These Heroes Are Climbing Mountains To Protect Vultures, Rhinos and Cranes

Photo Credit: Facebook / Rhino Peak Challenge

Dozens of South Africans are climbing Rhino Peak to raise funds for endangered species. Meet the heroes behind the Rhino Peak Challenge 2025 and the causes they’re supporting.

Drakensberg, South Africa (01 August 2025) – In the Drakensberg, a group of conservationists are about to climb a mountain to change the story for some of our most endangered species!

This is the Rhino Peak Challenge (RPC). Taking place next month on 20 September, it’s a 21km high-altitude trail run or hike up one of the Drakensberg’s most iconic (and equally as challenging) summits.

At 3,056 metres above sea level and stretching along 21 km, reaching the top of the summit is no small victory. But for the 2025 RPC ambassadors, the real challenge isn’t the mountain that lies ahead; it’s about protecting wildlife that face the real risk of extinction.

Since 2016, this annual event reports that it has raised over R5.2 million for important conservation efforts and in 2025 so far, a whopping R730,690+ has already been raised.

The real stars of the story are the endangered animals and beneficiaries at the heart of it all: namely bearded vultures, rhinos and wattled cranes, all species sadly facing intense threats in the wild.

Funds from the challenge go directly to the organisations on the frontlines of this work:

Wildlife ACT’s rhino and vulture conservation programmes, which monitor and protect these species in their natural habitats; The Bearded Vulture Recovery Programme, working to save one of Southern Africa’s most critically endangered birds through breeding, monitoring and education; and the Endangered Wildlife Trust, whose work spans habitat protection, anti-poaching, and supporting scientific research that shapes national conservation policy in SA.

Each ambassador taking on the RPC creates a fundraising profile and reaches out to their network. The idea is simple: climb the mountain, raise awareness, and gather donations to fuel the work being done on the ground.

This year, the response has been inspiring.

Ambassadors like Brandie Wettstein (already having raised over R127,000+), Tammy Baker (R85,500+), Steven Rustin Williamson (R66,000+) and Catherine Kühn (R23,450+) are proof that when passion finds purpose, incredible things can happen.

Wettstein, a volunteer for Wildlife ACT, has conquered the challenge year after year since 2019 and has no plans on stopping anytime soon. Her experience working alongside wildlife monitors, park staff, anti-poaching units, and reserve vets has shaped her understanding of what conservation looks like on the ground, and how vital this work really is.

“I believe in leading by example. That actions speak louder than words. That every act of kindness sparks another.”

“I want to encourage others to get involved in any way they can. Because no contribution is too small. And our planet is far too precious to lose another species to extinction.”

RPC veterans like Wettstein will be joined by a diverse group of change-makers, at all ages, united by a love for wildlife and a determination to do something good.

And while the trail may take anywhere from four to nine hours to complete, the ripple effect of each donation and each step taken will stretch across lifetimes, for both the people involved and the animals they’re fighting for.

You can support the cause by donating to an ambassador or learning more at rhinopeakchallenge.co.za. Protecting our wildlife takes a nation. Sometimes, it starts with a climb.