Dane Haylett-Petty hasn’t lived in South Africa for almost 20 years but a passion for his homeland's most iconic animals has driven him to lead a new charity initiative.
South Africa was where the fullback first fell in love with rugby, watching games in the 1995 World Cup and soaking up the euphoria of the Springboks winning the tournament on their home turf.
“I think of Perth as home now, but I've always had that connection to South Africa because a lot of my family have been back there for a long time,” he said.
“I have a lot of fond memories growing up there.
“Probably my love of rugby started there - like my early memories are going to a couple of games of the '95 world cup and then South Africa winning it and the whole country going rugby mad.”
It was also, though, a place where nearly everyone he knew had a story about a brush with death and danger was difficult to ignore.
“I think probably the turning point was my dad was paying wages and got held at gunpoint and I suppose that was a bit of a wake-up call,” he said.
“I was about nine and we were at school one day, not long before we moved to Australia, and there were gunshots on the school fields.
“We went to a nice school but next door there was a squatter camp which was crawling closer and closer towards the school and there'd been an argument and there was some gunshots and everyone had to run to the classrooms
“There were a couple of little incidents in the last year that we were like, "Well, it's probably time to leave".
“We already had our visas to come to Australia and that was probably the turning point for us.
It's an amazing country and most of the time it was beautiful, but everyone knew someone who had a story like that or something had happened and I suppose the writing was on the wall a bit and it was time to get out for us.”
Many of Haylett-Petty’s relatives still live in South Africa and regular visits back to the country, with rugby and for holidays, have served as a reminder of the iconic fauna the country holds.
Rhinos, elephants, lions and cheetahs are among the natural treasures that are both iconic but also increasingly in danger from poachers, loss of land.
Keeping these rare species alive is increasingly complicated in a country like South Africa, where many people struggle to make ends meet and the demands for animal products in Asia are growing.
Haylett-Petty is optimistic about attitudes changing but admits it is not a straightforward problem.
“I think in a third world country, it becomes a little bit harder where people are more worried, like a huge percentage of the population are surviving day to day,” he said.
“Some might need to feel the need to go poach or whatever. I think then corruption comes into it and all sorts.
“You've got all these amazing animals in a very poor place with all sorts of political issues going on.
“With the support and education, people realising the issues, I'm sure it will change and there are a lot of organisations doing a really good job to make a difference I suppose.”
A trip to South Africa in 2016, after the Wallabies’ Spring Tour, put the problem of rhino poaching squarely in his face.
“When I went back there for that trip, there were places where there are just rows and rows of rhino skulls from murdered rhinos, who have been poached and there's just no end in sight with that,” he said.
“You see both sides of it - you're on safari and you see these amazing rhinos, very calm and majestic, almost prehistoric, and then you go to another area and there's just rows and rows of skulls and they just can't really stop the flood of poachers coming in because of the demand from Asia for their horns.
“It's a bit of a juxtaposition, it's a shocking image and that's why I wanted to try and do something.”
From there, Haylett-Petty began to look into what he could do try and help the cause.
He has teamed up with the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), who his cousin Cole Du Plessis works for, to help try and stop the rising death toll of some of South Africa’s most iconic creatures.
Rhinos are not the only animals in danger - elephants and lions are hunted for their ivory and bones and the country’s wild dog population has been heavily eroded by loss of land, development and a host of other factors.
Haylett-Petty has spent time with EWT on recent trips to South Africa but the 29-year-old wanted to do more than just help out when he was in the country.
Brainstorming various fundraising opportunities, Haylett-Petty eventually landed on building up a raffle to support EWT and its projects.
Down the track, Haylett-Petty hopes he can work with his cousin to establish a safari company with a conservation slant, helping to put more funds back into conservation work in South Africa.
The Rebels and Rugby Australia have helped Haylett-Petty get the project off the ground and a host of his Rebels teammates have gotten behind the initiative after the team visited the Madikwe Game Reserve earlier this year.
“They loved the safari side but then getting up close and personal and feeling like they were helping, it was pretty special to kind of see some of the boys' faces and some have come to me since and said "how can we do our little bit to help out" they all kind of get involved with the fundraising and just try to spread the message a little bit," he said.
The partnership and raffle was launched this week, with a first prize of a trip to Johannesburg, tickets to the Wallabies-South Africa game and a safari thrown in as well.
