THE Kenton Xtreme Festival, a running and cycling event to be held on May 19-20, will be bigger than ever this year, including fringe activities to raise funds for rhino conservation.
The event is staged at Kariega Beach, Kenton-on-Sea.
Fringe activities include craft stalls, a Kiddies Survivor course on the beach, run by Keryn van der Walt of Outdoor Focus, a Tug of War challenge run by Rob Greyling of Green Fountain Resort, and the Time out Play Centre for toddlers run by Marin Hensens.
Sunshine Coast Tourism manager Sandy Birch said the organisers of the event have agreed that all fringe activities attached to this event are to go towards rhino conservation.
There will also be a host of other activities for the whole family. Competitions in aid of rhino conservation will be run on the day and various eco products will be on display and for sale at the festival.
The desperate plight of rhino was highlighted at a recent talk given by Dr William Fowlds at Rhodes University last week. In 2009 122 rhino were killed for their horns, this figure more than doubled to 333 in 2010 and the following year 448 rhino were poached.
The rhino population cannot sustain this type of loss, said Fowlds.
In the first quarter of this year, 136 rhino have already been poached, including three at one time at Kariega Game Reserve. After a struggle of 24 days, Themba the male rhino lost his struggle to survive.
"Sunshine Coast Tourism lends its support to these iconic beasts and we would like to see 136 people participating in our Tug of War challenge – one for each rhino poached this year,” said Birch.
If you would like to enter a team, contact Birch at the tourism office in Port Alfred: (046) 624-1235, or e-mail .