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From Madikwe to Marakele.

Leaving Madikwe Game Reserve, we and headed out to Marakele National Park, a 4 hour drive towards the Waterberg Mountains (no getting lost this time and also a malaria free area). Here we were lucky enough to be staying at the stunning Marataba Safari Lodge.

Marataba Safari Lodge is situated on a plain at the foot of the mountains with wondrous views looking out across the escarpment, treating us to magnificent sunsets and sunrises. Again, we were greeted with smiles and open arms and a hint at a surprise they had planned for us during our stay – could it be a leopard sighting?

Marataba Safari Lodge

My digs at Marataba Safari Lodge

Our first outing was a water safari on the Matlabas River, perfect for birdwatching and hippo spotting, and of course it wouldn’t be complete without sundowners. G & T’s whilst watching the sun set over the river was a perfect way to finish off the afternoon – call it Market Research!!

More sundowners

The Surprise

That evening, after dinner our host couldn’t keep the secret any longer and advised us that we would be involved in the conservation effort of the rhinos in the park. At that moment, little did we realise the extent of our involvement.

A little background information: Marataba and Madikwe do not dehorn their rhinos. Dehorning is a practice in many game reserves and national parks as a measure to deter poachers. Rhino horns are made of keratin which means they grow back so dehorning is required every 18 months or so. Instead, these parks micro-chip the rhino and its horns and have their own counter poaching units. They also notch the ears of the rhino in unique patterns for identification purposes.

Morning arrived and at 5.30am I wandered up to the reception area to begin our adventure, little did I know my neighbour had woken up to a hyena on his deck and had to be escorted to the reception area ….yikes! We headed out in our safari vehicles to a rendezvous point with a team of vets, wildlife conservationists and the counter-poaching unit. The vet explained what would be happening along with the do’s and don’ts whilst working on the rhino.

Watching on as the vet went up in a helicopter to find a rhino that hadn’t yet had ear notching, I was filled with excitement in anticipation of what was to come.  Eventually they were able to gently herd a 4 year old calf and his mother towards us. The calf was sedated with a perfect shot from the vet in the helicopter (the helicopter pilot was an African Crocodile Dundee with bare feet and a cowboy hat), in swooped the rest of the team to safely bring down the rhino while the counter poaching team kept the mother away so the experts could work their magic on her baby.

Counter Poaching Unit

Pilot and Vet

Don’t drop the microchip

By the time the vet had landed the rhino was fully sedated and we had gathered around ready to watch the team prepare this magnificent creature for what would hopefully be a long life in the park. Waiting with bated breath as to what we were about to witness, I heard someone ask “who would like to microchip”. There was a moment of silence ….. and then …. never one to shy way, I put my hand up and said “I will” this then gave others in our group the confidence to also volunteer for the jobs at hand. Three of us microchipped – one in the front horn, one in the back horn (me) and one behind the ear. One person took bloods, a couple of others took hair samples from the tail and the veterinary staff notched the ear.

While the conservation team drilled a small hole in the rhino horn, I was handed a packet in which contained the minute microchip in a syringe/plunger. My hands were trembling as my biggest fear was dropping the microchip into the African dirt, never to be seen again.

When signalled to do so, I gently leant over the head of the rhino, put the syringe into the hole in the horn and injected the microchip. We then filled the hole with PVA glue, rubbed some dirt over it and put in some small sticks – a bit like plugging a hole in the wall at home.I breathed a huge sigh of relief that I had successfully completed the task at hand.

Photo by Kate Webster

Photo by Kate Webster

Once all the jobs had been completed the Rhino was slowly brought out of his slumber and set free. After a few minutes he managed to pick up the scent of his mother and trotted off into the bush to live another day.

Captured from video

This experience was very apt for the group name we had been assigned for the trip, the Rhino Group. Micro-chipping a rhino was not on my bucket list and to say I have been humbled by this experience is an understatement. I will be forever thankful to the wonderful staff at Marataba Safari Lodge, South African Tourism and Adventure Destinations for such an amazing opportunity.