On the last episode of Season 2, Jomi comes to you from Hoedspruit, South Africa with a true bush legend: Bruce Lawson. Bruce tells us what it’s like to live in Antarctica, what drove him to decide to spent two years walking from Cape Town to Cairo (that’s right), how he helped to create the Trails Guide qualification, and why primitive trails and birding are his passion. This is an absolute must-listen for any bush enthusiasts!
Bruce Lawson has spent the bulk of the last thirty years in the bush, walking. After serving in the South African military as a paramedic, which included two tours to the Subantarctic region at Marion and Gough Island respectively, Bruce worked as a specialist bird guide for Lawson’s Birding, Wildlife & Custom Safaris, a family business started by his father. He then went on to walk for charity from Cape Town to Cairo, a journey which took just under two years in the late 90s.
Since then, Bruce has become a specialist trails guide, working in various parts of Southern Africa and training guides in the Northern Kruger where Jomi was a student of his.
Bruce has accumulated and logged over 20,000 walking hours in the bush, a feat which nobody in the industry is able to match and is on the board of FGASA, where he assists in setting the standard for guides across Southern Africa.
He now continues to do specialist multi-day backpack trails under his own company, ‘Bruce Lawson Trails’ in the Kruger National Park, whilst retaining a strong passion for birding which he calls his ‘roots.’ Together with Lawson’s he also combines birding with a trails experience in a uniquely blended safari.
In his free time, Bruce runs a bush-gym out his home, called ‘Bushfit with Bruce’ -an intense DIY-style crossfit training program anybody can join from the comfort of their home.
In this podcast, Jomi and Bruce talk about snippets of Bruce’s career; whilst they only skim the surface, this is a conversation not to be missed.
Tune in! You can listen to the Safari Stories podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, SoundCloud, our website, or wherever you listen to your podcasts! Links below.