THE WILDERNESS LEADERSHIP SCHOOL
Tours in Durban

The Wilderness Leadership School was the first non profit organisation in Africa dedicated to providing a pure wilderness experience for people of all backgrounds, races and nationalities. That more than 65 000 trailists have experienced the awe of a trail through the pristine wilderness areas of South Africa and found the experience a life-changing one is a testament to the power of the natural environment. Today The Wilderness Leadership School continues to provide an educational experience to thousands of South African youth and overseas visitors. In the annals of South African conservation, the story of the Wilderness Leadership School and Dr Ian Player is a very profound one. These areas of wilderness allowed people to go into them only on foot, horseback or canoe. A trail is a unique experience to experience wild areas on foot, areas where man has not left an impact, no roads, no facilities, just wilderness. It was right here that white rhino numbers had plummeted to such a degree that unless they were captured and relocated it was conceivably they would have been wiped out. But it was the friendship of these two men, Dr. Ian Player and Magqubu Ntombela and all that they stood for that infused the school with its significance and helped unfold the enduring lessons that the wilderness has on people. Ian Player is globally recognised as a pioneer, a visionary and an activist who has profoundly influenced conservation, changing the lives of countless people. (iSimangaliso) to today when he still campaigns (rages) against the encroachment of mining into wilderness areas in the case of the Fuleni Mine at Hlabisa and other issues dear to his heart; at the forefront of which being the fight for Rhino. He successfully campaigned for the proclamation and conservation of wilderness areas and has ensured that through the activities of his founding organisation, the Wilderness Leadership School, these wild and primitive areas are protected through the trail activity and breed of ambassadors of this organisation. Having initiated the Pietermaritzburg to Durban Canoe Marathon (Dusi), Ian Player went on to win the race three times. From 1952, Dr Ian Player was Warden of the iMfolozi Game Reserve where he spearheaded two important and far-reaching initiatives. Notably Operation Rhino, which saved the last few remaining southern white rhino from the brink of extinction. As a direct result of Ian Player’s famous white rhino relocation program, white rhinos now inhabit their former distribution range within numerous formal national parks and game reserves, private game farms, zoos and parks around the world. The second initiative was Ian Player’s recognition of the value of wilderness for the human spirit and for biodiversity conservation. So much of his and his organisation’s efforts to help protect the Rhino were inspired by Dr Player’s relentless support and encouragement. The Wilderness Leadership School is part of a global network of partners working for conservation and appreciation of wild areas. At the Foundation for Natural Leadership, we believe that the 21st century needs a new form of leadership. The Wilderness Foundation is a project-driven conservation and leadership organisation that encourages, plans and projects wild lands and wildness, uplifts the knowledge and lives of our citizens and stimulates an environmental ethos among current and future leaders. It is the belief of the Magqubu Ntombela Memorial Foundation that the preservation of traditional knowledge, history and culture has become absolutely vital in Southern Africa if we are to prosper as a winning nation and respect the diversity of people and culture. The PWT is a non-profit organisation and is registered with the South African Institute of Fundraising. The mine also threatens the health of neighbouring rural communities. Only when man learns and accepts that we are part of the ecosystem, we need nature for our own survival and most importantly, being in touch with nature is our original state.