King of the Jungle

There are no words to describe the feeling when you stand in front of a wild animal when you are in a Walking Safari, what if this animal was the king of the Jungle?

I still remember the first time I did so in my course in South Africa. There is nothing between us we stood there and looked each other on the eyes.

The whole feeling differs when you are the guide! Here you have to be aware of everything around you, every single move, not only that you have to be ready for the worst, if thee lion decided to attach –which not supposed to happen if you know what you are doing-, and above all give your client the chance to satisfy their lifetime dream.

Birding and Bird Guiding in Jordan

We’re down the end of the winter season. For birds the spring migration has begun and that means it’s peak season for bird-watching.

Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity in their natural environment either by naked eyes or with the help of a visual enhancement device –binoculars-, or even by listening to the birds’ calls and songs.

Hoopoe - Upopa epopos. Photo by: Osama Tamimi

Birding has become a truly international pastime, inspiring an increasing number of enthusiasts to travel the world in pursuit of rare and exotic species, often in fragile ecosystems.

Jordan is an exceptional place for birdwatching. Its geographical position means that it is a hub for migratory species from Europe, Africa and Asia. The birdlife of all three continents pass through Jordan twice a year on their passage between seasonal habitats and sometimes it is possible to see specimens from each at the same time.

During the period 28^th February to 7^th March Baraka have conducted the first phase of the first Jordanian Certified Bird Guiding Program that aims to train and certify specialized bird-watching guides capable of leading dedicated international birding groups accordance with international best practices. This is in a step toward developing the birding and nature tourism in the country.

11 DAYS, 11 MARATHONS TO GIVE HOPE TO CHILDREN IN JORDAN

Amman—After his run around the world, David Christof will cross the Kingdom of Jordan in eleven marathons from the 15th to the 25th of March. David hopes to raise money for Jordanian and Syrian children’s educational needs such as school improvements, supplies and equipment.

Over a third of all Syrian refugees who have found refuge in the Kingdom are children and Jordan is struggling to meet the needs for teachers, materials and space to provide them with an education. Informal schools run from garages and other ad-hoc locations attempt to provide education to the children who cannot enroll in the Kingdom’s over-crowded schools.

The First Specialized Training in Nature Guiding

A photo of the participants in the Nature Guides Training course

The RSCN held the first specialized training for their Nature Guides last Sunday (5-1-2014) as part of the building capacity for their employees in order to provide the guests with the best experience possible.

The training was delivered by Four FGASA (Filed Guide Association of South Africa) Guides (Osama Cori, Osama Al-Smadi, Abdulla Abo-Rumman, and Nadia Al-Aloul) who have spent a year studying Nature Guiding In Eco-Training Academy, South Africa.

This Course was a first of its kind in the region, covering an introduction to the intended skills needed for a guide to build the best experience for his guests, and covering the basic knowledge that the guide need to possess to be able to interpret the environment to his guests. The training where build through over 6 months during which the four guides were working on developing a training curricula similar to the South African one but well fitted to the needs of the region.

Why You Should Hire an Adventure Athlete?

I was reading some reviews for the book “Business Lessons from the Edge”, which talks about how extreme athletes use intelligent risk-taking to succeed in business, when the idea of this article came to me.

Why would anyone hire a crazy risk-taker who risk even his own life?

In a previous post I discussed the reasons that make us take a high risk action –as a sport-.

Well what does it take to succeed in business? Risk taking. Preparation. Self-confidence. The same principles that drive extreme athletes to the highest peaks of performance.
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Little Things in Life

A little Gecko

It is the little things in life that make the difference, the finest details what make the experience. Paying attention to these small details what makes the perfection. It is agreed that everyone will see the beauty of a flower, but it is hard to see the beauty of the ordinary things we face every day in our life, the beauty hidden in every corner.

When I used to guide the people on Safari, everyone wanted to see the big five, they all wanted to encounter a kill, but only few stopped next to line of solder ants going back of their battle carrying their winnings back. It was our job as guides to show them this beauty.

Age is never a limit

Few years ago, I been to some area near Al-Karak in an exploration trip -as I prefer to call it- to find a new canyon -was new for me and still not well known for mass hiking groups- with one of the local guides in the area. Early in the morning we prepared our gear, Ropes, helmets, etc... since the Canyon supposed to have 3 abseils

Before we head off, he told me we need to wait, his friend is going to join us, few minutes later an old man appeared, all grey hair, without any teeth in his mouth, he was 68 old then, it came to my mind is that the friend we are waiting for!! and the surprise was yes.

He had his own backpack and harness which he made himself. With all the walking, climbing up and going down he only needed two breaks, one for a cigarette and the other for making tea.

I wont talk about safety in the picture, we tried to convince him, but he wasn't interested in it. :)