It feels like yesterday I was documenting the 17 hour translocation of these beautiful rhino across Zimbabwe to their new home in Hwange National Park!
These boys have flourished and the biggest feedback we always get from guests is how much they love the quality interaction you can have with them – slowed down walking with your scouts in close proximity, really being present and taking in the immense privilege it is to enjoy them and be a part of protecting them!
This remains one of the largest conservation projects in Africa today and my Hwange partners Imvelo Safari Lodges continue to push forward – now moving into this ambitious projects second phase with the newly established second sanctuary set to accommodate more rhino! Bomani Tented Lodge and Camelthorn Lodge offer the only two big 5 camps in Hwange and strive to give our guests the best white rhino experience possible to promote rhino conservation. There is an abundance of excellent information available on Thuza and Kusasa and how this project is unfolding, please view the Hwange Community Rhino page to learn about the K9 unit, the 16 new scouts that have been deployed to the 2nd sanctuary, the rhino research that is being carried out and of course lots of feedback from the hundreds of guests and our communities that have visited the rhino sanctuary. It is such a meaningful experience, one that showcases how invaluable having more visitors to this area are and what a highlight this continues to be for our guests – a truly unforgettable, rich experience – most of the time guests want to go back a second time!
I was lucky to see these two young guys enjoying their new home and wish them many happy years ahead! Watch the two boys here – Quality time with Thuza and Kusasa.
Incredible breaking news this month too – the Community rhino conservation initiative was recognized at the environmental photographs of the year in Monaco – where the talented Aaron Gekoski was awarded the Change Makers, Reasons for Hope award for his substitute rhinos image, taken just before the arrival of our white rhinos in our sanctuary in Hwange. The winners of the environmental photography awards were unveiled by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and members of the prestigious jury on the Boulevard du Larvotto in Monaco on the 4th June.
There were 11000 entries and only 36 moving photographs were chosen to be part of the exhibition and the ‘Substitute Rhinos’ photograph, depicts the Cobras Community Wildlife Protection Unit conducting guarding drills in the lead up to the rhinos arrival. It shares the story of the people involved in desperate efforts to protect the nation’s wildlife. We have come a long way since those guarding drills and continue to be dedicated to the protection of our wildlife for generations to come.
