My Impact from the Air

A recent guest at Tanda Tula, read about the incredible inclusive patrol flight special that we are offering for the first three month of next year. It inspired her so much that she decided to take part in this activity while she was with us and really experience this amazing opportunity for herself.

What made this impactful event even more unique and incredible was that she took Eric, her tracker, with her. It was his first time off the ground and seeing his home from the air, tracking game from a whole new angle, and it brought tears to everyone’s eyes.

In her own words, read about this extraordinary experience:

“I’m still blissfully stuck in awe, amazement, and admiration after experiencing a conservation patrol helicopter flight above the Timbavati during my stay at Tanda Tula.

To speak with and learn from a ranger on the Timbavati’s anti-poaching team as well as the pilot with the whirl of the helicopter in the background and rhinos running free in protected spaces below is an experience I’ll never forget. And is one I hope many others experience—for these flights *are* truly impactful for rhino conservation. I learned they’re extremely effective, but cost-prohibitive and so sponsoring a flight as a conservation-oriented, intentional traveller *is* important and impactful. Not to mention so. so. SO. much. fun.!!

What made this experience all the sweeter is to have shared it with Tanda Tula tracker extraordinaire Eric. We were both besides ourselves with glee and wonder! We’re still smiling.

I met Eric when I stayed at Tanda Tula’s Field Camp last year and witnessed firsthand his tracking talents. To now bear witness to his skills from above—Eric spotted many a rhino during our patrol flight—brought such joy.

This conservation patrol flight is a remarkably fun, positively impactful addition to the utterly magnificent on-land Tanda Tula experience. I love it all.

To admire wildlife on land is one (amazing) thing. To shift perspective and see herds (hundreds-strong!) of buffalo, families of elephants, dazzles of zebras, a pair of warthogs, ambling giraffes, lounging hippos, countless hues of green, and even more is truly astonishing. It shows us the vastness of the wilds and how wildly important they are.

I was particularly struck by how pronounced the animal trails are from above. An extensive, braided network of interwoven small bits. To me it heralded a metaphor for the web that is anti-poaching rhino conservation work: it necessitates a multi-pronged, interconnected approach. And also—the simple, small act of saying yes to a conservation patrol flight matters deeply; it’s part of the whole.

To leave Tanda Tula knowing I’ve contributed to conservation and shared the experience with Eric made my Tanda Tula safari vacation all the more memorable and meaningful.

I’m grateful to have been able to leave my small but mighty impact, for Tanda Tula sure did leave a mighty wondrous impact on me!

My gratitude knows no bounds: for the anti-poaching team and its efforts and for Tanda Tula’s connectedness to impactful conservation efforts.

Tanda Tula and Timbavati, I’m already excited for my next visit and conservation patrol flight. We need the rhinos, and they need us to fight for them.”