Cycle Africa for Rhinos is an initiative of Hendrik and Ricolette von Wielligh. We dreamed of cycling through central and east Africa for a few years. Finally, this dream became reality with the added bonus to contribute towards rhino protection. There are many conservation heroes in Africa who inspired us to take action against the brutal slaughter of rhinos. We want to inspire other people too.
How we want to make a difference
We want to educate the youth of Africa in conservation. The youth is our future. They need to be equipped with knowledge so that they will be able to deal with conservation challenges in their future. Ricolette wrote a beautiful story for children – Ronny and the Iron Gun (age 7-9). This story will be used for education purposes in some KZN schools. Your children can read this story too on our web page, www.cycleafrica.co.za.
Everywhere along our way we will be talking to local children about rhino poaching.
We will visit several conservationists on our way to learn about the challenges they face on a daily basis. Hendrik will investigate possibilities of getting involved with raising orphaned rhino calves with the purpose to reintroduce them back to former areas of their distribution. We will also raise funds for the WWF African Rhino Programme.
We started cycling in Leonardville on the 9 September 2011. We were very excited. But the excitement quickly evaporated in the exceeding hot Namibian heat. We were covered in dust every time a truck drove past us on the Kalahari sand dunes. We were bitten by horse flies all day long. Out water supplies soon ran out and we had to cycle to farm houses to ask for water. We were exhausted and hungry as lions. After 3 days of facing sun, wind, dust and freezing cold nights we made it to Windhoek. By then Ricolette had second thoughts about the tour. We regrouped and realized that cycling over the heat of the day was no good. We had to start pedalling at sunrise and take cover in the shade over midday …
We invite you to follow our epic journey. Visit our web page for more info, www.cycleafrica.co.za
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