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Working as a commercial paddling guide can be a rewarding and fun experience. South Africa has a well-established paddling industry and work is available on a variety of trips.
Aspirant guides need to have a love for nature and enjoy working with people. It’s not an easy job but the range of skills you will pick up are huge and will serve you well for the rest of your life.
The main types of trips run are flat water and sea kayaking day trips (e.g. whale watching by kayak in Hermanus) and multi-day wilderness trips on rivers such as the Orange River.
The industry body that sets the standards and certifies guides in South Africa is the African Paddling Association (APA). Guides also need to complete the Generic Adventure Site Guide assessment in order to register with their provincial Registrar of Tour Guides.
PaddleZone provides the full suite of training and assessments for all paddling guides and Andrew Kellett is an APA and IRF (International Rafting Federation) instructor and assessor and NQF registered assessor.