SEAN ROBERTSON
Wilderness Group Head of Guide Training
Since qualifying 23 years ago, Sean has worked in reserves across Africa, from the Eastern Cape in South Africa to national parks in Tanzania. Highly qualified and with a wealth of expertise and experience in guiding, and training guides across Southern and East Africa, Sean is well prepared for his exciting new role as Head of Guide Training for Wilderness, as of 2023.
Sean first joined Wilderness in 2005, as Head Guide at Pafuri in northern Kruger. Since then, he has worked across Africa, in other South African reserves, as well as in Tanzania, Kenya and Botswana. Now, Sean has taken up the position of Head Guide Trainer for Wilderness, based in Botswana.
With 23 years of field guiding experience, Sean is exceptionally qualified for the position. After starting his career in South Africa’s Limpopo province, his affinity for guide training saw him move on to Tanzania, and for the last 18 years Sean has moved between parks in Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana and Kenya, training generations of guides. His years of training guides in different reserves and concessions throughout Southern Africa, like Hluhluwe iMfolozi, Tarangire, Serengeti and Arusha National Parks – including marine guiding in South Africa’s Eastern Cape – have provided him with invaluable experience in his field.
Sean’s new role involves setting up training for all units and standardising training across the board. He aims to achieve personalised training standards for each country, and to uplift all guides to a higher level of training while encouraging mindfulness in wilderness environments. Added to this, Sean hopes to encourage guides with particular passions to excel in their chosen fields; this he feels is the key to heightening the experience for guests.
“I want to have contact with all the guides, and to customise training for each one’s level of knowledge and experience. I really hope to train more female guides; this is an absolutely fantastic opportunity to train career-orientated guides”, says Sean.
When Sean isn’t out in the wilderness guiding or training, he spends time canoeing and catch-and-release fly-fishing. Birding is another passion of Sean’s, and as a qualified specialist bird guide, his guests are rewarded with incredible insight and information when out birding in the wilderness. With another particular passion for alien plant eradication, Sean works hard to keep invasive species in check in whichever environment he is working.
In particular, Sean is passionate about training trails guides for walking safaris, one of the most authentic ways to experience the wilderness.