I am Golesedi Baisitse, known as Lesh, born on the 5th January 1988. Hailing from Kanye village in the southern district - the centre of the Bangwaketse tribe – I am the first born of three, with one sister and a brother. My childhood was mostly spent in this region with my primary school, secondary and senior education level all held in Kanye. Therefore, as it was common with the boys of my tribe and due to the fact that I was raised by my grandmother, school holidays and weekends were all spent at the cattle post and activities there included herding cattle, providing general care to small stock, ploughing, and going out in the bush as hunters and gatherers, but only for small game.

Through these activities we acquired knowledge through observation and verbally through taboos, myths and other oral traditions from our age-mates and the elders. Recreational activities were soccer, singing, storytelling and traditional games such as mohele (traditional chess) topping the list.

So this is where my love for the bush comes from. Upon completing my BGCSE I enrolled with Limkokwing University (Gaborone Botswana) to pursue a four-year Associate Degree programme in tourism and hospitality management from 2007 to 2010. From there the journey continued as I went back to Kanye to work as an intern at Kgosi Bathoen II museum. My day-to-day activities were more of office work with limited outreach activities leading us to different heritage sites in the southern region. Interested in being bush-based, I then went on to do a year’s Certificate Programme on Professional Safari Guiding with Botswana Wildlife Tourism Institute in Maun.

I have been employed permanently as a guide at Xigera since 2014, where I developed a tremendous love for the area’s uniqueness, but most of all its birds. I look forward to exploring further with Red Carnation Hotels.

Meet Golesedi Baisitse, also known as Lesh