Look at the first photo and what do you see? Tourists being escorted into the bush for who knows what fate? Not quite. These are armed rhino guards who do something like a 12 hour shift for 10 days straight living with Matopos’ rhino population. Protectors and guardians, they provide a 24/7 vigilance over the vulnerable black and white rhinos. Using a soft whistle, they whisper to soothe and let the rhinos know of their approach. This familiar sound allows the guards and their entourage to get close to the rhino: close enough to see the fringe around their ears and the wrinkles on their hide. Sometimes you can be lucky to turn a corner and find a family group quietly grazing less than 10m from an empty tourist bus. 5 minutes later the tour group returns. Much to our mirth, they report walking 5 km to see rhino, only to find them grazing where they left their vehicle.