Tony Park - Rhino War

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Major General (Ret.) Johan Jooste retired from the South African National Defence Force in 2006 after 35 years of active service. In 2012, after a stint in the corporate world, he was appointed Commanding Officer, Special Projects at SANParks, where he was responsible for anti-poaching strategy, planning and execution. He went on to establish a Wildlife Crime and Corruption Combatting Coordination Centre, with funding from the Peace Parks Foundation. He continues to serve in the fight against poaching as a Programme Manager for Law Enforcement and Security with the Peace Parks Foundation.

Tony Park is the bestselling author of 20 thriller novels set in Africa and several non-fiction biographies. A former journalist and press secretary, he also served 34 years in the Australian Army Reserve, including six months in Afghanistan. He and his wife, Nicola, divide their time between Australia and southern Africa. www.tonypark.net Social media: @tonyparkauthor

ALSO BY TONY PARK

Far Horizon

Zambezi

African Sky

Safari

Silent Predator

Ivory

The Delta

African Dawn

Dark Heart

The Prey

The Hunter

An Empty Coast

Red Earth

The Cull

Captive

Scent of Fear

Ghosts of the Past

Last Survivor

Blood Trail

The Pride

Part of the Pride, with Kevin Richardson

The Grey Man, with John Curtis

Bush Vet, with Dr Clay Wilson

War Dogs, with Shane Bryant

Courage Under Fire, with Daniel Keighran VC

No One Left Behind, with Keith Payne VC

Bwana, Theres a Body in the Bath! with Peter Whitehead

RHINO WAR MAJOR GENERAL (RET.) JOHAN JOOSTE TONY PARK INGWE PUBLISHING

First published 2022 by Pan Macmillan South Africa.

This edition published 2022 by Ingwe Publishing

Copyright 2022 by Major General (Ret.) Johan Jooste and Tony Park

All rights reserved.

www.ingwepublishing.com

The moral right of the authors has been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Rhino War.

EPUB: 978-1-922825-02-5

POD: 978-1-922825-03-2

Cover design by Leandra Wicks

Picture captions back cover (print edition):

Clockwise from top centre:

White rhinoceros

SANParks Chief Pilot Grant Knight with sedated orphan rhino

Major General (Ret.) Johan Jooste with SANParks, SAPS and SADF personnel and captured poacher

Jooste conducts a briefing in the Mission Area Joint Operations Centre

Major General (Ret.) Johan Jooste in SANParks uniform.

For Arina, Queen of my heart

GLOSSARY

Big Five lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino and elephant

N Boer maak n plan a farmer (boer) makes a plan a common expression reflecting the can-do attitude of South Africans

Border War South Africas campaigns against the liberation movement in South West Africa (Namibia), and in support of anti-communist forces in Angola, lasting from 1966 to 1990.

Bakkie light utility vehicle (ute in Australia); pick-up truck

Bliksem Afrikaans expression of surprise or displeasure

Fiscus the South African Treasury or public purse

Groenkloof location of SANParks headquarters, in Pretoria

HiP - Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, formerly the Hluhluwe and Umfolozi game reserves, large public game park in KwaZulu-Natal

Indaba a meeting

JOC Joint Operations Centre

Jong young, a term of endearment for younger friend

Klapped hit

KNP Kruger National Park

Kudu A large antelope with spiral horns

Kudu kop Kudu head, the antelopes head insignia of SANParks

KZN the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal

Lekker good

Madala African term of respect for an older person

Moer to beat, or bash; get the moer in to feel rage, or fury

Muthi (umuthi) traditional African medicine

NG Kerk Dutch Reformed Church

NPA National Prosecuting Authority

Oke short for outjie, Afrikaans slang for a man

Oom Afrikaans for uncle, also used as a term of respect for an older male.

Potjiekos pot food, a slow cooked meal, usually oxtail

R1 - 7.62 millimetre assault rifle

Rondavel a round dwelling, self-catering tourist accommodation unit in the Kruger Park

Recce abbreviation of Reconnaissance Commando, South African special forces.

Sangoma a traditional healer (plural: izangoma)

SADF South African Defence Force (prior to 1994)

SANDF South African National Defence Force (post 1994)

SANParks South African National Parks

SAPS South African Police Service

Sitrep - situation report

Skoonpa father in law

Skukuza the largest rest camp in the Kruger Park and home to the parks headquarters and nearby airport

Tekkie running shoe

Tannie Afrikaans for aunty, also used as a term of respect for an older woman.

Tjommie friend or chum

Vellies short for veldskoen suede bush shoes

Veldt (also Bushveld), open grasslands or, generally, the South African bush

Vlei an open plain or floodplain

Wors - short for boerewors, traditional South African farmers sausage

CONTENTS PROLOGUE

I t was a time for good cheer, prayer and war. My wife, Arina, sat smiling beside me in the South African National Parks Air Wing helicopter. Below us, the seemingly endless wilderness of the Kruger Park stretched away to the horizon. We had just left the Houtboschrand Ranger Post, in the centre of the reserve, smiling children waving as we lifted off. We had delivered Christmas gifts and much-needed amenities to the field rangers and their families.

At Mopani, the nearest of Krugers rest camps below, local and foreign tourists would be relaxing, perhaps settling down to a lunch-time braai and a cold beer or a chilled glass of wine, or taking a siesta in their thatch-roofed rondavel after an early-morning game drive. Our daughters, Ilze and Liezl, were far away, in Johannesburg and Cape Town, but, now, in December 2015, after nearly three long years of living in the bush, Arina and I at last felt truly welcome in this new family we had joined.

The veld had shed its winter khakis and browns, and had turned a rich emerald with the advent of the summer. The seasonal rains brought new life, perfectly in sync with the timeless rhythm of this African landscape. From the open grasslands around Mopani, the pilot tracked south-east, towards the Lebombo Mountains, the 800-kilometre-long range of rocky hills that mark the border between South Africa and Mozambique.

Our next stop was the Nwanetsi Ranger Post in the centraleastern part of the park. At nearby Olifants Rest Camp and the Nwanetsi Picnic Site to the south, visitors could sit atop the mountains and watch game through binoculars. Elephants splashed through the Olifants River below; giraffe, easy to spot because of their tall, graceful silhouettes, browsed from trees bristling from the rocky landscape. An eagle-eyed, lucky onlooker might even see a rhino.

The stress of my job as Chief Ranger of the Kruger Park was seen and felt by Arina. We had been married for nearly 40 years and she had been with me when I had gone to war as a younger man, also helping to care for other men in uniform under my command, as well as their families. She had borne witness to the horrors of armed conflict, accompanying me during one terrible week when I made a sombre pilgrimage around South Africa to visit the grieving families of men who had been killed in action during the Border War.

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