Tails of a Trails Ranger | Nicol Coetsee

While a long weekend self-driving in the Kruger National Park is as close as many of us get to South Africa’s iconic wildlife. The guests of trails ranger Nicol Coetsee can expect to get a lot closer. A veteran trails ranger, Nicol has amassed 14 years of experience, walking the Napi, Olifants and Bushman trails, making him the perfect guide for a glimpse into the life of a trails ranger.

Nicol Coetsee, Trails Ranger at Kruger National Park.

What inspired you to become a Trails Ranger?

Since I was young I have always wanted to work in nature conservation and at 17 I did my first trail at Olifants and I was hooked. I fell in love with the idea of being part of a unique, specialised unit of people working outdoors with incredible wildlife in the Kruger National Park.

Tells us about your current trail?

I am currently at the Bushman Trail in the South-Western corner of Kruger National Park.  The terrain is a wonderful mixture of high mountains and deep valleys that provides the perfect habitat for certain rare plant species. This is the only place in the park where they occur and the area has been registered as a protected botanical area. The cultural diversity in this area also makes it really special, because there is a high density of San-rock art. Then of course you get the big game you would expect to see in Kruger along with some of the more elusive species like Wild Dog, Sable and if you are really lucky, Pangolin. The camps are rustic, so don’t expect electricity! But, there are all the basics to make your stay comfortable and for nature lovers you can’t get a wilder setting.

Have there been any stand-out moments while on a trail?

There have been numerous, what makes each special is the uniqueness of that moment. It can be a wonderful sunset, seeing a species you haven’t seen before, a rare bird-sighting or a different interaction between species.

I have lots of special memories like, witnessing the whole process of a female hippopotamus introducing her new calf to the pod. I witnessed the sheer will to survive when a young male lion, with a broken back, struggled to drag itself, by its front legs over harsh terrain to water. We watched a new born Blue-wildebeest calf attach itself to the trails group as we were the first living thing it had seen. It was determined it was one of us and it took a lot of persuading  to stay in its original birth spot so it’s real mother could collect it!

What are the best aspects of your job?

The incredible camaraderie found among the trails rangers is something really special. The job allows us to experience some of the most wonderful wild areas and wilderness conditions South Africa has to offer and we get to do this in the best possible way, on foot! Being able to experience the daily interactions between species and their environment and interpret them to guests, who in some cases have never experienced South African wildlife before, is also an incredible aspect of the job.

…and the worst?

It has to be the long periods of time that I am away from home, which does put strain on family life.

Have there been any close calls?

A few, that is the nature of the job. Perhaps one of the closest calls and certainly the most comedic after the event involved two black rhinos, a mother and 4-5 month calf. I was with guests on the last day of the Olifant trail and we had stopped by a black rhino midden when we saw their silhouette. We followed them at a safe distance to try and get a better look and it appeared they were dipping down into the Bangu-Gorge. I took a 15m lead in front of my guests to see if we would be able to spot them disappearing into the gorge, when I heard my assistant shouting. I immediately looked to my left to see the black Rhino cow charging from 30m.

Instead of running down the gorge as I had expected, she had taken a defensive position and waited for us. I fired a warning shot with her at 15m with no effect and cocked my second round. Seeing she was going to hit me I pivoted around a bush to get out of her way but in doing so I stepped on one of the many loose rocks, typical of the Lebombo region and fell. As I fell my elbow hit the ground triggering the second shot into the air and this luckily had the effect of stopping the charge.

She fled and I started to check on my guests when suddenly I heard a squealing. It was the black rhino calf, who once split from its mother decided to attack the nearest threat which happened to be one of my female guests. It was chasing her and bumping its tiny stump into her legs. I managed to intercept the calf and worried the mother might come back, I got my assistant to take the group in the opposite direction to which the mother fled. The calf continued to attack me for about 5 minutes before I got a big enough gap to get away and it could re-join its mother. As you can imagine after that we headed back to the camp, with the adrenaline pumping and a great campfire story to tell.

What is your favourite place in Kruger and is there anywhere in the Park you have yet to see?

The Park is the size of a small country, so there are definitely places I haven’t seen. One that is certainly on my ‘to do’ list is the Mphongolo backpack-trail South-west of Punda Maria.

What advice would you give someone hoping to become a trails ranger?

Passion and perseverance! If you are passionate about the environment, conservation and preservation of our natural and cultural heritage and realize that it will literally be a long hard road to get to this position but you are still willing to put in the hard yards, it is one of the most adventurous, rewarding and certainly fulfilling professions in the world.