UMHLANGA resident, Grant Melville had little trouble navigating the northern shoreline of the province over the weekend for his mammoth trek for rhinos. Melville, a SANParks honorary ranger since 2012, walked a non-stop hike from Zinkwazi main beach to uMhlanga beach, covering a total of 70 kilometres in 24 hours.
Melville chose this past weekend to do his trek, ‘OLLI Zink Rox Non Stop 24 hour Rhino Awareness Beach Challenge’, because it coincided with two of the most important dates on the environmental calendar, International Coastal Clean-up Day (21 September) and World Rhino Day (22 September).
Starting at Zinkwazi main beach on Saturday, Melville walked through Blythesdale, Tinley Manor and Sheffield Beach, Chaka’s Rock, Ballito, Zimbali, Westbrook, La Mercy and eMdloti and arrived in uMhlanga on Sunday at 3am. https://youtu.be/kYqL9D1d2Xk
On Sunday, Melville was joined by honorary officers from SANParks and also had a chance to meet and greet residents who showed their support for his walk.
“I’m not sure how much was raised but I do know that donations had been made to the cause which was fantastic. As someone who cares deeply for the environment I decided to support the One Land Love It (OLLI) family, a registered Non-Profit Corporation (NPC) that creates awareness for rhino conservation and help raise funds for the SANParks K9 anti-poaching unit who are having a fantastic effect on working to stop rhino poaching. I don’t mean to sound cliche but we all have one planet and we need to do everything in our power to save it,” he said.
“For me this was a way of giving back, getting the community involved and getting the message out there about conservation and preservation. I also felt this walk was more than just the plight of our rhinos it was also about raising awareness on the impact our behaviour is having on the oceans. I feel there’s been an increasing awareness about doing the right thing for the environment but the fight goes on.We need to do everything in our power to save it,” he said.
You can also sign up for news alerts on Telegram. Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5532. 
Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
To receive our free newsletter click here.
