Page 56 - Danir_Arsbok2024_ENG_Digital
P. 56
DANIR 2024 | Our sub-groups
56
family-oriented and warm approach of the owners
made me both hopeful and happy, and I felt a great
passion for the project. I think they saw my drive and
my perspective on both wildlife conservation and
hospitality,” Truman explains about how he got what
he describes as his dream job.
He is incredibly proud of what they are doing at
Thanda, and both he and Promise take their jobs
very seriously. They see themselves as ambassadors,
not just for Thanda Safari, but for South Africa.
“We do our absolute best to ensure that our
guests remember their visit with us and South Africa
as the best thing they’ve ever done,” say Promise
and Truman almost in unison.
Truman has been involved in building up nearly
every part of the operation and is now a part of
most of the decisions made at Thanda Safari. Even
though he is now the general manager with overall
responsibility for the operation, his heart still beats
a little faster when he has the chance to take guests
out into the park, where he guides them to close
encounters with the animals and nature. He loves
“I was a math genius when I was young and drea- “ We do our absolute best to ensure
med of going to university and getting an academic that our guests remember their visit
education, but we had quite a modest upbringing, so with us and South Africa as the best
I didn’t pursue higher education. That’s why we’re so thing they’ve ever done.”
happy that we can give our children the opportunity
to get a proper education,” says Truman about the – Promise N. Hlongwangane and Truman B. Ndlovu
importance of the children attending school, despite
the long bus ride each day. sharing his extensive knowledge about the flora and
fauna and what they mean to the local community.
Truman is one of the employees at who has been
with Thanda Safari since the very beginning in the “I still do a lot of guiding, and I think almost
early 2000s. It was in September 2003, when the everyone who has visited Thanda has probably been
lodge was still being built, that he went for his first in my Land Rover. But I’m increasingly involved in
interview for the job as a guide and ranger. The conservation work, which is necessary if we’re to
interviews were thorough, and Truman did his best protect our animals from poachers,” Truman conti-
to convince them he was the right person for the job. nues, describing what a typical workweek for him
He was hired on a short-term contract in December looks like.
but, by April, he had already demonstrated unique
qualities and was given a permanent position in the Monitoring the park’s vast areas against poachers
small team of five people who, at that time, made up is both costly and time-consuming. That’s why they
Thanda Safari. have full-time rangers whose primary responsibility
is to monitor and protect the rhinos, whose horns
“I saw their vision with Thanda from day one
and understood what they wanted to build. The
