We are raising £14,000 for Namibian based Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) to fund the construction of a new “rangers’ welfare base” in Namibia to support the work the rangers are doing to reduce poaching of the endangered black rhino. Rangers spend many days on patrol monitoring and protecting the rhinos from poachers and this new base will provide a welcome amenity for them.

A group of 16 of us from the Cambridge area returned from Namibia on 3 May having seen the start to the construction of the welfare base and then successfully completed a 125 km trek across the country. We walked from the rangers’ HQ in Palmwag, Central Demaraland, across the desert to the Skeleton Coast and the South Atlantic Ocean over a six day period. The terrain was rugged and challenging with deep ravines in the early stages and large soft sand dunes nearer the Atlantic. It was very hot with 38°C inland and there were predators in the area with the group seeing a lioness close to the camp on the 4th night.

We were lucky enough to see a female rhino with calf in the wilderness. Numbers of these endangered animals are so low that the rhinos are given names. The CEO of Save the Rhino Trust, Simson Uri-Khob, was so pleased with the group’s efforts on the trek and fundraising to date that he suggested the calf be named after one of the group with the same initial as its mother – Tish it is!

We funded the challenge ourselves of course and are raising funds to cover the cost of building the welfare base. So far we have raised £10,600 plus which is part way towards the goal of £14,000.

Today, the black rhino in Namibia has a population of just over 6,000 rhinos. Largescale poaching saw their numbers plummet from around 70,000 in 1970 to just 2,400 in 1995 - a 96% decline in just 20 years. Thanks to persistent conservation efforts, black rhino numbers have thankfully risen, but declined in 2022.

Save the Rhino Trust are based in the Kunene region, a vast and rugged wilderness. This is the home of the desert adapted black rhino (diceros bicornis) a sub-species of black rhino only found in this area. Simson Uri-Khob was recently honoured with a prestigious international conservation award for his lifetime achievement by Prince William.

If you’d like to support us in funding this worthy project, please donate. Many thanks!

You can also follow us and the progress on the welfare base on instagram at namibiannomads.