Chad Cocking is a passionate wildlife photographer and field guide. He has been charged by big cats, learned to deal with demanding guests and mastered early mornings wake-ups, but this is no ordinary jeep jockey…
'Working in the bush is the only job I ever dreamed of doing as a kid' © Chad Cocking
What inspired the field guide dream? Did you grow up spending a lot of time in the bush?
I blame my dad! Through the company that he worked for, we had access to a holiday home in the Timbavati area. I was nine months old on my first visit to the bush … it’s 28 years later and it still feels like my home away from home! Having been exposed to the African wilderness from such a young age, it is an inseparable part of me, and I think that working in the bush is the only job I ever dreamt of doing as a kid – well it was either a game ranger or a superhero!
Three words to describe your job…
Very. Early. Mornings.
But once you get past that … exciting, unpredictable, a privilege.
The best and worst part of what you do?
The part that most guides struggle with is the loneliness and isolation that comes with being so far away from friends and family. However, compared to the benefits that a field guide has, those ‘bad parts’ are something I am more than prepared to put up with! Just being out in the reserve every day – witnessing amazing scenes that tourists pay thousands of Rands to experience, (and being able to call that my ‘job’!) is definitely the best part of this career path. The long days can get to you, but nothing rejuvenates your spirits like a good day in the bush!
I just have to ask … your Facebook profile picture is of you wearing a tiara … explain?!?
That’s an easy three-word answer for you! My four-year-old niece! I guess not seeing her for a month at a time, I owe it to her to let her dress her uncle up however she sees fit!
Game ranger in a tiara! (We told you he was no ordinary field guide...)
Your scariest moment in the bush?
This is where my tiara comes to haunt me! I’m a rather conservative guide and don’t push my luck, so my stories might not be as exciting as those of others, but I have had my moments. Some of these include an elephant bull in musthe throwing a tree into the side of my vehicle and being charged multiple times by a leopard while standing at the door of the reception! One of my scariest memories though was when a young leopard charged my vehicle. This might not sound all that bad, but it was so unexpected! She was literally half a metre from my door and I was convinced she was going to jump into it! It really made my heart stop and it took me a couple of months to regain my ‘trust’ in that leopard (especially when, three days later, she charged me at reception!)
Funniest question asked by a guest?
Believe it or not, it came from a South African. In the morning, he wanted to know why we were playing a recording of a lion roaring outside his room. He refused to believe that there had been a male lion 50 metres from his window all evening.
Tell us three things we don’t yet know about the life of Chad…
Firstly, I only wear my tiara on the weekends!
Secondly, I am my biggest and worst critic when it comes to my photography and it takes a pretty special image for me to admit that I have taken a good photo.
And thirdly, the biggest worry in my life at the moment is how I am going to meet that special someone here in the middle of the bush…
Your best bush sound? smell? sight?
As stereotypical as it might be to say it, nothing screams Africa quite like a roaring lion.
The smells of summer are amazing, be it the freshness after the first rains or the fragrance of wild lavender being squashed under foot while on a bush walk.
Nothing beats looking up at the Milky Way on a clear, moonless night. Despite having seen it thousands of times, it still takes my breath away.
What makes a good field guide?
A good alarm clock.
Seriously though, you have to be passionate about the bush. Without that, you have nothing out here. However, even more importantly – and something most aspiring guides don’t realise– you have to be a people’s person. You are with your guests for about 12 hours every day, telling the same stories and information that you have shared with every other group of guests, as if you are saying it for the first time, enthusiastically, and always with a smile on your face. No matter how much you might love animals and the outdoors, if you can’t handle the people side of it, you will not be in the industry for very long.
How accurate is the ‘jeep jockey’ description?
Well, I guess it is fairly accurate for some guides in the industry. It is sometimes difficult to move away from this stereotype, as much of the need to be a ‘jeep jockey’ is brought about by the expectations of the guests – their desire is to see as much as possible in as little time as possible – which requires racing from sighting to sighting. My personal approach is to rather go for quality over quantity, and while I am forced to use the ‘jeep jockey’ approach on occasions,
I take much more satisfaction in a slower approach. The number of times that I have been watching ‘just impalas’ and a leopard pops into view definitely warrants sticking with this approach!
Your favourite campfire story?
My favourite story is actually one of my trusty tracker’s stories. Petros and I have worked together since the beginning of 2008, and have built up a wonderful relationship, but I got quite worried that this relationship had ended badly one day when I sent him off to track down a pride of lions. The pride consisted of two lionesses, five sub-adult lions, and a male that spent most of his time away from the pride. Petros had spent more than an hour following their tracks, and had not seen any sign of the male with the pride. In his mind, it was just the lionesses he was trailing. Eventually, he found them, or more correctly, they found him! He rounded a bush and one of the lionesses jumped up and charged in his direction, but he stood his ground and shouted at her. She stopped, allowing Petros to slowly back away to safety. As he was backing off, he radioed me to say that he had found the lions. But before I could answer, I heard an almighty scream coming over the radio. Eish.
I plucked up the courage to phone him back, worried that he may not answer, but thankfully, he did. I later learnt that while he was backing away from the females, (he had to take a different route to the one he had used to come) Instead, he walked gone straight towards a massive male lion! Petros had just pressed the button on the radio to answer me when the male came charging out at him, and his scream was not one of fear (so he says!), but rather his effort at breaking off the male lions charge – it worked, and a few minutes later I picked up a slightly paler version of Petros. All the guests, and myself, were quite delighted to see him still in one piece!
What do you do on your time off?
My family and friends live in Johannesburg, so I usually just head back there.
Alternatively, I go away … to the bush!
Any embarrassing moments with guests?
That would probably be any time when the dancers get me up to join them during the traditional dances in the boma … I think the word ‘chicken dance’ usually comes up!
Your favourite place in Africa?
For a man that loves the bush so much, I still have so much of this amazing continent to see. My New Year’s resolution has been to travel more during my leave time. While my heart is in the Lowveld of South Africa, and especially the Timbavati, my visit to the Serengeti last year just blew my mind! It’s literally the Living Eden and I cannot wait to get back there!
When did your interest in photography start?
I got my first 35mm SLR camera when I did my field guiding course after I matriculated in 2001, but with the advent of affordable Digital SLR cameras a few years later, it allowed me to expand my interest immensely. In 2006 I became fixated on photography – ultimately, that was what led me to moving to the bush and it is a passion that has just kept on growing.
Chad Cocking at work... © Chad Cocking
Any tips for beginner photographers?
Be warned – photography is addictive! Forget about megapixels and focus more on good glass; spending money on good lenses is the best thing you can do for your photography, but try not get too fixated on equipment.
If there is one thing I firmly believe, it’s that wildlife photography is not so much about the photos as it is about being in the bush and enjoying what nature has to offer.
Chad Cocking is soon to start blogging for Africa Geographic, so stay tuned for his updates from the bush.
