From the diary of a tour guide:

For wage slaves caught in the rat race tour guiding must seem like an attractive alternative to their desk-bound nine-to-five-existence. After all travel guides get remune-rated for visiting places of interest others pay for to see. In addition they meet interesting people and spend their working days in the great outdoors. Surely it has the makings of a dream career. Or does it?
“It is a difficult job that requires commitment, experience and above all interpersonal skills”, says Theo Schulte who has been tour guiding since March 2004. And for office workers who still envy him for what they consider a privileged occupation he adds: “The hours are long, the guests sometimes difficult and the driving arduous. Moreover, there is virtually no privacy or time for personal reflection on a tour and the long periods away from home can take their toll”.
So why is he and his colleagues convinced they have the best job under the sun which they wouldn’t exchange for the world? Well, for one thing, it seems to be on account of the people that matter most in their profession: The tou-rists visiting Namibia, looking forward to seeing rare animals, as well as unspoilt nature and meeting the friendly people in the country they have heard or read so much about.

“If you make an effort, this line of work offers its own incentives and rewards that have nothing to do with financial gain”, explains Schulte and elaborates: “The reward being the personal satisfaction you derive from delighted guests whose expectations have been met or surpassed.”
But he also concedes that this fulfilment can be an elusive pleasure. After all, even the most skilled travel guide can’t promise his guests a rare lion sighting in Etosha or guarantee a smooth trip without unforeseen and sometimes unpleasant incidents. And being unable to vouch for the guests satisfaction, tour guides can also not be certain of always being able to share in their happiness.

Depending on the attitude of the tour guide involved, guests generally take almost any hickups in their stride, that may lessen their joy. “I’ve very seldom had anybody complain if occasionally things didn’t go according to plan or we had to adjust to developments beyond my control”, Schulte recalls and adds: “They understand that unexpected events like a car breaking down, luggage getting misplaced at the airport or delays caused by a river in flood are not due to negligence or malice on part of the tour guide. So I’ve rarely had anybody becoming upset if, on extraordinary occasions we had to improvise a bit. On the contrary: Many seem to perceive it as part of the experience and find it both exciting and adventurous.”

The same tolerance and understanding generally applies when hopes of seeing rare animals are dashed. While all tour guides are adamant that they do everything in their power to facilitate such rare sightings, including consulting with colleagues and locals when entering or driving through game parks, there are no guarantees. This is well understood by the guests who fully appreciate that game parks are no zoos and wild animals not remote controlled to appear whenever visitors are around.
“Of course tourists are disappointed when they don’t see the animals they were hoping for”, Schulte offers when drawn on the subject. But he is also quick to point out, that in such cases he feels even more frustrated to the extent that it is often the guests who have to console him rather than the other way around.

Having established that most visitors are traditionally very accommodating he mentions rare exceptions and most of his colleagues would concur. When asked to describe those exceptions he ponders the issue for a while, suggesting and then discarding various adjectives like “draining” to characterize guests he considers as somewhat difficult. Finally he settles on the word “demanding” to convey a mind-set he experienced with some tourists from those German speaking countries which he specializes on.
The former teacher ascribes this phenomenon in part to the fact that visitors from Germany, Austria and Switzerland are “very well prepared” when arriving in the country. “Prior to coming here they usually study a lot of literature relevant to Namibia – so they are informed in detail about the country and its history”, stresses Schulte. Given that background knowledge they also have very particular ideas about what their journey should entail and what kind of information the tour guide should provide.
This poses its own unique challenges, particu-larly when realities on the ground don’t conform to preconceived ideas. One such potential source of conflict stems from the long distances involved when travelling from one landmark to the next. As most travel guides would agree, few tourists are familiar with or prepared for the amount of driving involved when going on tour in Namibia. As such they sometimes become bored, frustrated or agitated when having to spend long hours in the car, driving through often monotonous landscapes which offer little variety or distraction.

It is one of the most difficult tasks for any tour guide trying to prevent his guests from becoming restless and keeping them entertained, while driving for a long stretch of time. Schulte tries to prevent a strained atmosphere from developing in the vehicle, by providing reading material to his guests or supplying them with interesting facts on the surrounding flora and fauna.
He admits that this is not an easy undertaking because his mostly German guests are typically well-versed on most subjects relevant to Namibia including geology, geography, history, astronomy and current affairs. “They notice immediately if the information provided is not correct”, emphasizes Schulte and continues: “That is why it is so important to be properly qualified as a tour guide and to pursue additional courses in specialized subjects. Our visitors deserve no less.”
So, what are the most common topics guests enquire about? Schulte pauses for a while, warming to the question. “They all want to know about the weather, the altitude of various towns above sea level, and most ask about the relationship between different races in the country given our colonial history. For obvious reasons the questions repeat themselves but I always try to oblige with a detailed answer – after all I would ask the same kind of questions if I were visiting a foreign country. Most of my guests are genuinely inquisitive and want to learn about their destination of choice. I’ve ne-ver had the feeling that they try to provoke me with intrusive questions or probe me on specialized topics, where individual guests may know more than I do.”

And what are his travel companions most intrigued or fascinated by? Without hesitation Schulte answers: “The vastness and the wide open spaces in Namibia. It is something they are all overwhelmed by and unprepared for. That and the dunes at Sossusvlei as well as the German character of Swakopmund seem to impress them the most. And the millions of stars visible in the night sky over Namibia”
Schulte also has a few favourite places that hold special significance for him. Amongst those he counts Etosha National Park, the Fish River
Canyon, the Kalahari and Twyfelfontein. But even the tours which don’t include those destinations in the itinerary don’t become boring or repetitive to the seasoned guide. “Many people seem to think of this job as being rather repe-titive since most tours booked overseas cover the same destinations like Etosha, Sossusvlei and Swakopmund”, he ventures. But for him there is no danger of it ever becoming tedious because “you see different things every time, meet new people and share in their lives for a while.”
That joint experience of travelling together creates a bond that often outlasts the individual trip. So it is not surprising that Schulte has developed a close friendship with a number of his guests, some of whom have united from various towns to collectively meet their former tour guide when he was on a visit to Germany recently.
While things are not always completely harmonious, the occasional disagreement has never turned hostile. As most tour guides can attest to there is always a slight danger of friction developing between guests, who often meet each other for the first time at the start of their Namibian holiday. This is mostly caused by divergent interests that affect the way a tour is being conducted.

Schulte uses the example of a keen photographer who constantly wants to pause for pictures, while the rest of the group prefer to proceed to the next stop. And while he agrees that opposing preferences like that can potentially cause strife he stresses they have never escalated on one of his trips.
“I have to be sensitive to the needs of all guests and try to accommodate them simultaneously. So I can’t make too many exceptions for one or two people”, he says. Although that is a ba-lancing act at times, Schulte has never had to raise his voice to bring individual tourists to order. “I find that if you are polite to guests and treat them with respect, they extend the same courtesy to you even in times of disagreement”, is his simple explanation for that.
Other than the authority of the tour guide the group dynamic also assists in preventing conflict, with individual guests tending to discipline each other. When one of them gets out of line or obstructs the smooth running of the tour through unreasonable demands, the others generally reprimand him without the tour guide having to get involved.
Like many of his colleagues Schulte is not attached to one tour operator but available to all of them on a freelance basis. That means he is not involved in planning the route or arranging accommodation. This is all done prior to departure by travel agents in those countries the tourists originate from. Although he has to be flexible by virtue of his profession, he has one strict condition: “I only do lodge-tours, meaning those where we stay overnight in proper rooms and I don’t have to erect tents or cook for guests. It is difficult enough getting up at 5h45 every day while on tour and having to deal with guests till 21h00 in the evening without having to do that as well.”

When asked to define his job in his own words Schulte replies in unusual fashion. “Basically I’m just told where to take a particular group of tourists and I do it”, he says in the self-deprecating manner that has endeared him to visitors from around the globe, many of whom return for a second or even third time.
For the former headmaster that is one of the indicators that the average stay of most tourists is too short, leaving too little time to appreciate the many things Namibia has to offer. One of the consequences is that short tours tend to be somewhat rushed, with travellers from abroad trying to see as much as possible in a limited amount of time.
While Schulte accepts that he still feels some travel agents do their clients a disservice by cramming too much into the itinerary. This results in him having to hurry from one landmark to the next creating pressure on all involved and detracting from the collective experience. “I’ve had tours where we arrived in Swakopmund late in the evening and had to depart early the next day”, he remembers and adds: “That leaves no time to experience the town and is detrimental to the whole exercise.”

Although he feels uncomfortable having to rush his guests on those days where a distant destination has to be reached he has learned to accept that reality. After all there is nothing he can do about it, seeing that the accommodation has been booked in advance and he can’t change the itinerary of foreign travel agencies at his own discretion.
For Schulte, like for many of his peers, tour guiding is not such much a profession but rather a calling which has also enriched his own life. “I’ve learned a lot about my country through doing this and acquired a new perspective on and understanding for its people and problems”, he says. Then he pauses for a while, temporarily lost in thought and concludes: “But perhaps the most fulfilling part of it is being able to instil among my guests the same love and understanding for the country and its people that I feel. And given that many of them have returned to Namibia I must be succeeding in that endeavour.”