Meet the 2026 Cape Adventure Brands Interns: New Talent, New Adventures

Building on What Came Before

• Our internship programme has been running since 2023, giving aspiring guides the opportunity to gain practical experience, develop their skills and become part of a working tourism environment.
  
  Since the programme began, 18 interns have come through our training programme, with each intake helping us refine and develop the way we support people entering the adventure tourism industry.
  
  The 2025 intake showed what that pathway can lead to. All four interns in the 2025 programme successfully graduated, and all four went on to join our team. We also invested in their professional guiding qualifications, supporting their progression from interns into qualified guides.
  
  We documented their journey with Bikes 'n Wines in Meet the New Faces of Bikes ‘n Wines and later in our internship catch up, as they gained confidence and took on more responsibility as guides.
  
  This is the part of the programme that matters most to us: creating a genuine pathway from learning and practical experience into qualification and employment.
  
  We explored this broader approach in Building Tourism Careers in Cape Town & the Winelands
  
  Now, we’re welcoming our 2026 group and continuing that journey.

Meet the 2026 Interns

• Chulumanco “Asi”
  Chulumanco, known as Asi, joins us from Lanquedoc in the Western Cape with a strong background in hospitality, tourism and guest experiences.
  
  Having previously worked as a Senior Experience Guide at Boschendal Wine Estate, Asi already has considerable experience working with guests and facilitating wine, outdoor and lifestyle experiences.
  
  Now, he’s looking to expand that experience into cycling, hiking and adventure guiding.
  
  “I’m really looking forward to expanding my experience beyond hospitality and developing my skills in cycling, hiking and adventure guiding.”
  
  For Asi, one of the biggest attractions of guiding is the combination of being outdoors, meeting people and sharing the Cape with visitors.
  
  He describes the Cape’s landscapes, from mountains and vineyards to the coastline, as places he enjoys exploring and sharing with others.
  
  His hospitality background also gives him a strong foundation when it comes to guest interaction.
  
  “I enjoy the interaction with guests and being able to turn an activity into a meaningful experience by sharing stories, knowledge and a genuine enthusiasm for the destination.”
  
  With existing guiding and tourism qualifications behind him, Asi brings valuable experience to the programme while still having plenty of new territory to explore.
  
  Jaydee Adams
  Stellenbosch local Jaydee Adams comes into the programme with an interesting mix of experience and qualifications.
  
  A lifelong football player, Jaydee has always been active and outdoors, and says sport introduced him to the experience of connecting with people from different backgrounds.
  
  He holds a Higher Certificate in Economic Development from UWC and is also a qualified coded welder.
  
  For Jaydee, guiding brings together two things he particularly enjoys: the outdoors and connecting with people.
  
  “I love learning and experiencing new people and actually helping them experience this beautiful country of ours would be great.”
  
  He also sees the outdoors as something that teaches lessons that extend well beyond a tour.
  
  “Being outdoors forces you to be in the moment… It demands of you to be fully present and face any adversity.”
  
  That mindset should come in handy as he takes on the challenges of adventure guiding.
  
  Dwayne George
  Dwayne is another Stellenbosch local joining the 2026 group.
  
  Friendly, positive and enthusiastic, he has spent the past nine years playing soccer and has also worked part-time at Bootlegger for almost two years.
  
  His interest in guiding comes from a combination of being active, exploring new places and meeting people.
  
  Now, he’s looking forward to getting a much deeper understanding of the tourism and guiding industry.
  
  “I’m most looking forward to learning more about the tourism and guiding industry, learning new skills and experiences.”
  
  For Dwayne, being outdoors is about the sense of adventure and freedom that comes with exploring the places around Cape Town and Stellenbosch.
  
  He hopes to bring that enthusiasm into his interactions with guests.
  
  “I want to bring positive energy, friendliness and enthusiasm to our guests.”
  
  Lizalise Badi Nohlaka
  Lizalise arrives with a strong formal tourism background.
  
  A Stellenbosch local, he completed the PYDA Tourism Practitioner Course in 2025, including a Higher Certificate in Tourism Management (NQF Level 5) through PYDA in partnership with MANCOSA.
  
  He has also completed his Tour Guide qualification through SA Outdoor Academy and holds WSET Level 2 in Wines.
  
  Lizalise has already gained experience assisting with cycling tours, vineyard hikes and wine-farm experiences. Those experiences confirmed something for him: guiding is a career he genuinely wants to pursue.
  
  He has a particular passion for history and storytelling.
  
  “One of the things I enjoy most about guiding is being able to bring history to life through storytelling.”
  
  But he’s also keen to broaden his knowledge of the natural environment, including the plants, landscapes, wildlife and ecosystems of the Western Cape.
  
  For Lizalise, becoming a better guide means understanding the destination as a whole. “For me, guiding is not only about showing people a destination; it is about helping them understand its history, culture, people and natural environment.”
  
  His goals for the internship reflect that broad approach: developing his cycling and adventure guiding skills, learning more about wine and the different wine regions, gaining confidence with guests and becoming a more rounded professional guide.
  
  Tsebo Ronald Lethoba
  Tsebo joins the programme with a background in Tourism Management and practical industry experience from his time as a Tourism Assistant at Visit Stellenbosch.
  
  That experience developed his interest in working directly with visitors, sharing local knowledge and creating memorable experiences.
  
  He holds a Higher Certificate in Tourism Management, Advanced Level 3 First Aid and is qualified as a Mountain Walking Limited Scope Guide through the SA Outdoor Academy.
  
  For Tsebo, adventure tourism brings together several things he enjoys: being outdoors, exploring new places, meeting people and working in tourism.
  
  During the internship, he’s particularly looking forward to gaining more practical experience and developing his skills in safety, guest management and professional guiding.
  
  “I’m also excited to learn from the team, challenge myself and grow in confidence as a guide.”
  
  His aim is straightforward - to make guests feel welcome, comfort

Learning Goes Both Ways

• One of the things we value most about an internship programme is that learning isn't one-directional.
  
  Our interns learn from the guides and teams around them, but they also bring their own experiences, perspectives and knowledge into the business.
  
  The 2026 group reflects that variety.
  
  Some arrive with tourism qualifications and previous guiding experience. Others bring hospitality experience, sporting backgrounds, technical skills or previous guest-facing roles.
  
  Over the coming months, they’ll have the opportunity to put all of that experience to work while developing new skills across cycling, hiking, wine and adventure tourism.
  
  They’ll learn the operational side of preparing and running tours, while also developing the less obvious skills that make a great guide: reading a group, adapting to different personalities, communicating naturally, dealing with unexpected situations and making guests feel genuinely welcome.
  
  Those are skills that can only really be developed through experience.

From Internship to Qualification and Employment

• The long-term aim remains the same as it was when the programme began: to create a genuine pathway into tourism employment.
  
  The internship provides paid, hands-on training in a working tourism environment. Interns develop practical skills, gain experience and are assessed throughout the programme.
  
  For those who successfully complete the programme and meet the necessary requirements, Cape Adventure Brands can then invest in their professional guiding qualifications.
  
  This investment is an important part of the pathway.
  
  Rather than simply providing training and leaving participants to navigate the next step on their own, we invest in helping successful interns become professionally qualified, and where opportunities exist within the business, creating pathways into permanent employment.
  
  We’ve already seen the impact of this approach. Of the four interns who completed the 2025 programme, all four progressed into employment with us, alongside our investment in their professional guiding qualifications.
  
  For us, this is what makes the programme about more than an internship. It creates an opportunity to learn, qualify and potentially build a longer-term career within the business.
  
  The five interns joining us in 2026 now have their own journey ahead of them.

Creating Tourism Careers

• Job creation is an important part of the conversation around tourism in South Africa, but creating a job and creating a pathway to a career are not necessarily the same thing.
  
  Our internship programme is one way we can contribute to both.
  
  By combining paid training, practical experience, mentorship, professional qualification and employment opportunities, we’re investing in people while also developing the skills we need within our own business.
  
  The progress of our previous interns demonstrates what that pathway can look like in practice. Now, with five new interns joining the programme in 2026, we have the opportunity to continue building on what we’ve created over the past few years.

The Journey Starts Here

• For now, our 2026 interns are at the beginning.
  
  There will be plenty to learn, new environments to experience and challenges to overcome. Over the coming months, they’ll work alongside our guides and teams, develop their skills and discover what it really takes to work in adventure tourism.
  
  We’ll be following their progress along the way, just as we have with previous intakes.
  
  And eventually, we hope to see this group take the same next steps as those who came before them: graduating, gaining their professional qualifications and building careers in tourism.
  
  Welcome to the team, Asi, Jaydee, Dwayne, Lizalise and Tsebo. We’re looking forward to seeing where the journey takes you.