Meet Our Team

Warwick Neil Guy

From: Durban KZN

“I started at Cheetah Ridge on the 3rd of December 2017 as a Field Guide and was made Head Field Guide in September 2018”

“Before I became a Field Guide i worked in Different jobs such as Construction, plant hire and Personal Training. I even ended up in Florida, USA where I worked on Mega Yachts as a deckhand.”

“I’ve always had a passion for Nature and always found myself hiking or backpacking, this was all passed down from my late grandfather who would always teach me about trees, birds and honestly anything to do with nature!”

“The most rewarding part of my job is to show guests basics and teaching them things that the bush has to offer from medicinal uses of plants to the geographic part of things! or find lifers for their birding list!

I spend a lot my “off” time researching and reading books to gain more knowledge, because out here you are forever learning

Meet Our Team

Matthew Roberts

From Pietermaritzburg

“I started at Cheetah Ridge on the 8th of October 2018.”

“Previously worked for Bayala Private safari lodge on the greater Munuwane Game Reserve.”

“From a very young age I grew up always wanting to be a soldier, fire fighter or an astronaut. You know, the typical things boys want to be, I had no idea about game rangers or field guides. At around the age of nine, I went to my very first game reserve with my parents, before I had even left the reserve, I knew that one day I’d be a field guide.”

“The most rewarding part of my job is a phenomenal sighting and seeing the absolute shock and enjoyment on my Guests faces. Especially the younger guys because I know how amazing the game drive was for me the first time !”

“The most memorable drive was watching a male lion mating with one of 3 sisters. They were then approached by a group of male buffalos. The male lion was quite alarmed and stood his ground. Once the buffalo moved on, he returned to the female who had moved closer to the game viewer, and continued his “courtship right next to us”

“In my free time I like to go out with a group of close friends to ride off road bikes in any unexplored area. If I am not doing that I like to spend quality time with family.”

Meet Our Team

Lebohang Motaung

From the Ladysmith area

“I started working at Cheetah Ridge 3 years ago in the Front Of House Department”

“ I finally managed to get the opportunity to go do the Level Nature Guide course in October 2018, coming back to the Lodge in December 2018 to start in my new career as a Field Guide”

“Growing up I did not have any idea about Nature Guiding. After my Matric I started working at Springbok Lodge and this is when I fell in love with the Bush and Guiding.”

“My best sighting so far, was seeing a 2 weeks old baby elephant.”

Meet Our Team

Jonathan Caisely

“I have been in the industry for 9 years and been on Nambiti for 6 years. I started at Springbok Lodge in 2012 and moved across to Cheetah Ridge in 2017.”

“As a kid was mad about the bush and it was the only place I felt comfortable, at times I would skip school and go look for snakes and other critters.”

“After school I did various jobs but never one that was linked to my passion, the bush. In 2010 I decided to make a plan to change my life, leave the city life and do what I love and finally started my studies to become a Field Guide.”

“One of my favorite aspects of Nambiti is the variety of animals, birds, insects and endless views…….. So yes everything about Nambiti 😊. No matter where you are there is always something to be seen, and I am thankful to call this little gem my home.”

Meet Our Team

Themba

As a tracker, my greatest experiences have been close encounters with every Big 5 member. Nothing excites me more than guiding & educating people about wildlife, as well as sharing my Zulu culture and the very rich history about us.

In 2006 I started my guiding career as a Tourist Guide, leading clients on hikes across the Drakensberg, as well as on tours around the country, educating them about the history of our country & its different cultures.

In 2012, my dream of being a Nature Guide was realised after a game drive at Thanda Game Reserve and I just recently joined the team at Cheetah Ridge Lodge.

As a tracker, my greatest experiences have been close encounters with every Big 5 member. Nothing excites me more than guiding & educating people about wildlife, as well as sharing my Zulu culture and the very rich history about us.

Meet Our Team

Emilio Van Dyk

As a youngster growing up in Durban, I remember being completely fascinated by wildlife and took every opportunity to be out in nature - whether it be in the back garden or in a nature reserve close to home.

I kept highly venomous snakes from a very young age (got spat in the eye by a Mozambique Spitting Cobra at the age of 14 - don't tell my mother!) and used to dive down river banks to catch water monitors that were almost the same size as myself. I remember being in awe at the amazing colours of the Purple crested Turaco's that would move seamlessly through the strangler figs in search of sustenance. It was in these moments I felt most alive.

I believed I was somewhere between Steve Irwin (the Crocodile hunter) and a Khoi-San hunter-gatherer. As life went on, my love for all things wild remained, however it took a step back, as I started focusing on a way to start earning money after high school. The start of my 'working life' was as a fitness trainer, but I never stopped yearning to be out in the bush and took every opportunity to travel to places like Hluhluwe and Kruger, to satisfy this yearning. I finally saved enough and myself and my fiancé Lauren left our jobs to pursue our dream of working in the wildest places this beautiful country has on offer.

Looking to the future, I hope to achieve my goal of becoming the best ranger I can possibly become and to achieve as many qualifications as possible in this industry. I would honestly say the most rewarding part of my job is knowing that when guests leave, they have a much better understanding of the intricate workings of mother nature and they're left a little more intrigued by her ways.

As I sit here writing this and listen to the beautiful duet of a Bokmakierie in the distance, I am grateful to be part of the Cheetah Ridge Team!

Right now, I'm the happiest I've ever been in a career, and am thankful I have the privilege of working in this fantastic field.

Meet Our Team

Lauren Humphrey

I was fortunate enough to grow up in a house with a large garden and I have many fond memories of playing in our treehouse in a huge avo tree. I've always loved the outdoors and animals and have been a keen birder from a young age, always enjoying working with the trees and flowers in the garden. Family holidays included trips to either Kruger, or other places out in nature.

I knew in high school that I could never see myself working a regular 9 - 5 office job and so I looked for a career in sports therapy, as that was a solid option at the time. I completed my degree with honours in biokinetics, but still wasn't completely happy knowing that my true passion lay elsewhere. After some research, my fiance and I discovered field guiding and with the same passions set out to find a nature school and get our qualifications.

We're both confident that we've found something that we truly love doing - I absolutely love educating guests about what they see around them - from the signs of the bush to the behaviour of the animals they're watching and hope to inspire people to be more passionate about all wildlife and to realise the importance of it all.

For me, there is always something new to learn and to explore and that's what makes this job one of a kind.