Our Guides

Sam (Kega) grew up in a small village about an hour and half west of Madikwe Game Reserve. His bush-life inspiration comes from him being raised on a farm and he always wanted to become a guide. Sam started working at Madikwe Hills in 2004 as a butler. After 8 months he became a tracker, and worked his way up to a guide in 2006. In 2008 Sam married Irene, our Front of House Manager, who he met at the Lodge. Sam has reached his dream and is so passionate about the bush. He says Madikwe Hills is ”home sweet home and will always be around”.

Wayne was born in the capital city, Pretoria. From a young age he was fascinated by animals. He had almost every pet imaginable. He started going to Kruger National Park from the age of 8years old and absolutely adored it. On one of his trips, he remembers seeing a game ranger riding his bicycle through the reserve and decided then and there, that is what he wanted to do.

He started guiding on small farms and reserves and eventually moved onto Pilanesberg, Kruger National Park, greater Kruger and a bit of work in Pongola game reserve in KwaZulu Natal. Wayne is interested in animal behaviour (ethology), interactions and cultural history of an area. He loves walking safaris, spending time looking at the tracks and signs animals leave behind.

Benson Mabaso grew up near Great Zimbabwe and aspired to be a geologist, but financial difficulties prevented this. In 1998, he moved to Thabazimbi, South Africa, and began working at Marakele National Park as a general worker in 2003. That year, he underwent Field Ranger Paramilitary Training at Kruger National Park, where he encountered the Big 5 and fell in love with nature.

By 2004, he became a full-time field ranger, and in 2007, he qualified as a field guide, focusing on safaris and wildlife introductions. His passion led him to Madikwe in 2010, and he joined the Madikwe Hills team in February 2022. Benson enjoys tracking, bush walks, and particularly watching elephants, his favourite animal.

“Imagine this big animal spending 80 % of the day feeding. I never get bored watching elephants.”

Kaizer Malapane was born in Allandale Trust, a village near Thulamahashe, near Sabie Sand Game Reserve. As a child it was Kaizer’s responsibility, during weekends and school holidays, to look after his grandfather’s cattle and goats so he got to spend a lot of time in the bushveld.

Kaizer passed matric in 1998 and visited the Timbavati Game Reserve often, where his parents were employed. One of the landowners inspired Kaizer to become a field guide. The landowner helped him with his studies, enrolling him in a course at Eco Training and he qualified as a guide in 2003.

He then worked as a tracker in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve for 2 years, gaining more knowledge and experience in the bush and learning from his guides. In 2006 he came to Madikwe Game Reserve for the first time. His favourite part of guiding is animal tracking and birding. Kaizer joined Madikwe Hills in 2024.

Megan’s family calls her ‘Nina die boskind” referring to a young girl from the Afrikaans novel called “Kringe in ‘n bos” written by Daleen Matthee. From a young age she adored nature. Right after High School she obtained her guiding qualifications and loved the adventure.

During Covid she worked with an Entomologist on research projects. She learnt so much during that time and has some great stories to tell. She longed to share her love of the bush with people and was excited to sit back in the guiding seat. She worked most of her career in the Lowveld (Limpopo province). She wanted to expand her knowledge and experience of what South Africa has to offer.

Megan joined the Madikwe Hills team in September 2023. She enjoys capturing a moment whether it’s a photo or video and she loves being ‘Nina die boskind” everyday!

Brian was born and raised in the city of Johannesburg. He has always had an interest in the outdoors and much preferred being in the fresh air than being cooped up in a city. He went on 1 game drive as a teen and was just fascinated with how the guide could interpret what was going on in the bushveld, “He became my inspiration and mentor”. That’s when Brian knew this was something that he wanted to do for a career. After 4 years of working in completely different fields, Brian found his spot in the bush and began studying.

He worked in various locations, Northern KwaZulu Natal, Eastern Cape and the Greater Kruger region, but settled down in Madikwe and this is now his home for the past 4 years. “My interests include everything big and small, I have been called a bird nerd by some,” he said. Brian joined the Madikwe Hills Team in June 2023.