Rhino Rewilding with Brad & Grandma Joy

south africa

Rooiberg, South Africa

October 11 - 18, 2026

$6,300 USD

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Be part of the beginning of one of Africa’s most ambitious conservation efforts

You are not observing conservation. You are helping build it.

This mission is hosted by Brad and Grandma Joy, who are joining this phase of work alongside participants as part of the collective effort to secure this important rhino population.

What’s happening in Rooiberg–Waterberg right now is rare. This is the early phase of a new rhino stronghold – where the infrastructure has only just been established, rhinos have only recently been translocated, more are on their way, and the work needed to secure the population is actively underway.

Rooiberg–Waterberg is one of the landscapes selected to receive rhinos through African Parks’ Rhino Rewild initiative, the largest coordinated rhino conservation program in Africa’s history. Through this initiative, landscapes like Rooiberg–Waterberg are being rebuilt from the ground up as long-term refuges for rhinos – places capable of protecting them well into the future.

This landscape is becoming one of those places.

Over the past 18 months, monitoring and security systems have been built, and the first rhinos have been successfully brought into the area. What now exists here did not exist a short time ago – and it is still being completed. The next critical phase is clear and time-bound: every rhino in this system needs to be fitted with a tracking collar so they can be monitored, protected, and managed as a viable population. That is the work we have been tasked to help deliver.

On this mission, you will take part in the hands-on work required to secure that future – supporting rhino collaring and monitoring, helping embed the systems that underpin long-term protection, and contributing to the final steps that move this project from fragile to future-proofed.

If you want to step into conservation while it is still being shaped, rather than once the story is already written, this is that moment.

join the mission

$6,300 USD

Payment Options
  • 20% Non-Refundable Deposit
  • 80% Outstanding Balance
  • Full payment
  • Adapted Outstanding Balance
* By booking a trip with The Global Protagonists, you confirm your acceptance of the terms and conditions outlined in this document .

YOUR HOSTS: BRAD & GRANDMA JOY

This field operation is led by Brad and Grandma Joy, whose involvement reflects exactly what this project is about: people stepping into conservation not as spectators, but as contributors.

Brad is a veterinarian with a deep commitment to wildlife and conservation, and a long-standing belief that meaningful protection only happens when people are willing to show up and do the work. He led a Global Protagonists mission in South Africa last year and returns to Rooiberg not as a first-time visitor, but with a clear understanding of what frontline conservation actually involves.

Grandma Joy brings a different, equally powerful presence. A lifelong advocate for animals and the natural world, she embodies the idea that conservation is not limited by age, background, or profession. Her leadership on this mission is a reminder that protecting wildlife is a shared responsibility — and that there is a place for everyone who is willing to engage thoughtfully and contribute.

Together, Brad and Grandma Joy are hosting this operation in the field, guiding participants through the work, the context, and the realities of building a new rhino stronghold. Like everyone on the mission, they are funding this operation by being part of it — with participant contributions directly supporting the collaring, monitoring, and protection work underway in Rooiberg.

Brad is also the author of a newly released book exploring themes of purpose, responsibility, and our relationship with the natural world — ideas that sit at the heart of why this project exists.

They are not here as figureheads. They are here to lead, to work alongside you, and to help deliver a phase of conservation that will shape this population long after the mission ends.

A NEW RHINO STRONGHOLD, IN PROGRESS

Rooiberg is not a finished conservation site. It is a landscape where a rhino population is being deliberately established under modern security and monitoring standards.

Two years ago, this area was not equipped to protect rhinos at scale. Today, 54 rhinos live here – including 32 translocated in November 2025 – because the infrastructure and protection systems were put in place first.

Rooiberg has been identified as a long-term receiving site within African Parks’ Rhino Rewild initiative, a continent-wide strategy to reduce risk by establishing new, secure rhino strongholds.

Global Protagonists brings small field groups into Rooiberg during this exact phase – not once everything is finished, but while the final work needed to fully secure the population is still underway.

This is conservation before the outcome is guaranteed.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Participants are embedded directly into active rhino protection work during a critical phase of the project. In practice, this will include:
  • Conducting live rhino collaring and veterinary operations
  • Working alongside monitoring and response teams
  • Contributing to tracking, data, and security systems
  • Helping fund and deliver the final infrastructure that locks in long-term protection
This is not conservation tourism. This is an active field operation.

No prior wildlife experience is required – only humility, curiosity, and respect for the work.

WHO IS THIS FOR

This field operation is designed for people who want real access and meaningful involvement in conservation as it’s happening.

It’s for those who are comfortable stepping into complex, real-world work, asking thoughtful questions, and contributing where it genuinely matters. You don’t need a background in wildlife or conservation, but you do need curiosity, humility, and respect for the animals and people doing this work every day.

This experience is a good fit if you’re drawn to:
  • Real access
  • Transparency in how conservation decisions are made and funded
  • Hands-on involvement in outcomes that matter
  • Understanding how wildlife protection actually works on the ground
It’s not designed for spectators, bucket-list travel, or people looking for a polished wildlife experience.

This is participation at the point of consequence.

PROGRESS TO DATE - AND WHAT REMAINS

So far, the project has delivered:

  • 3 LoRa monitoring towers installed across the landscape
  • 5 rhinos collared and actively monitored
  • 32 rhinos successfully translocated
  • 22 resident rhinos integrated into the system
  • 54 rhinos now forming a viable nucleus population

The site is now formally recognised as a rewilding landscape under African Parks’ standards.

The next phase is clear: collaring every rhino and completing the monitoring network. This is the final step required to secure long-term protection and enable the population to scale safely.

WHY EARLY INVOLVEMENT MATTERS

Most people encounter conservation once systems are complete and outcomes are secure.

This is earlier than that.

Participants are stepping into a newly established rhino population, a monitoring network still being completed, and a phase where long-term outcomes are either locked in or left vulnerable.

At this stage, involvement has disproportionate impact, and the work done here will inform how rhino rewilding is approached elsewhere across Africa.

OWNERSHIP & LEGACY

Those involved at this stage are not simply participants.
They are:
  • Foundational supporters of a new rhino population
  • Part of the group that helped move the project from approval to permanence
  • Directly linked to animals, systems, and outcomes that will persist for decades
As the population grows, this group represents the people who were there at the beginning – when it still mattered most.

INCLUSIONS & EXCLUSIONS

Includes: All accommodation, meals, in-country transport, field activities, safari, dedicated group leader, and end-of-mission Impact Report.

Excludes: International flights and personal travel insurance

TRAVEL, ACCOMODATION AND LOGISTICS

Rooiberg–Waterberg is located in South Africa’s Limpopo province, within the broader Waterberg region — a vast, rugged conservation landscape north of Johannesburg that remains largely untouched and quietly spectacular.

This is not a well-trodden safari circuit. It’s an off-the-beaten-track part of South Africa, defined by wide open space, ancient mountains, big skies, and a sense of scale that’s hard to describe until you’re in it.

Most participants will fly into O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. You’ll be met on arrival by the Global Protagonists team, and the group will travel together by road to Rooiberg–Waterberg.

The drive typically takes around 3.5–4.5 hours, depending on conditions, and forms part of the transition from city to field. Travelling together allows time to brief the group, align expectations, and gradually shift gears into the work ahead.

Accommodation during the field phase is on an active reserve, surrounded by wildlife and close to where the work is happening. It is simple, comfortable, and purposeful — prioritising access, proximity, and immersion over luxury. You should expect to be staying in a living, breathing conservation landscape, where animals move freely around you and nights are quiet, dark, and expansive.

All dietary requirements can be accommodated, and full details on accommodation, meeting points, packing guidance, and pre-departure logistics will be provided upon sign-up.

This is a working environment, and flexibility is essential. Plans may shift in response to weather, animal movements, or operational needs — which is exactly what real conservation looks like.
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This is how rewilding begins

Across Africa, the Rhino Rewild initiative is quietly changing what rhino conservation looks like – shifting the focus from rescue to rebuilding, and from crisis response to long-term protection.

Rooiberg is one of the landscapes where that shift is happening now, with the foundations of a new population being laid in real time.

If you want to be part of conservation while it is still being shaped, rather than looking back once the story is finished, this is that moment.

This is not about seeing conservation. It is about being part of its beginning.