The 16th Bonitas Sunday Tribune Giants Castle Mountain Bike Challenge, one of the Bonitas Wild Series Events, was a hit yet again this year, with cyclists braving one of South Africa’s toughest one day biking events on Saturday last week. This epic 75km challenge took place at Giants Castle in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park and was won by John-Michael du Preez in a time of 03:44:14, with Jeremy Thomson in 2nd place and Warren price in 3rd. Desiree Chantal Briedenhann was the first woman to cross the finish line in 19th place overall in a time of 04:30:12. The challenge raised over R200 000 this year, R24 000 of this was raised independently by David Graham who is proudly supported by Deloitte and private donors.
The Bonitas Wild Series events are hosted by Wildlands Conservation Trust within some of the country’s most pristine wilderness areas, often where you would not be permitted under normal circumstances, such as nature reserves. This makes these events unique and the demand to participate in them extremely high. These Bonitas Wild Series events also raise funds to support the conservation efforts within the areas or reserve in which they are staged.
Through the Bonitas Sunday Tribune Giants Castle MTB Challenge, funds raised are currently supporting two conservation elements in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. The first being activities aimed at securing the critically endangered Bearded Vulture, which is an iconic species of the Drakensberg Mountains and is seriously under threat. The Bearded Vulture relies heavily on these Drakensberg areas for its breeding and foraging. Funds raised through this event are supporting hi-tech Bearded Vulture research, allowing the satellite tracking of several Bearded Vulture adults, resulting in a better understanding of their movement patterns, specifically where they forage and become vulnerable to human impact. This information will ensure conservationists can respond accordingly and work with the Lesotho government in putting conservation interventions in place, to ultimately secure the survival of this important species.
To complement the Bearded Vulture research, N3TC have come on board as an additional partner who are funding the construction of 2 additional Vulture Hides at Cathedral Peak and Golden Gate National Park, as well as a revamp of the Giants Castle Vulture Hide. This will add significant value to the tourism potential in the area, and will have the added benefit of assisting Vulture research in the Drakensberg Mountains.
Secondly, a portion of the funds are being used to improve the management of this World Heritage Site (uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park) by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. This includes projects such as, establishing solar-powered infrastructure and improving the camp facilities at the Giants Castle camp sites, improving communication systems in the reserve, providing baboon-proof rubbish bins and all ultimately ensuring an improved ‘visitor experience’.
“Wildlands Conservation Trust would like to thank all cyclists that participated in this event,” said Kevin McCann Strategic Manager at Wildlands. “Taking part in this amazing challenge means that you have contributed to the improved conservation security of the Drakensberg Park and the Bearded Vulture. A big thank you must also go out to our sponsors Bonitas and Sunday Tribune, as without them this event would not have been possible.”
WILDTRUST (registered as the Wildlands Conservation Trust - IT No: 4329/1991/PMB)