Within Zimbabwe the authority that is responsible for all wildlife related activity licensing is the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.

Zimbabweans that have a passion for the outdoors and whom wish to guide Guests through our National Parks must first obtain and become licensed.

The Driving Guide is considered the first round of accreditation and in order for this to happen a candidate has to sit four papers, which is a written examination and covers, law, firearms & ballistics, habits and habitat and a general paper. Passing this exams means a candidate will now hold a Learner Professional Hunters License, most often called or referred to as a L.P.H. irrespective of where his or her passions lie.

Before a L.P.H. or Driving Guide actually receives his/her license in hand he/she must be under the tutorship or direction of either a Walking Guide or Hunting Guide which basically is designed to ensure the Driving Guide has the necessary skills before he/she Guides our Guests which will then enables the Driving Guide to drive guests through Zimbabwean National Parks.

It takes an average, 4 to 5 years as a trainee or apprentice before a Driving Guide may take the next exam which enables walking within the National Parks.

It is often miss understood that, but important to note that a Driving Guide may in fact hold his/her license indefinitely and therefore referring to your Driving Guide as a learner is in fact not necessarily correct, a Driving Guide may have ten years’ experience and therefore is not a learner and it may be a matter of the Driving Guide choosing not to progress to the next level much the same as not all nurses want to progress to being a surgeon.

A Driving Guide that intends on becoming a Walking Guide will undertake numerous additional courses & exams in first aid, shooting, some with be of a theoretical nature some of a practical nature and of course what the Zimbabweans Guides are known for…“Practical hands on experience in the African Bush” before the Driving Guides are able to undertake an arduous week long practical examination.

During the exam, the prospective candidates are expected to set up their own camp and are examined on everything about the outdoors with particular emphasis on bush lore, track identification and tracking, vertebrates, invertebrates, osteology, vegetation, photography, astronomy, conservation and eco-tourism, advanced first aid, shooting, rifle handling and safety.

The Zimbabwe Professional Guides Association is an intrical part of the examination framework that enables Walking Guides and as well as Hunter Guides to work together in helping the department of National Parks in all aspects of the examination process and to help maintain and better the exceptionally high standards expected from our Zimbabwean guests.