ABSTRACT
This chapter examines an example of wildlife tourism in South Africa as not just a source of revenue, but as a transformational educational encounter between European students and African people and wildlife. This is a positive Afrocentric experience with life-long consequences for short-term visitors. Specifically, this chapter looks at a South Africa–based educational wildlife tourism enterprise that works to show, represent and instruct students in wildlife and its management and conservation. In particular, it focuses on how students learn about the complex issues of wildlife conservation in the context of the communities who coexist with the animals and protected places. The case study is based on participant observation ethnography, a method which involves being with and recording the experiences of the students who participate and interviews with the academic organisers, company staff, guides and others who contribute to the multi-faceted elements that make up the field course. The results show a successful exploration of issues relating to wildlife heritage in South Africa, projecting conservation through education, and the powerful transformational potential of experiential learning in the field.
