WildSide Trails & Training

WildSide Trails & Training We offer Big 5 walking experiences in wild spaces - Pafuri and Makallai in the Lowveld, South Africa. We also train guides in these skills.

Our WildSide badges are our unique way of recognising our time spent on trail together. Every trail is different and has...
25/03/2025

Our WildSide badges are our unique way of recognising our time spent on trail together. Every trail is different and has learnings for both trailists and guides. Our approach involves has all immersing into a wilder and more connected version of ourselves.

We’ve got only 2 spots available for our April Full Moon Trail in Pafuri from the 10th to 13th. Take this chance to expe...
21/03/2025

We’ve got only 2 spots available for our April Full Moon Trail in Pafuri from the 10th to 13th.

Take this chance to experience something very special!

Awesome 2 nights camping in the bush
19/03/2025

Awesome 2 nights camping in the bush

Just back from the first trail in a lush and green Pafuri. It was a full moon 3 night trail to remember. Watch out for t...
16/03/2025

Just back from the first trail in a lush and green Pafuri. It was a full moon 3 night trail to remember. Watch out for the reels to come....

Exploring the forested mountains overlooking the Kruger. These mountains not only harbour incredible diversity that cont...
09/03/2025

Exploring the forested mountains overlooking the Kruger. These mountains not only harbour incredible diversity that contrasts the savanna bushveld. Significant rainfall feeds the riverbeds below, the two ecosystems are very different, but intricately linked.
No doubt elephants and other animals would have ventured into these refuges in search of forage and water before fences.

Not every day that you get to work with Renias Mhlongo. Having learnt from him through my training it was an amazing exp...
25/02/2025

Not every day that you get to work with Renias
Mhlongo. Having learnt from him through my training it was an amazing experience to work alongside him and learn even more on our morning walk and afternoon drive through the Timbavati.


Sometimes we take our shoes off so we can make direct contact with the earth.Finding true wilderness also involves remov...
18/02/2025

Sometimes we take our shoes off so we can make direct contact with the earth.
Finding true wilderness also involves removing our creature comforts that distract and block a direct pathway to nature.
It's not about how much you can carry in your pack, but rather how little you actually need to live in the wilderness for a few days.

Two brothers walking towards the full moon shining from behind the clouds. One of those moments in the bush that will li...
15/02/2025

Two brothers walking towards the full moon shining from behind the clouds.

One of those moments in the bush that will live with you forever.

FIRE 🔥 So comforting, so powerful, but when it gets out of control it can be terrifying. Only man seems to possess the k...
03/02/2025

FIRE 🔥

So comforting, so powerful, but when it gets out of control it can be terrifying. Only man seems to possess the knowledge to burn it in a controlled fashion. Gathering around it and telling stories invokes a primitive feeling. Conversation is often elevated. But the ultimate experience may well be a night watch, alone with just a fire, your thoughts and the wild.

A journey back to where it started- The wilderness along the banks of the Black Imfolozi river.We started as strangers a...
29/01/2025

A journey back to where it started- The wilderness along the banks of the Black Imfolozi river.

We started as strangers and finished as brothers, bonded by an experience outside of our comfort zones. The conditions were hot, muggy and wet. We all wondered what we were doing out there at times. But it's in the discomfort and awkwardness that we are tested and challenged to find ourselves. Not as individuals but as a small community. A band of boys becoming men.

Thanks to the , fellow guides and trailists.

We don't know where the path leads, itsl just keeps revealing more around each bend.

Beautiful few days at  Lots of rain made things interesting. The bush was buzzing with life. Mid to late summer is a ver...
15/01/2025

Beautiful few days at
Lots of rain made things interesting. The bush was buzzing with life. Mid to late summer is a very underrated and overlooked time to be in the bush!

Wild EyesWhen people arrive to start a trail their eyes often lack expression and depth, looking a little glazed from th...
10/01/2025

Wild Eyes

When people arrive to start a trail their eyes often lack expression and depth, looking a little glazed from the effects of life behind a screen and in the city. As we start walking in the bush this starts to change almost immediately, a reflection of the changes taking place in their brain. The eyes are after all a direct reflection extension of the brain. By the end of the trail they look different, the life and journey expressed deeply. A transformation takes place in just a few days.
Returning to the city and screen undoes some of this transformation, but it’s never lost completely and many trailists will never see the world in the same way after their first trail experience.
Nature and the wild guarantees this transformation, it’s unavoidable when you step out onto the trail.
We encourage you to come and find your WildSide, your WildEyes and your WildBrain

This Lion paid no attention to our approaching vehicle. It didn't even open its eyes. We drove around it and only then d...
05/01/2025

This Lion paid no attention to our approaching vehicle. It didn't even open its eyes. We drove around it and only then did it give us a glance.
While driving experiences have their place in the bush, it doesn't make us feel wild. We observe from the vehicle and don't really take part.
When a lion encounters a person on foot it reacts very differently. Often turning and taking cover, or giving a warning growl. The ancient relationship between man and lion plays out. In general we rule the day and they rule the night.
Some people are too afraid to venture out into the bush on foot, preferring the comfort and safety of the game viewer as they observe.
But engaging your fears is interesting, and walking in the wild makes you feel very alive.
Make 2025 the year when you take your bush experience to the next level and become a participant in the wild.

Spot the person……She is melting into nature. Happy 2025 everyone!
03/01/2025

Spot the person……
She is melting into nature.

Happy 2025 everyone!

Merry Christmas from the WildSide family 🐘 🦁 🦏 🦒 🦓
25/12/2024

Merry Christmas from the WildSide family 🐘 🦁 🦏 🦒 🦓

Our ( and  ) first trail with my sister and brother in-law brought us closer together in a way we couldn't quite previou...
19/12/2024

Our ( and ) first trail with my sister and brother in-law brought us closer together in a way we couldn't quite previously connect. Now it's an annual thing, getting out there as a family.

Nature is powerful and can bond and rebond us in ways we can't imagine until we out there!

Such a stunning photo at our drinks spot out of  Taken by one of our recent guests... 📷 Katya
17/12/2024

Such a stunning photo at our drinks spot out of

Taken by one of our recent guests...
📷 Katya

When on a multi day trail, we walk through the bush and then select a spot to camp in the wide open wilderness. This nig...
06/12/2024

When on a multi day trail, we walk through the bush and then select a spot to camp in the wide open wilderness. This night we chose the Limpopo River bed with views for miles.

Each camp is different, often based on water availability, animal movements and sense of place. We light the fire and gather as the light fades. We tell stories and bond, but never too late into the night as we need to rest and get ourselves ready for what the following day on trail will bring.....

Address

Kampersrus
Hoedspruit
1371

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 17:00
Thursday 08:00 - 17:00
Friday 08:00 - 17:00
Saturday 08:00 - 12:00

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