We love the word “Synergy” at Iconic Africa; the combination of things being greater than the sum of their parts.
This is essentially what took place at the event we recently hosted at Kruger Untamed Tshokwane River Camp, where over R1 000 000 was raised for the Tracker Academy.
Over 60 friends and business associates from multiple walks of life across South Africa (and even some from as far away as London!) descended upon South Africa’s most iconic National Park for a weekend of tracking, bush immersions, wine tasting and all round fun, and left with far more than they had signed up for; a renewed sense of appreciation for our natural heritage, awe at the depth of indigenous knowledge skills on display and a determination to contribute in whatever way they could to the preservation efforts of our remaining Rhinos.
Out of all our milestones, achievements and relationships at Iconic Africa, there are few things that give us more pride than our continued association with the Tracker Academy.
This inspiring NGO was founded in 2010 by lifelong friends Alex van den Heever and Renias Mhlongo, and trains young men and women in the art of wildlife tracking. In their own words, it empowers its graduates to become ambassadors for the African wildlife conservation industry by bringing authenticity and accuracy to environmental education, wildlife protection, eco-tourism, monitoring and research.
What started as an initiative that simply aimed to keep the dying art of tracking alive has grown exponentially into a critically important feeder for both tourism safaris and broader conservation. Tracking is playing an increasingly valuable role in rhino protection in particular, as essential bush craft has been found to be severely lacking in anti-poaching operatives across the African continent. With that in mind, Tracker Academy founded the Rhino Guardians program in 2022, with the aim of bolstering rhino protection efforts by deploying highly specialised tracking units.
Amos Mzimba, Rhino Guardians’ Head Trainer, spent 27 years as an anti-poaching operative in the Kruger National Park, boasting more than 300 arrests over the course of his career – the highest of any member of his department.
Now he trains young students in the skills they need to effectively to pursue and arrest suspected poachers in the wilderness.
Rounding out the ensemble of tracking royalty that facilitated the event was Innocent Ngwenya – a former student of Tracker Academy on its inaugural course and now its Head Trainer.
Innocent’s story that he regaled the attendees with was one of hope; how he turned a life of hunger and apparent hopelessness into one of meaning, leadership and inspiration for others to draw from.
Using tracking as a powerful metaphor for how well a life can be lived, Innocent was a poignant reminder for all what a powerful ripple effect one person’s journey can have on those he or she comes into contact with.
Evenings were kick-started by a fantastic variety of wines provided by Derek Kilpin of Great Domaines. A few glasses invariably led to fireside mirth and story-telling late into the night. The distant roars of lions would as a not-so-subtle hint as to which direction the tracking efforts should be directed come the (very) early morning, and strong coffee would kickstart the day as bird song started to crescendo in the pre-dawn gloom.
Tracking groups headed in different directions under the lead of Renias, Alex, Amos and Innocent, and never has there been a better representation of the journey and not the arrival mattering than in this pursuit.
The animal at the end of what can be a long hot morning following signs is simply the cherry on top.
It is rather in the tracking process itself that the joy – and ultimately the learning – is to be found; the oft painstaking attention to detail, the awareness of every little bit of information the bush was providing, be it in visual, audio or olfactory form, or sometimes nothing more than a sixth sense that both kept the trackers on the trail and the group safe in a potentially hostile environment of Big 5 animals.
Whether the trailing opportunities were successful or not was actually irrelevant. All who spent time on foot with the four trackers were well aware that they were in the presence of true masters of their craft. That, combined with the utmost humility of all four men, made a deep and lasting impression.
The wild safari soiree on the last night rounded off a stellar long weekend, but the transfer vehicles arrived all too quickly to shuttle everyone back to Skukuza airport and the respective flights home.
We are thrilled to report that thanks to multiple generous donations, over a million rand was raised for Tracker Academy, money which will be used to train the next generation of Rhino Guardians who, as rhino poaching continues to escalate across the continent, are going to play an evermore critical role in protecting the continent’s wildlife resources.
In 2022 we launched our philanthropic arm, the Iconic Africa Foundation, through which we take a portion of every safari that Iconic Africa sells and channel it back into African NGOs, conservation efforts and community development programs. It’s essential to us that we are doing our part to conserve, uplift and protect across this magnificent continent.
Anyone wanting to donate to Tracker Academy and/or Rhino Guardians, please get hold of us through info@iconicafrica.com.
For those interested in a true wilderness immersion, with tracking at the forefront, look no further than Kruger Untamed, who, as well as Tshokwane River Camp where the Iconic Africa event took place, have a second camp further north, adjacent to the Satara grasslands where the highest lion density in the Kruger National Park is to be found.
Please direct enquiries to info@iconicafrica.com.
