“We are excited to offer this fun and interactive quiz to South Africans looking for new experiences. It’s a great way to learn about the natural and cultural heritage of this beautiful region. There is so much to see and experience in the Lubombo region, we want to help you find the best fit for your next adventure,” says Nicholas Tucker, Acting Marketing Manager for Boundless Southern Africa.

Participation in the fun online quiz and contest is absolutely free. Do you love learning about new cultures and customs? Or are you more of a nature lover who would enjoy tracking turtles on the beach? Maybe you are a trail chaser, always looking for the next adventure, like abseiling mountains. Or you could be a sensory seeker who enjoys the finer things and wants to learn about new sights, sounds and tastes. For every ‘travel tribe’, Boundless is offering an exciting programme of activity suggestions in the Lubombo region.

R14,000 worth of prizes up for grabs!

• 2-night stay at Gala Gala Eco Resort including breakfast and 2 x massages at the spa
• 3-night stay at Mbuluzi Game Reserve Camp site in Eswatini for 10 people
• 2-night stay shared across Mhlumeni Bush Camp and Shewula Mountain Camp in Eswatini
• 1-day Tour of Maputo with Dana Tours

How to enter

Take the online quiz at https://boundless-southernafrica.org/lubombo-tfca-campaign/.

For a chance to win:

Like Boundless Southern Africa on Facebook (@BoundlessSouthernAfrica) and follow them on Instagram @boundlessSouthernafrica).

Share what kind of #BoundlessExplorer you are on Facebook and/or Instagram using the sharing buttons.

Tag Boundless Southern Africa in your post.

For extra entries:

• Follow our partners on social media
  • Tag your friends. The more chances you have to win.

Facebook handles: @RoyalJozini @PhambukaPontadoura @KosiBayMouth @destination.management.company @NkhankankaLodge

@HlaneRNP @TembeElephantPark @UndaAfricanSkies  @DestinationMozambique @mbuluzigame @iSimangalisoWetlandPark @SkyIslandResort @shewulamountaincamp @anvilbay

Instagram handles: @royaljozini @kosibaymouth @danatoursmozambique @nkhankanka_lodge @hlanernp @Tembeelephant @underafricanskies_ @destinationmoz @mbuluzi_game_reserve @isimangaliso @skyislandresort @anvil_bay

Winners of the “What type of #LubomboExplorer are you?’ competition will be announced on World Tourism Day 2022, Wednesday, September 22 on the Boundless social media platforms.

For more information about Boundless and their work on sustainable tourism development in Southern Africa’s Transfrontier Conservation Areas please visit their website: https://boundless-southernafrica.org/

Contact dorine@bigambitions.co.za for more information.

Initiated by How Many Elephants (HME), World Female Ranger Day will spotlight the brave women who have dedicated their careers and lives to conserving Africa’s wildlife.

To accompany the first-ever awareness day that supports female anti-poaching rangers, How Many Elephants has created an innovative online platform where female rangers, from around the world, can come together to tell their stories, access peer support, offer and receive advice, and share their knowledge with each other. The aim of this platform is to help them feel heard, united and unstoppable, whilst raising vital funds to support their work.

One female ranger per year will be granted the World Female Ranger Award, giving them international recognition. People will be able to nominate a female ranger for the award via the platform from 23 June and the winner will be announced 25 August.

In addition to promoting this important initiative, Africa Travel Week will participate in the 7-Day Challenge, which aims to raise funds to support female rangers in Africa, says Megan Oberholzer, RX South Africa Portfolio Director Travel, Tourism and Creative Industries. “As part of the fundraising initative, we will recruit our own walking team and set up a page through the World Female Ranger Day online platform to raise funds for these worthy women. We’re excited to be part of the challenge and are looking forward to challenging others in the industry to support this great initiative,” says Oberholzer.

Further features on the World Female Ranger Day platform include:

• Meet the Rangers: supporters can read about, and hear from, the beneficiaries of WFRD.
• Donate to the Rangers: supporters can choose to buy boots, GPS units and uniforms for the rangers, or donate an amount of their choice.
• Send a Message to the Rangers: supporters can send a voice message directly to female rangers through an embedded recording functionality.
• Free Resources: supporters can download free social media assets, educational resources, such as school lesson and assembly plans for students aged 5-16 years old, and other fundraising resources.
• Blog: supporters can stay up-to-date with on-the-ground conservation efforts in Africa.
• WFRD Merchandise Shop: WFRD-branded T-shirts, hoodies, Tote bags and more can be purchased to raise awareness and support the female rangers.

“We are especially encouraged that this World Female Ranger Day is just the beginning of an initiative that seeks to provide ongoing suppor for female rangers,” adds Oberholzer.

Through the WFRD initiative, HME aims to collate gender-specific data about female anti-poaching rangers. This will support HME and conservation organisations in identifying the needs of female rangers, in finding tangible solutions, and in building effective policies to contribute towards positive outcomes for female rangers and conservation as a whole.

HME is dedicated to supporting conservation efforts so that elephants, and other iconic species, can be protected. By creating WFRD, wild animals will have a greater chance of survival, as there will be a stronger presence of anti-poaching rangers on the front line.

Africa’s elephants are at an increased risk of extinction due to being poached for their ivory tusks and losing their natural habitats due to human activity. In addition to this, COVID-19 has presented further problems for wildlife, as tourism and funding for conservation organisations have been drastically reduced. The work of anti-poaching rangers is paramount right now.

To find out more about this initiative, click here to watch: http://bit.ly/WFRDPromo

The Park is popular and attracts both local and international visitors.

The GRNP has adjusted its entrance fees also known as conservation fees for most of its gates to include CPI (Consumer Price Index) this year. Suggestions from local cyclists were considered. A day’s pass for cycling the world-famous Harkerville trails and Homtini costs R53. There is an introduction of monthly, seasonal and a family permit for cycling.

There is also a 20% discount applicable to vessels that are kinder to the environment such as 4-stroke engines, provided there is proof thereof. Likewise, tariffs for canoes, rowing boats and electric boats get a discount to encourage more use of environmentally friendly activities. 30 day-permits cost R100 and annual permits R200.

Plants and trees sold at the Diepwalle nursery (Knysna forest) range from R18 for 1.0L to R213 for 20L.

Entrance Gate Fees:

Tsitsikamma Section

Nature’s Valley Section

Knysna Section

WildernessSection

More information on tariffs is available on the Park’s website: https://www.sanparks.org/parks/garden_route/tourism/tariffs.php

Cathy studied Nature Conservation and completed her degree at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, after which she did her experiential training at AENP. Here she worked closely with South African National Parks (SANParks) Veterinary Wildlife Service Unit which is based in Kimberley. After completing her experiential training year she joined the game capture team on a permanent basis and worked with them for 12 years, capturing and relocating a wide variety of species throughout Southern Africa and Africa.

In 2012 she left SANParks and took up the position of Conservation Manager at the Great Fish River Nature Reserve, managed by the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency. Five years later she returned to SANParks as the Black Rhino Surveillance and Monitoring Co-ordinator for Kruger National Park.

She now heads up conservation in Addo Elephant National Park, home to the “Big 7” – elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, leopard and the southern right whale and great white shark in the marine section of the park. Addo is the third-largest national park in the country and is comprised of a 182 000ha terrestrial component and 116 000ha Marine Protected Area. It’s been a busy two weeks in the Park for Cathy, who spent her first week participating in her first aerial census as well as being involved in an elephant contraception exercise.

Cathy says the highlight of her career was being awarded the Tusk Award for Conservation in Africa in London in 2016. She was the first South African recipient of the award and the first female to have won it. The Tusk Conservation Award is given to an individual who has been judged to be an emerging leader in conservation in Africa and in recognition of their outstanding contribution and considerable successes in their chosen field. The award was presented to Cathy by Sir David Attenborough. She says meeting him was one of the most memorable experiences of her life.

About her role as Addo’s first female Conservation Manager, Cathy says, “I am looking forward to supporting the Park’s terrestrial and marine conservation efforts and feel incredibly privileged to be a part of such a passionate, dedicated and committed team of rangers.”

The programme is aimed at providing professional growth and leadership development opportunities between the two agencies and to increase education and awareness of international wildlife trafficking, which negatively affects conservation efforts in both Texas and South Africa, according to TPWD.

Texas Game Wardens say they have increased the focus on wildlife trafficking operations over the last decade, including navigating through internet forums and online marketplaces where they say trade in both live wildlife and wildlife parts frequently occurs.

“The illegal sale and exploitation of wildlife resources is a global problem that has a direct negative effect on the State of Texas and could lead to the loss of Texas native species, either through the harvest of native species or introduction of non-indigenous invasive species,” said Col. Grahame Jones, Law Enforcement Director with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The release says game wardens are currently working to identify suspect sales and negotiate undercover transactions with willing sellers to purchase a wide variety of native and non-native wildlife species from around the world, removing them from the harmful animal trafficking trade.

Kruger National Park, in northeastern South Africa, is one of Africa’s largest game reserves. They see more than 1.8 million annual visitors, and are home to over 500 bird species, 100 reptiles, and nearly 150 mammals; including species heavily targeted by traffickers, such as leopards, rhinos, elephants and giraffes.

Launched by former US President Barack Obama in 2018, the Porto Protocol is a global sustainable initiative signed by companies across numerous industries. These have pledged to play their part in employing and sharing sustainable environmental practices to combat climate change.

“Stellenbosch Wine Routes become the first Southern Hemisphere wine region to join the ranks of global signatories of the Porto Protocol, all of which have committed to accelerating their focus and efforts, guiding their activity by good environmental practice principles and executing projects oriented towards the sustainability of the region,” says Mike Ratcliffe, Chairman of Stellenbosch Wine Routes. 

“As the leading wine tourism destination in South Africa, Stellenbosch recognises the leadership role it must play on climate change issues. We are committed as the entire wine and tourism ecosystem of Stellenbosch to lead the way in environmental protection and to foster good environmental principles among all our stakeholders,” says Ratcliffe.

The recent launch of Visit Stellenbosch, a new Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO), unifies all Stellenbosch tourism stakeholders under one umbrella with the objective of growing the tourism and experience economy in Stellenbosch for the benefit of all communities.

“Central to that mandate is ensuring that Stellenbosch is known as a place where people come to discover, learn, create, start-up, launch and bring into being. This is a destination that pioneers innovative and scalable high-impact solutions to tackle pressing, social, economic and environmental issues. We have a responsibility to confront the biggest issues,” adds Ratcliffe.

Among the initiatives already being employed by members of Stellenbosch Wine Routes aimed at sustainability, biodiversity and conservation include the Integrated Production of Wine, a voluntary sustainability scheme established by the South African wine industry in 1998, WWF Conservation Champions and the establishment of three large conservancies in Stellenbosch, including the Greater Simonsberg Conservancy, the Bottelary Hills Conservancy and the Banhoek Conservancy.

CEO of Taylor’s Port and Chairman of the Porto Protocol, Adrian Bridge, highlights the wine industry’s role in leading from the front to mitigate the harmful impact of climate change.

“The wine industry suffers directly from climate change and is therefore well placed to lead the movement aimed at finding solutions towards a better environment. We are all responsible and we cannot afford to waste any more time. We need to act now,” says Bridge.

Singita’s partnership with the Grumeti Fund supports its 100-year purpose to preserve and protect biodiversity and African landscapes for future generations. The nine animals, who were carefully selected by age and genetic composition, will be of extreme value to the gene pool of the existing Serengeti rhino population. Fuelled by a lucrative illegal trade in wildlife products, East Africa experienced a poaching crisis over forty years ago, decimating rhino numbers by 99%. From approximately 10,000 animals in 1970, it is estimated that only 100 eastern black rhino roam Tanzania today. The relocation and protection of this population are therefore critical to the future survival of the species.

Singita aims to meaningfully support the Grumeti Fund and contribute to rhino conservation in Tanzania by establishing a healthy breeding population of eastern black rhino within the greater Serengeti ecosystem. Strong partnerships with non-profit funds and trusts like the Grumeti Fund are crucial for conservation in the future. Stephen Cunliffe, Executive Director of the Grumeti Fund, says: “We strongly believe that you can’t put a price on the survival of a species, so the Grumeti Fund will continue to fundraise, invest and work tirelessly with our partners to see black rhino thriving safely in the Serengeti ecosystem.”

Singita’s high-volume, low-impact tourism model, pioneered 26 years ago, helps achieve goals such as wildlife reintroductions in the Serengeti. Attracting like-minded guests and donors who believe in Singita’s long-term conservation vision, along with sustainable ecotourism, is critical to protecting Africa’s most vulnerable species and landscapes.

 Accompanied by four wildlife veterinarians and a rhino behaviour specialist, the rhino was transported from South Africa to Kilimanjaro Airport on a chartered 747 cargo plane, followed by a light aircraft flight to the Grumeti concession, and are safely housed in a secure location.  Once acclimatised to their new surroundings, all the rhinos are expected to be released into the greater Serengeti ecosystem. In September 2018, the Grumeti Fund successfully relocated Eric, an eastern black rhino male from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, in the US, to the western Serengeti and he should be released into the wild towards the end of 2019.

The far-reaching work that Singita supports through their independent not-for-profit conservation funds and trusts has helped animal populations across five regions in Africa rebound and grow dramatically, turning its game reserves into the ultimate conservation success story. Guests can support the future success of these critically endangered black rhino at Singita Grumeti via Empowers Africa:  https://empowersafrica.org/partners/singita/  or Grumeti Fund https://bit.ly/2keo86a

The awards honour tourism pioneers who raise the bar, tirelessly push the boundaries and use travel to change mindsets, empower communities and protect the planet. The “Conservation and Sustainability” category specifically acknowledges a project that is eco-friendly and shows due responsibility to natural resources for the benefit of the tourism industry and the world – as judged by esteemed travel journalists. This year, the award honoured an innovative collaboration between four of Africa’s leading ecotourism companies to help save threated wild lions.

The Lionscape Coalition was launched in 2019 by &Beyond, Wilderness Safaris, Conservation Travel Foundation by Ultimate Safaris, and Singita to raise awareness of declining lion populations; as well as generate funding for the Lion Recovery Fund (LRF) to implement numerous projects in Africa. The Lion Recovery Fund, has to date, deployed more than USD5.5 million in support of 53 projects by 35 conservation organisations across 17 countries.

Each founding member contributes USD 50,000 annually. Half is used to fund lion conservation projects of the member’s choice in areas where they operate – a total of almost 7,5 million hectares in 10 African countries. The other half is deployed by the LRF towards conservation and habitat protection in areas with little or no tourism, where lions receive less protection and face growing human-wildlife conflict. The success of the Lionscape Coalition has attracted a new member, Dazzle Africa, to join this pioneering conservation initiative.

Says Peter Lindsey, Director of Lion Recovery Fund: “We are so proud that the Lionscape Coalition won at the PURE awards. This novel initiative has brought some of the most influential tourism companies in Africa behind a significant, large-scale conservation effort. Companies that compete with one another for business are working together for conservation, and that is truly powerful! At LRF, we are truly grateful for the support of our Lionscape Coalition members. Together, we can make a huge difference to conservation efforts across the continent.”

The LRF’s objective is to double the number of lions in Africa by 2050, improve the management of their habitats, promote awareness and drive funds for lion conservation. Part of its success is that 100% of donations are used for these lion projects.

Africa’s ecotourism is intrinsically linked to the health of its iconic wildlife populations and their landscapes. As an undisputed favourite for safari guests, losing lions will not only have dire ecological consequences, but will jeopardise the tourism industry itself – as well as the jobs it creates. The future of Africa’s irreplaceable wilderness and wildlife and its tourism industry are inseparable from the future of the African lion.

“We are proud pioneers of wildlife conservation in Hwange, and have seen first-hand, through our annual full moon counts, the positive impact of this project on wildlife populations in our private concessions. Our most important contributions in the Park have been helping to drive the development of sustainable ecosystems and preserving its biodiversity”, says Wilderness Safaris Zambezi Operations Manager, Courteney Johnson.

With the first borehole having been sunk as far back as 1935, water provision in Hwange has always been crucial for wildlife survival, particularly during the dry season. For nearly two decades, Wilderness Safaris has maintained 15 boreholes in the Park, supporting them logistically and financially through refuelling and upkeep of the pumps.

While the pumps usually run for a number of hours a day during summer, from early April the dry season gets into full swing and the pumps run 24 hours a day until the end of November, and sometimes December, when the summer rains arrive. To keep up with the elephants alone is a major operation, as they can consume some 70 000 litres of water per pump every 24 hours! The two solar pumps, with back-up generators, will help to reduce the amount of noise and air pollution within the Park.

SANParks general manager: media, PR and stakeholder relations Reynold Thakhuli said, “The awards also aims at enhancing equitable and sustainable relationships with various external communities with a particular caring interest to the national parks of our country. The Kudu Awards are open to all people from various backgrounds with a passion and love for conservation and wildlife.”

The awards consist of the following categories:

• Corporate
  
• Non-Governmental Organisations
  
• Media Contribution to Conservation and Eco-Tourism
  
• Community Contribution to Conservation
  
• Environmental Education
  
• Individual Contribution to Conservation
  
• Professional Stakeholders
  
• Associated Partners
  
• Women in Conservation
  
• Youth in Conservation
  
• Innovation

The final date for entries is 16 August 2019. Click here to find a nomination form.