Why Mental Health Is Declining in South Africa’s Guiding Community — and What We Must Do
Since the pandemic brought our world to a standstill in 2020, many of us in the tourism industry have been operating in survival mode—focusing on getting by, rather than looking after ourselves. We shifted priorities, made sacrifices, and kept going because we had to. And while the industry has largely bounced back, a quiet sense of uncertainty still lingers. COVID reminded us just how vulnerable tourism can be—an industry once seen as a pillar of consistency became one of the last to fully recover.
Now, as we slowly return to some kind of rhythm and renewed job security, a deeper issue has come into focus: the state of our mental health.
In South Africa, more than 16% of adults live with some form of mental illness, and over a third of employees report high levels of workplace stress. The safari and lodge industry is no exception. Long hours, remote settings, unpredictable wildlife encounters, pressure to deliver exceptional guest experiences, and ongoing seasonal fluctuations all take their toll—particularly on guiding teams.
Over the past few months, this topic has come up more and more in conversations with trusted guiding friends and colleagues. And it’s clear: we need to talk about it. It’s time to remove the stigma, speak openly, and support one another—because mental wellbeing is not a luxury. It’s essential.
Leading Stress Triggers Among Guides:
Job Insecurity & Financial Pressure
Post‑COVID tourism volatility shredded income continuity. As global research shows, tourism workers under job insecurity and family financial pressure, suffer significantly higher rates of stress, anxiety, and depression. Many guides in South Africa feel this pressure keenly during the low season or when contract renewals are uncertain (especially for freelance guides).
Emotional toll & Burnout
Guides must remain enthusiastic, engaging, and alert. The emotional energy required to lead wildlife experiences while managing group dynamics builds over long cycles and can result in burnout.
Remote Isolation & Lack of Support
Most guiding occurs in remote areas, away from families, friends and emotional support structures. The guiding environment is often male-dominated, with stigma around expressing vulnerability, which can worsen emotional isolation.
Family Separation & Relationship Strain
Many guiding roles require extended onsite cycles far from home. While some lodges may accommodate couples, very few are open to families, particularly those with children. For many guides, starting a family would mean leaving their current employer or taking on long-distance parenting. As a result, some couples in the industry choose not to have children at all due to the lack of feasible support structures. In cases where guides do have families, partners and children often reside in nearby towns with access to schools, while the guide remains on-site for weeks at a time - missing birthdays, milestones, and daily bonding opportunities. Studies on frequent business travellers indicate their spouses experience up to 50% more stress and significantly increased rates of marital strain. While there are no official divorce statistics specific to the guiding industry, the parallels are undeniable, and many within the community have either experienced this firsthand or witnessed its impact.
Pet Loss & Estrangement
For some guides, their dog is the only emotional support in a remote lodge setting. Yet many lodges are not pet-friendly. Guides relocating often must leave beloved pets behind, usually with family members, creating emotional voids and loneliness, exacerbating mental strain.
Why Mental Health Matters, from a lodge perspective:
Unaddressed mental health challenges don’t just affect individuals & loved ones —they ripple through teams and guest experiences:
01
Safety
Diminished decision-making in high-pressure wildlife scenarios
02
Guest Experience
Reduced guest satisfaction due to lowered enthusiasm or focus
03
Team Dynamics
Breakdown of team dynamics & connection
04
Staff Retention
High turnover rates and burnout
So, as leaders, mentors & managers - what can we do about it?
- Normalise the Conversation
Stigma around mental health remains strong in South Africa. As a lodge leader, you set the tone. If you check in with your team after long cycles, they will start to check in with themselves and others. Leaders—lodge managers, head guides, you can shift this by incorporating mental health into briefings, debriefs, peer support and open-door policies. Sharing that 1 in 4 South Africans experience mental health challenges helps normalize the issue.
-
Peer Mentoring & Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)
Nightjar's own mentoring model has proven how structured peer reflection boosts resilience. Head/Senior Guides can formalize internal mentorship systems by simply pairing experienced guides with junior colleagues for connection, feedback, and ongoing growth. Tele/online-counselling access, even in limited functions, has proven to improve wellbeing and retention. Regular wellness debriefs help discharge stress.
- Rest & Rotation
Regular off-days and rotations protect focus and prevent fatigue. Ensure you’re managing rosters fairly & with individual-based flexibility in mind. Recovery time is vital for emotional regulation.
- Family & Companion Support
Where safe & viable, allow partners, children, or pets to visit. Offer flexibility or alternate cycles for those managing family responsibilities.
- Skill Development & Self-Efficacy
When staff grow their skillset, their self-worth improves. Training blocks, birding workshops, and specialist modules offer purpose and psychological growth, with an added benefit of team building.
Practical Steps for Lodge Leaders & Head Guides
• Schedule regular debriefs & wellness check-ins after high-volume weeks
• Train your senior staff to notice early signs of burnout
• Facilitate peer support circles & mentor networks
• Work with local counsellors or EAP services
• Allow partner-accompanied stays where possible & flexibility for family visits
• Celebrate milestones (such as birthdays or assessments passed) and provide regular, emotional recognition
The Opportunity: From Burnout to Better Guiding
Guides are more than information conveyors—they are conservation ambassadors, storytellers, and emotional anchors for guests. Mental wellness isn’t optional; it’s central to safety, retention, conservation messaging, and meaningful guiding. Support your people—or risk losing the very core of your guest experience and ecosystem stewardship. Investing in their mental well-being preserves the very heart of what makes safari so powerful.
Until Next time,
The Nightjar Team
www.nightjar.co.za
Sources
1. South African Federation for Mental Health (SAFMH). Workplace Mental Health. https://www.safmh.org
2. National Institute for Occupational Health, South Africa. Mental Health & the Workplace. https://www.nioh.ac.za
3. World Health Organization. Mental Health at Work: Policy Brief. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240053052
4. South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG). https://www.sadag.org
5. Core.ac.uk. Mental Health and Hospitality in South Africa: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/148365468.pdf
6. PMC Study: Tourism and Mental Wellbeing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10047375
7. Alliance Law Group. Business Travel and Marital Strain. https://www.alliancelg.com/blog/2020/09/traveling-spouse-divorce-rate
8. mdpi.com. COVID-19 and Stress Among Hospitality Workers. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/9/416
For several years now, I’ve had the privilege of guiding the same guests—true safari veterans—on multiple trips each year. Their requests have always been the same: black rhino and pangolin. These are two of Africa’s most elusive species, and despite tracking efforts across numerous reserves, the sightings remained just out of reach... until now.
Over the years, we’ve followed countless leads: tracks in the sand, fresh dung, whispers over the radio. We’ve invested hours walking, scanning, listening—always just behind or just too late. But seasoned guests understand that the most meaningful sightings are often the hardest won.
Recently, during a relaxed coffee break at one of their favourite dams, word came through: a black rhino had been spotted nearby. By the time we arrived, however, the animal had vanished. Most assumed it had crossed the reserve boundary—but something didn’t feel right. We returned to the last known location, re-read the tracks, and noticed subtle signs suggesting otherwise.
Track by track, scuff by scuff, we followed the trail—losing it, finding it again, then losing it once more—until our tracker glimpsed something through the thicket. Not just one rhino, but several, sleeping deep in a small thicket. Black rhinos!
Without lingering, we rushed back to collect the guests. The atmosphere in the vehicle was electric with hope. But once again, we arrived to find... nothing. No movement, no sound. We searched, picked up their trail again, and saw the animals had settled into a more relaxed pace, finally heading deeper into the property. For the first time in days, the odds were in our favour.
I left the tracker on foot and returned to the vehicle, planning an intercept along a quiet road. Just as we pulled up, word crackled over the radio: another vehicle had seen a cow and calf cross the road. We missed it by seconds.
But then—movement. Grey, fast, unmistakable. The bull was following, and we caught him as he burst through the bush. He gave us everything a black rhino is known for: a snort, a quick charge, and that raw, wild energy that defines the species. We gave him space. He gave us a memory none of us will forget.
The ride back to camp was quiet at first as the moment settled in. Eventually, the vehicle filled with celebration, reflection, and a deep sense of achievement. After more than 120 drives together, the dream had finally become reality. And for me, as a guide, this was a career highlight—a moment where persistence, skill, and the wild aligned perfectly.
In a few months, these same guests will be back with us. Will we find their pangolin next? Only time will tell. But we’ll be out there—searching, tracking, never giving up.
Until next time,
Charles & The Nightjar Team
