RHINO RIDE 2020 – SHAREHOLDER EDITION
Despite an uncertain outlook of a nationwide lockdown due to Covid19, we were, fortunately, able to carry out a Manyoni Private Game Reserve ‘Shareholders Edition’ of Rhino Ride in 2020 on the weekend of 11th – 13th September.
The ZCT team got to planning and logistics for the occasion, with the added complication of strict adherence to COVID restrictions. Thanks to the staff, managers and shareholders of Manyoni, the event was a huge success and safely run from start to finish! The two-day cycle route covered 70kms of carefully prepared route, with a mixture of roads and single-track snaking through the epic thickets, rivers and visas throughout the Manyoni Private Game Reserve.
Thanks to Ivor Van Rooyen of Luleka Safaris for allowing us to take over your workshop and turn it into the registration, start and finish line for the weekend. Sanitech kindly provided us with extra toilets on site, and IPSS were on standby for any casualties – always a pleasure having your professional team join us – thanks to Msunduze River Lodge for accommodating the medics.
The water tables along the way were jam-packed with snacks and refreshing drinks, this is thanks to a number of sponsors and friends. Thanks to Stefan Terblanche for the ice-cold Lemonlicious drinks, they were a hit, to Rudene Brown from OntheGo Fusion snacks for the trail mixes, Wynand for the USN bars and giant energy drinks, fresh croissants lovingly baked by Miroda Otto, fresh fruit from Spar Hluhluwe and then Encore with the super generous addition of Spar snacks, thanks Bruce Hughes and Paul Mindry! Ending the ride in the river with an ice-cold Poison City beer is always a highlight, thanks Murray Colins – and Craig Lee for all the ice. And this year, made even better thanks to Noel Otto and the support from Spar Hluhluwe with the smell of braaivleis and wors rolls for lunch.
Lizzard water bottles were a great addition – please go check them out for the other products they have on offer. Those funky rhino socks were one of the cool items from Esjay Sport Rhino Range, which was launched with ZCT in mind and a % of all sales come back to us.
LT printers assist us year after year with rider boards, and this year revamped all of our route signs – thanks guys for the continuous support.
Thanks to Mike Harker for spontaneously offering us the shirt off his back to auction and raising R5000 for the Rhino Ride cause. The cycle shirt was framed by winning bidder Bruce Hughes and is hanging in the Manyoni Bush bar, the only appropriate place for the “creative” design.
Jarryd Ramdial, our official photographer, who we strapped onto the back of the Polaris with a camera in hand, you did an epic job and thanks for the awesome shots from the weekend; you can see the Rhino Ride 2020 photos here:
And finally to all managers, marshals, helpers and friends who assisted with the successful running of the weekend – THANK YOU – from photography to bartending to flipping burgers, packing goodie bags, marshalling – the event wouldn’t happen without your dedication!
This year, despite being unable to run our normal event, the Zululand Conservation Trust managed to raise a staggering… R 211,201! Big thanks to everyone involved.
