to responsible wildlife viewing etiquette – i.e. guides becoming more responsible towards the wildlife being viewed, the protected area, and the local culture and community. To respect more the resources from which they derive their living. 

The Mara Conservancy, along with the founders and co-ordinators of the Award, Cheryl and Manny Mvula of Tribal Voice Communications, have also spent the last year improving standards of responsible guiding in the Mara Triangle by:

1. Running workshops (sponsored by the UK Travel Foundation) in Responsible Guiding for all resident guides – all lodges sent guides to these with the exception of Mara Serena. 
2. A series of ‘Mystery Drives’ before and after the training where Tribal Voice Communications assessed guides unbeknown to them – after the training they saw a big improvement in standards.
3. New park rules and regulations which are clearer and specific, e.g. maximum of 5 vehicles round an animal sighting.
4. Posters with information for visitors on responsible game drives so they don’t put pressure on guides to break park rules and interfere with the animals.
5. Stricter enforcement of park rules by our Anti-Animal Harassment Department.

All lodges operating in the Mara Triangle were invited to nominate their most Responsible Guide for the award as measured by the Travel Foundation’s ‘Responsible Safari Guiding’ guidelines. These were then vetted by the Mara Conservancy to ensure none had received any warning or fines for breach of park rules in 2008. 

Each of the short-listed guides was then subjected to three Mystery Drives where they were assessed according to how responsible they were towards the wildlife being viewed, the Mara ecosystem and their respect for local culture and the community – according to the Travel Foundation’s Responsible Safari Guiding guidelines.

These drives were carried out by the responsible tourism consultancy Tribal Voice Communications, the UK tour operator First Choice, and wildlife conservationists from the Hyena Research Team here in the Mara. The average score of these 3 drives was used to rank the short-listed guides.

The competition was very tight with all short-listed guides scoring well on their Mystery Drives, although two guides stood out above the rest:

Runner Up ; Bonniface Kitonga of Sanctuary Lodge’s Olonana Camp

“There was only a few points separating Bonniface and the actual winner of this award – it was that close!Bonniface is an excellent guide and was in fact the most improved guide that we assessed in 2008 in terms of how his responsible guiding etiquette improved throughout the year. He really took on board the feedback we gave him on how to become a more responsible guide and this shone through.

He is now one of the most responsible guides in the Mara Triangle and is a real role model for other guides to follow. We liked in particular the way in which he developed his client briefing and the way in which he brought the small things in the bush to life. As he developed his responsible guiding he also reduced his dependency on finding animal sightings through the use of his radio and we’re pleased to report that he now relies solely on his own tracking skills to find animals with his radio firmly turned off. Keep up the improvement in 2009 Bonniface, and who knows perhaps you will be the winner in 2009!”

Manny Mvula and Dr Cheryl Mvula of Tribal Voice Communications

The Winner ; James Massek Kipiko of &Beyond’s Bateleur Camp

Niall Anderson (&Beyond Manager), Winner James, & Brian Heath (Our CEO)

“Although James has only been guiding for less than 2 years he is already a first-rate guide. As a local Maasai from nearby Enkereri Village he knows the Mara ecosystem intimately and has a natural affinity and passion for the area and its wildlife – and this shines through in his guiding.

What impressed us most about James is his ability to seamlessly combine flora, fauna and the local Maasai culture and its interrelation with wildlife and the environment, in his guiding. He really brings the bush and local culture to life – both of which are key motivators for tourists to Kenya and hence his game drives really do inspire visitors.

He shows a real commitment to responsible guiding and is not only a role model for other guides in the Masai Mara, but to members of his local community who aspire to take up guiding as a profession. James is a very deserved winner of this very first Responsible Guiding Award in Kenya.

We hope his prize of a 2-week all expenses paid training trip to Manny’s home in the Luangwa Valley in Zambia, where he will work alongside some of Africa’s most responsible safari guides at Norman Carr Safaris, Robin Pope Safaris and Remote Africa Safaris, will further motivate him to become the best guide he can possible be and to bring the lessons he learns there back to the Mara Triangle to share with his fellow guides.”

Manny Mvula and Dr Cheryl Mvula of Tribal Voice Communications

Congratulations James from all of us here at the Mara Conservancy, we hope you enjoy your trip to Zambia and look forward to starting the competition again for 2009 - Good luck to everyone!

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