Kwa Zulu Natal self drive vacation

Planet

The accommodation that we use in the Drakensburgs, bases its ethos on the conservation of the region. For the last ten years, they have planted and preserved, changing a Wattle infested wasteland into a rehabilitated conservation area. Indigneous trees and man-made forests continue to flourish and the resultant birdlife (once non-existent) has become abundant. This ethic has resulted in the return to the region of the Mountain Reedbuck, Vaal Rhebuck and the Eland.

Hulhuwe-Umfolozi is the oldest National Park in South Africa and is the birthplace of rhino-reservation, breeding the species back from. As the home of Operation Rhino in the 1950s and '60s, the Park became world renowned for its white rhino conservation. The Rhino Capture Unit of the park can take credit for helping save the endangered White Rhino from the brink of extinction.

Today the reserve has over 1,600 white rhino and has moved hundreds of these magnificent animals to game reserves around the world. The private guide on this trip is a former ranger in the park, as well as being a qualified botanist, so is best placed to given a full account of the white rhino conservation efforts and encourage guests to support this vital conservation programme on top of this trips overall contribution to the scheme.

People

The accommodation used the in the battlefields area has involved the local community from its inception. The land was purchased from the community, so they were provided with capital for infrastructure improvement. The community has an equity stake in accommodation, so benefits from the profits. Guests are also encouraged to attend the local school and contribute to lessons in English or Afrikaans.

The trip goes into the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. iSimangaliso boasts the largest protected area of recorded and potential Stone Age and Iron Age sites in South Africa and is located in one of the most deprived areas of the country. It is managed by the ISimangaliso Wetland Park Authority, which was established in 2000 through the World Heritage Convention Act.

In response to the poor socio-economic conditions of the area, the Authority was given a specific mandate by national government to not only facilitate the protection and conservation of the natural World Heritage Site, but also to optimise sustainable poverty reduction and economic empowerment of communities living in and adjacent to the Park through tourism and related development. It has been so successful that it was a finalist in the WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow awards in 2011.

This helps contributes towards the work that the authority are undertaking.