- Safari Guide of the Year 2026 launches, marking 15 years of raising the bar as South Africa’s top field guides go head-to-head
- 18–24 June 2026, Amani Safari Camp, Klaserie Drift Collection, Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, Limpopo
Five of South Africa’s most accomplished field guides are in the Greater Kruger, competing for the title of Safari Guide of the Year (SGOTY) 2026, a competition now in its 15th year of testing and celebrating the standards that define professional guiding in South Africa.
Field Guides Association of Southern Africa (FGASA) endorsed SGOTY in 2011 to address a gap the tourism industry had largely ignored: there was no formal, independently judged benchmark for what separates a good safari guide from an exceptional one. Fifteen years on, the competition has become the industry’s most credible measure of guiding standards, built on FGASA’s own qualification framework rather than popularity or guest reviews.
This year’s competition is hosted at Amani Safari Camp in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, part of the Klaserie Drift Safari Camps collection in the Greater Kruger.
SGOTY was founded in 2011 by Lowveld-based private guide Mike Karantonis in partnership with the FGASA. What began as a niche industry initiative has grown into the most rigorous public assessment of guiding talent in the region, evaluating finalists on tracking, birding, storytelling, hospitality, bush walk, FGASA advanced rifle handling, environmental interpretation and…
Ask Questions | Find Events | Find Accommodation | Find Things to Do | Stratlec Online.
