Megan Heramb-Smith, a South African born professional trails guide, is after the acclaimed title as Safari Guide of the Year. She will compete with four male finalists to be recognised as the most exceptional field guide in Southern Africa.
The Safari Guide of the Year Awards (SGOTY) has announced its top five finalists for 2025, spotlighting the top field guides in Southern Africa. The recognition honours the expertise, dedication, and passion of safari guides who have left their mark for exceptional work in the wild.
For 2025, the SGOTY event and awards ceremony will take place from June 16 to 22 at Kariega Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape’s Kariega River Valley.
During the multi-day competition, the top 5 guides will compete in a series of challenges that test their expertise, including game drives, bush walks, a guided photographic experience, bird slide and sound, track and sign, advanced rifle handling, storytelling, hosting and hospitality.
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The competition will close with an awards ceremony on June 21, 2025, where the outstanding guide will be formally recognised for their exceptional skills and dedication to the field.
To be eligible for the award, nominees were required to have a minimum of five years’ guiding experience, hold specific qualifications, and be paid-up FGASA members. A rigorous selection process, involving interviews and evaluations, narrowed the field to the top five finalists.
Competing this year are Cameron Schmidt from Pumba Private Game Reserve, Jason Gipson from Lion Sands Game Reserve, Kalie Otimile representing Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, Matthew Derry of Kwandwe Private Game Reserve, and Megan Heramb-Smith, a freelance Guide and Partner at The Great Outdoors.
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Heramb-Smith eyes the title…
Megan, one of the top five nominees for this year’s Safari Guide of the Year Award, is the only female finalist vying for the top safari guide title.
Having sharpened her teeth over sixteen years in the field, Heramb-Smith has earned her NQF2 with Bush Academy and self-studied though FGASA to achieve professional field guiding and national SKS birding qualifications. Currently, she is in the process of completing training for a DG Trails Guide qualification.
As per SA Business Integrator, she is also a proud member of Women In Safari Excellence (WISE), a network dedicated to supporting female professionals in the guiding industry.
“I have reached my achievements through having the best mentors in the industry. All of whom have FGASA at the heart of what they do,” she says.
Beyond her incredible work in the field, she is also a mother to a young daughter who shares a profound love for the wild.
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A freelance guide, Heramb-Smith specialises in leading multi-day wilderness trails that connect guests with nature on foot.
Spending days and sometimes weeks at a time in the bush, walking ‘on the wild side’ is no uncommon feat for the fiercely independent spirit who is making her positive mark in the wild.
In a post on Instagram, Heramb-Smith shares that guiding has always been a dream – one that she is now grateful to live.
“I think I was about 5 or 6 years old when I very proudly announced to my parents that I was going to be a ‘ranger’,” she wrote, adding: “I am, without a shadow of a doubt , where I am meant to be.”
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Now, she eyes the ultimate title as she gears up to compete against her fellow top five SGOTY finalists – all of whom demonstrate exceptional skill and passion in the bush.
Should she succeed, Heramb-Smith will follow in the footsteps of Kimberlee Le Hanie from Lion Sands, who made history in 2023, when she became the first female Safari Guide of the Year in the history of the competition.
“[The Safari Guide of the Year Awards] is an amazing way to see how far you have come as a guide and to see what consistent and hard work can achieve,” says Heramb-Smith, who hopes to inspire others in her recognition as a finalist in the competition.
“If this is truly your passion, aim high and don’t settle! SGOTY is a competition for guides to work towards and better themselves within their everyday guiding,” she adds.
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Feature Image: Instagram / @megsontrail
