The Gondwana Conservation Foundation's aim
It’s not long to go now before the grueling Cape Pioneer Trek Race takes place. Riding to raise funds for the Gondwana Conservation Foundation (GCF) are two avid mountain bikers from the Table Mountain Bikers club in Cape Town. Devon Carl Naude and Roy Hannington are excited to be competing in the Cape Pioneer Trek Race for the first time and especially to be doing it for such a good cause.
The 7-day stage race, taking place from the 16th to the 22nd of October, sees cyclists cover 496 kilometers in distance, and an overall ascent of 9620 meters, in and around the Garden Route near Mossel Bay. The first stage of the race will cross through Gondwana Game Reserve and has been named #GondwanaGlory by the organisers of the event.
As a Garden Route game reserve, Gondwana shares the route’s idyllic climate, second most moderate in the world, is malaria-free and it’s the only reserve in the Southern Cape offering prime year round game viewing of free roaming Big Five animals.
“We felt that this epic mountain bike race would be a fantastic platform to raise awareness for the Gondwana Conservation Foundation (GCF) and its Rainbow Rhino Initiative, which is funding the development of an anti- poaching training facility on Gondwana Game Reserve.” says Mark Rutherfoord, who, together with his wife Wendy, own the Reserve. Statistics show that rhinos in the wild will be extinct by 2020 if the current levels of poaching continue, which is why the GCF launched the Rainbow Rhino Initiative to help protect and distribute rhino throughout Africa.
Through funds already donated, Gondwana have been able to develop an anti-poaching training facility that is nearly complete, on the private 11 000 hectare Big 5 game reserve. “Our goal is to raise R1000 per kilometer cycled during the marathon (a total of R496 000 at the end of the race) for the Rainbow Rhino Initiative,” continues Mark. “These funds will be used to outfit the newly developed anti-poaching training camp with equipment and materials to be utilized in the 7-day counter-poaching training courses which focus on tracking, crime scene investigation and drone surveillance. The funds will also sponsor courses for soldiers.”
The GCF facilitates key anti-poaching role players in the region including SAPS, Cape Nature, State Vets, Game Rangers Association of Africa, and the private sector to coordinate rhino-poaching crime scene roles and responsibilities. With the exponential increase of rhino poaching in South Africa, particularly, over the last few years, it’s imperative to continue the fight against this plight.
The Rainbow Rhino Initiative’s ultimate 10-year goal is to train and deploy over 100 soldiers throughout Southern Africa who will be able to protect over 500 rhino, as well as to introduce and breed up to 165 rhino through the custodianship program. The foundation will work with conservation authorities where an anti-poaching rhino package can be developed including the deployment of a highly trained counter poaching unit of equipped soldiers together with a viable breeding herd of rhino to various high potential game reserves throughout Africa.
Gondwana is calling on all corporates and individuals with a passion for conservation and a particular interest in saving our rhino to please donate to this worthy cause and cheer the boys on during the exciting but strenuous event.
To make a contribution, donors can visit http://www.gondwanacf.org/donate/ and use their name, along with ‘RideGCF’ as the reference for the transaction. All contributors will be mentioned and thanked via Gondwana Game Reserve and GCF social media platforms and in its end of year newsletter.
For more information or for any reservation enquiries please contact Gondwana Game Reserve by telephone on +27 21 555 0807 or by email on reservations@gondwanagr.co.za or visit www.gondwanagr.co.za
For all media enquiries, please contact Nicky Arthur PR by telephone on +27 (0) 81 283 9193 or by email on casey@nickyarthurpr.com
