As part of Heritage and Tourism Month celebrations, Wayne Bolton, a Gqeberha businessman and founder of One Land Love It (OLLI), completed his third awareness campaign for rhinos and rangers on World Rhino Day.
OLLI is a non-profit focused on rhino conservation, and Bolton cycled Namibia and South Africa, the primary custodians of the world’s rhinos, a 2510km journey by mountain bike, starting from Swakopmund on the 20 August and ending in Nelson Mandela Bay on the 22 September.
Bolton averaged 100kms per day, and in his previous cycling expeditions, in 2015/2016 and 2017, he cycled a total of 8000kms by mountain bike around South Africa to create awareness around the rhino crisis and the shift from conservationist to soldier that rangers face.
During both journeys, he highlighted the work of SANParks and private parks in the fight to preserve our rhinos.
His recent expedition, Forever Rhino Ride, was to create awareness about the increase in rhino poaching this year in SA and Namibia, along with declining rhino population statistics in SA.
Bolton, along with his family, extended a call for ordinary people to act now on behalf of this species to ensure that they remain with us forever. Accordingly, Bolton symbolically linked the oldest desert in the world, the Namib, with the Karoo.
Bolton’s campaign was endorsed by Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism( MEFT), which gave him permission to cycle through the Namib-Naukluft National Park representing the Namib Desert, the 60km stretch to Sossusvlei with its extraordinary red dunes a highlight of the journey. He then continued to link the private parks of NamibRand and Gondwana in Namibia.
In South Africa, a milestone in the journey was arriving at SANParks Karoo National Park, after which he connected to the private park, Samara Karoo, and finally joined SANParks Addo Elephant National Park.
He was privileged to cycle through parks accompanied by rangers and, at times, cycled with them and Park Managers, even enjoying a fly-by from the Senior Section Ranger in the Karoo National Park.
“It was on the tough days that mental strength was imperative. I cycled in memory of my late dad, who nurtured my love for Africa and whose legacy I am determined to pass on to my children,” said Bolton.
He revealed that arriving to an enthusiastic welcome and the unfurling of the South African Flag at the Donkin Reserve in Nelson Mandela Bay on World Rhino Day was a fitting tribute to the goals of this expedition.
Together with conservation stakeholders, including SANParks; Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency; Discover Mandela Bay; Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality; Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture; and private parks represented by Shamwari along with support from Amakhala and Kariega Game Reserves - Bolton connected the ‘Forever Rhino Pledge of Unity in Conservation’.
“I was particularly motivated to see the commitment of our participating parks to rhino conservation and the enthusiasm of the general public in both countries to get involved,” said Bolton.
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