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Sinamatella Rangers in the field
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One of our rhino
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Sinamatella River
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Field assistance group along Deka River
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Stephen installing a solar pump
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Storm clouds over Sinamatella
SINAMATELLA
Sinamatella, in the northern sector of Hwange National Park, comprises an area of over 2000 sq kilometers, of rugged basaltic country, interspersed with seasonal rivers and isolated pans. It has a central base, Sinamatella Camp which is the Parks base, and with tourist chalets and a camp ground. There are also several private safari camps in the Sinamatella area, plus some picnic sites and overnight camp sites.
The Sinamatella area was declared an Intensive Rhino Protection Zone (IPZ) in the 1990's to protect the Black Rhino population here, these rhino having been introduced from the Zambezi Valley.
Bhejane Trust, through `Stephen Long, is based at Sinamatella Camp, in operating in cooperation with the SAVE The African Rhino Foundation and with National Parks. Stephen has been involved in all aspects of assisting Parks over the years. We have an ongoing volunteer Field Assistance program running here.

Projects Undertaken/Completed by Bhejane Trust
• Rhino Monitoring – ongoing exercise
• Waterpoints - maintenance of waterpoints, including supplying fuel, and servicing pumps and engines, repairing damaged pipeline and troughs. Installation and monitoring of donated solar pumping units at Bumboosie South, Baobab Pan, Inyantue dam ( 2 units), Shumba Pan, Mbala Lodge and Tshompani Dam, and the installation of Mashambo Pan connected to the electricity mains.
• Deployments of patrols, transport for Parks undertaking management work
• Parks staff welfare – books for the school, soccer and netball uniforms and balls, transport.
• Field assistance to Parks - patrol rations, tents, GPS, uniforms, radios and batteries, cameras (to id rhino)
• Has refurbished two chalets for Parks
• Supplied a pump for water to Sinamatella Camp, and assist in maintaining water here, including new pipelines.
• Assist with fireguard burning, and controlling wild fires.
• Bhejane Trust has also been involved in research projects :
• Southern African Bird Atlas project 2 (SABAP2) – data collection
• Animal population data – road strip counts, 24 hour waterpoint counts
• Fixed point photography for vegetation/elephant/waterpoint survey
• Formulated the policy ( now accepted by Parks) for a Rhino Conservation Area (RCA) to be established at Sinamatella

Projects - Current and Proposed by Bhejane Trust
• Rhino monitoring – have a dedicated team on the ground whose sole purpose is to monitor the remaining rhino.
• Rhino Conservation Area – to source funding for the establishment of the RCA
• Waterpoints – to put in two solar waterpumps at Inyantue to make this remote dam self sustaining, to replace the noisy diesel at Shumba pan with a solar, so this pan will be solar and wind powered. To monitor and maintain all other waterpoints ( the only diesel waterpoint remaining will be Masuma due to high demand)Water troughs to be redesigned to accommodate smaller animals when under elephant pressure.
• Deployments and transport – to continue assistance
• Parks staff welfare – to continue assistance
• Field assistance – to continue assisting rangers in the field on patrol
• Fire guards and wild fires – to continue to assist

Research Projects – Ongoing/Proposed by Bhejane Trust
• Rhino – distribution, habits and status of remaining population
• Game populations – counts by road strip counts and 24 hour waterhole counts, plus field records
• SABAP2 – bird species records
• Fixed point photography – effects of elephants and climate change on vegetation, effects of fire.
  • African Waterfowl Census