Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Finding Rhino Man
Please Help me Find Rhino Man
I was fortunate enough this past weekend to attend the running of the annual Comrades Ultra Marathon, which takes place between the cities of Pietermaritzburg and Durban. This year the race was, what has become known as the “Down Run”, starting in Pietermaritzburg, and finishing in Durban.

I am by no means an athlete, and after seeing the torture that so many individuals put themselves through, one can only stand back and admire the sheer determination and dedication these individuals show to their cause, in an attempt to complete what must rank as the ultimate endurance event on the running calendar in South Africa.

HELP ME PLEASE

At the start of the race, I stared disbelieving at a man, who had donned an over sized Rhino Suit, as his appropriate running apparel. This was in stark contrast to the thousands of other runners who wore the bare minimum; flimsy light shorts and paper thin running vests.
I was certain that he would discard the costume in time, as it would become a self-imposed prison of death if he were to contemplate running the entire distance with his closed, heavy, ungainly suit that would restrict his movement, let alone prevent the sun from evaporating many litres of perspiration that would be tapping off his skin in the hours to come.

Our first stop as a support team, was at the top of a hill known as Polly Shorts, around 10km from the start, and Mr. Rhino Man came trundling past in good spirits, still fully clothed in his costume.

Cato Ridge was the next opportunity to see him, along with a multitude of other colourful characters. Looking at my wrist, keeping a watch on the clock, it was then that I noticed my two Rhino Awareness trinkets; A RHINO FORCE bead bracelet, and another black band, much like the Livestrong Foundation bracelet, but this was for RHINO REVOLUTION. I have had these 2 bracelets for the past 5 years, in which time I can honestly say that neither has left my wrist once.

Our Rhino Populations are fading away, and will soon just be a distant memory.


It was a no-brainer that if anyone was going to create some awareness for the plight of the rhinos that are being slaughtered at an alarming rate, it would be the Rhino Man. I slipped the bracelets from my wrists, and they were presented to him to adorn his own wrists, which he did with the greatest enthusiasm, even stopping, turning back, and asking to hug my wife who had run alongside him to help him get them onto his wrists.

That such a small action could cause so much emotion in Rhino Man goes beyond human understanding, but suffice to say, both me and my wife were very emotional, thinking of the nightmare faced by the Rhino population in Africa, especially South Africa at present, and the sacrifices, pain and torture that Rhino Man was willing to put himself through to highlight this plight, caused a welling up of tears in both our eyes.

At the bottom of Cowies ( Pinetown ) we got our last look at Rhino Man, and things were looking less sprightly than they had 9 hours earlier at the start of the race. But at this stage Rhino Man had already completed 70km of the race. I may just have lasted 2km.

Whether Rhino Man completed the race or not, to me remains a mystery, but in the same breath, remains immaterial to the accomplishment already achieved 10 times over, by his presence over the 70km that I know of.

Mr Rhino Man, I take my hat off to you, as should every other conservation minded individual that walks the earth, along with every one of the almost 18 000 participants of the race, who are better equipped to understand the suffering that you were willing to put yourself through, to bring to the forefront, the message you wished to convey on Sunday.

2m x 1m Canvas that adorns the wall in my own office at home

I am a simple man, one without expendable cash, but what I do have is a wish to somehow reward you, and thank you for the effort that you put in. As an enthusiastic wildlife photographer, I have had relative success in selling a few images over the years, and a very popular photo of mine I want to donate to you. I would like to gift to you a Signed Limited Edition mounted Canvas, or Print.

You may be humble and wish to donate the said Image ( Seen above and below ),to the organization of your choice, or to the one that you were representing, and I will honour this wish, but I would want you to have a keepsake, and a reminder that your efforts were appreciated on Sunday, and thus I will be willing to give 2 of the mentioned photographs.

Rhino - Which Way
WITH THE HELP OF PEOPLE LIKE RHINO MAN, THESE RHINOS HAVE A WAY FORWARD

One I would be honoured to have you hang in your house, and the other can be donated to your choice of charity or registered reputable organization. It could be auctioned off, or raffled, which would ensure some much needed funding to assist in the protection of our very fragile Rhino Populations in South Africa.

Please could all the people that have taken 5 minutes out of their day to read this post, take another 2 minutes, and share this as widely as possible, that in some manner, Mr Rhino Man may become aware of my search for him, and make contact with me. 2 Minutes of your time is nothing when compared to the 12 hours of suffering and sacrifice that Mr Rhino Man endured.

Thank You


Rudi Hulshof

2 comments:

  1. Wow that is a very generous gesture Rudi & I hope you find him as he definitely deserves this accolade. I will certainly share it if we are able to. Good luck & hope you will give us a follow up if you find him. That is a very beautiful picture you have taken of our beloved Rhino <3

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  2. Great initiative Rudi - will share out!

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