Page 124 - Holidays with Kids - Volume 62 (January 2020)

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01 Rhino at Aquila Private Game Reserve 02 Visiting Khayelitsha township with Uthando South Africa 03 A botanical safari at Grootbos Private Nature Reserve
© South African Tourism/Sherliea Gaspar 04 Up close with rhinos at Aquila 05 An injured penguin being treated at SANCCOB 06 One of the fluffiest finds at Grootbos Private Nature
Reserve. Images 01, 02, 04, 05 & 06 © Aleney de Winter.
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I’m standing in the South African bush, just I didn’t expect the concentrated blast of epic vital to the health of every ecosystem in the
15 metres from a rhino and her calf. My mum that has been whacking me right in the face world, so it might be time for us all to can the
is back in our safari truck pooping herself, since the minute we arrived. And right now, cans of Mortein.
convinced my sister and I are about to in this moment, I think I’m at peak whack. We also learn about the plight of penguins at
become rhino shish kebabs. But I feel no fear. Seriously, this is insane. But what’s more SANCCOB where more than 2,500 injured
They’re just chubby unicorns, right? To be insane is that people like Divan and Hunter Cape and rockhopper penguins and sea birds
honest, I would be pretty scared, but I'm have to fight to save these creatures from are rescued and rehabilitated every year. We
accompanied by two rhino experts, Divan poachers slaughtering them to make fake adopted one of the penguin patients but were
Grobler and Hunter Mitchell, and if they’re not medicines from their horns. sad to learn that a massive decline in their
afraid, I’m not. Anyway, I figure if the rhinos numbers means they’ll be extinct within 15
charge, I can always use my little sister as Bugs and birds years. That is unless every person stops using
a human shield. This is just one of many moments on our single-use plastic and stops polluting the
conservation adventure that has me pinching world’s oceans right now.
Rhino rescue myself. We’re not just here to take in South
We’re at Aquila Private Game Reserve, a Africa’s sights, our every day is being filled Socially sorted
couple of hours from Cape Town, to learn with conservation and social welfare While the wellbeing of the planet is important,
from Divan and 12-year-old wildlife activist, education, and I couldn’t be happier. so is the livelihood of the people that live in it.
Hunter, about the Saving Private Rhino At Grootbos Private Nature Reserve we Sadly, almost half of South Africa's population
initiative and the fight to protect the learn about some much smaller but equally lives below the global poverty line. But there
endangered species, whose numbers have mighty wildlife. Bugs! On a super fun are some kind people trying to change that.
shrunk from more than a million to less than botanical safari, we’re joined by Grootbos’ The team at Uthando South Africa are
30,000 due to poaching and habitat loss. entomologists to collect stick insects, dung among those. The not-for-profit tour company
While I've been dreaming of visiting South beetles and caterpillars and learn all about the raises funds for community development and
Africa forever, even in my wildest imaginings importance of bugs. I learn that insects are they take us to visit some art and music

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