Our Team

	Lee Gutteridge Lee is the schools principal; he is a FGASA SKS Dangerous Animals guide, has developed the syllabus for SKS Wild Flowers and is a level III Tracker. He also has a diploma in Game Ranch Management. Lee has also achieved the new SKS Dangerous Game qualification, after submitting a portfolio of over one thousand three hundred dangerous game encounters on foot. In addition to this he has also successfully completed the Paelo-anthropology Specialist theory exam. During September 2006 he was also assessed in the Kruger Park by Louis Liebenberg on his tracking skills, and is now one of only a handful of Track and Sign Specialists in the country, and assesses this qualification for Cybertracker and FGASA. He has guided in the Kruger Park, Sabi Sands, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana and has a wealth of experience to share. He is an avid wildlife photographer and has a great passion for the smaller and more overlooked aspects of the bush and wildlife. He has a unique way of getting even the most hard to comprehend aspects across to all of his students and his enthusiasm is infectious. Lee started off his career tracking for the defence force in the Kruger National Park; he progressed onto managing and running a reserve in the Limpopo Province for the Wildlife Management division of the University of Pretoria. In Zambia he was appointed a Wildlife Police Officer with the Gwembe District Scout Unit and was actively involved with anti-poaching in the area. Game drives in the Matopos came next, where walks to Bushman Paintings in the area became popular with locals & guests alike. Medicinal plants became a big focus of his stay in Zimbabwe. The Sabi Sands was a great learning field. Not only guiding but also being involved in the darting and capture of some of the biggest animals around. Leopards were abundant in this area – making good subjects to study. The Okavango was completely different to any other place, but was by far one of the most beautiful and definitely the most remote. This was a big challenge but a lot was learnt. He is a FGASA assessor.
	Sarah Gutteridge Sarah is an EDTP and THETA Assessor who has lived in the bush for the last 13 years. She has a diploma in Nature Conservation and an avid interest in wildlife. She enjoys photography, and has a soft spot for Leopards. She has experience in nearly all aspects of the game lodge industry, from guiding to lodge management, and has been at Entabeni for the last 6 years. Sarah started off in the bush working for Eco Life South Africa; this involved guiding, basic reserve work and all the administration for the company. Her path took a different route – which was the lodge side of things. Front office was the next step. Zambia was a new experience altogether – which involved everything from anti poaching, to the setting up of systems for a new lodge. Zimbabwe was a lot more civilized with a 5 star lodge and back to Front Office Management & Housekeeping. The pull of the sands drew her to a reserve in the Northern Sabi Sands – a small lodge that needed a manager. From there a larger lodge also in the Sabi Sands. Off to the Okavango next. This was the most rewarding and hardest of all the things that she had yet done.
	Ed Farrell Ed Farrell is a FGASA level 3 guide with 9 years guiding experience & 6 years training experience. He has a masters degree in botany & also studied zoology for his bachelors & honours degrees. Ed spent 2 years in Soweto teaching high school biology & science before leaving the city life to become a field guide in the Sabi sands. Ed was soon promoted to head ranger & then safaris & training manager. After 8 years in the Sabi sands he spent a year as a lodge manager in the Eastern Cape while continuing to guide in Addo. Most recently he spent 4 years with EWT conservation leadership group as mentor, trainer & working group manager.
	Diana Griffioen Diana has been a much welcome addition to the school’s team in various capacities, such as student, guide and trainer since June 2008. She is a qualified teacher, with more than eight years of experience teaching at high school level. She is a level two trails guide with specific interests in walking safari’s and her favourite animals, the cheetah and elephant and is busy preparing for her level three exams. She has a track and sign at level 3, with a full tracker level 1 qualification, and often participates in the track and sign training processes at the school. She uses her previous in teaching knowledge to great advantage with our students, sharing her knowledge with the students in the field and the classroom with much enthusiasm. Her passion for night drives also comes into great effect, with her frequent nocturnal expeditions with the students, going out in search of the more unusual creatures which may only be found after dark. Her passion for wildlife goes back to her former life in Holland, where she volunteered for unpaid service on the animal ambulances of her home towns, Alphen aan den Rijn and Utrecht, where she served in shifts, around the clock for over five years, helping injured, lost and abandoned animals. This kind of dedication to animals eventually lead to her moving to South Africa to become a nature guide, where she has found the unique niche of training, using her formal teaching skills, and combining this with her love for wild life. Diana is very serious about improving her own skills with every passing day, a fact which is evident in her teaching.
	JP Meyer JP has been in the bush for more than 15 years, in the capacity of Guide, Manager, Operations Manager and Trainer. He is a fun loving individual, with a passion for the big cats. He has been involved with balloon safaris in the Pilanesburg National Park for much of his career, and has decided to get his feet back down on the ground, with vehicle based safaris and training drives. He is a charismatic individual, who develops great relationships with the students, leading them by means of good example and much enthusiasm. He is a level two guide, and is in the process of finishing off the trails guide qualifications in order to lead walks on the reserve. JP has only been at Entabeni Nature Guide Training since April 2010 but he is already very comfortable on the property and is making his experience count for him.  Astronomy is one of JP’s favourite subjects, which leads to many late drives on the reserve with the student groups who visit us. Interpreting the night’s sky and the understanding potential weather patterns from the clouds are two of his more unusual strong points when in the bush. The interest in weather and night skies definitely arose during his many years of participation, planning and flying on balloon safaris in the wild places of South Africa. These safaris often included close communication with the South African weather bureau, and always included super-early starts, viewing the clear night skies of the African morning....