Rhino Charge
The Rhino Charge is an annual off-road competition held in Kenya in which entrants are required to visit a number of points (Guard Posts) while travelling the shortest possible distance across difficult, trackless terrain, where speed is penalised.
The concept discussed was to hold an offroading competition whereby the winner would drive a vehicle to the highest altitude on Mount Kenya.
Some years prior to this, Brian had recced a route around Mount Longonot for an off-road event at the request of Derek Gates (Safari Rally organiser).
Based on this experience and after much discussion, Rob and Brian decided to attempt an event to drive over Mount Suswa in the Rift Valley.
After an exhausting day mostly "carrying" the bikes, and still only halfway up Mount Suswa they had to head back to base, the idea wasn't going to work!
The following weekend, prepared with camping gear, motor bikes and their families, they spent two days driving and riding around the area setting out what eventually became the venue for the first ever Rhino Charge.
The Rhino Charge is a one-day off-road event during which a maximum of 65 competitors are required to visit 13 control points scattered over approximately 100 square kilometres of rough terrain within a 10 hours period.
Supplied with a 1:50,000 scale map of the venue and the GPS coordinates of the 13 control points, each competing team decides the route they want to follow.
The Charge is a unique and exciting competition that requires bravery and a high level of skill in off-road driving and navigation.
The preparation requires the search for a suitable venue followed by the negotiations with the resident local community and the actual event organisation.
The Rhino Charge attracts many spectators who visit the event to watch competitors in action and spend a fun weekend out of town.
In order to ensure that the funds raised by the competitors go to conservation, the Rhino Charge itself is organised mostly based on in-kind support provided by many volunteers, guard post sponsors,[5] event sponsors[6] and raffle donors,[7] Since 1989, the funds raised have been used for the construction of the Aberdare Electric Fence and supporting conservation activities within the Aberdare ecosystem.
The Raffle offers every donation of KES 2,000 a chance to win a prize, which is a key motivation for the public to support competing cars.
Other events held to raise funds for Rhino Ark are, amongst others, Rhinothon, Run A Ton and the Hog Charge (a children's mountain bike race).
Together with Stanbic, who have enabled independent Environmental Impact Assessments at Rhino Charge venues, it is ensured that the monitoring is comprehensive and scientifically precise.
This double check, conducted to exacting standards, is welcomed by the organisers, participants and sponsors alike, not only as an assurance that the Rhino Charge does no harm but also as an insurance that any negative impact which might arise in future can be rapidly identified and remedied.
To this end, stringent rules have been set by the Committee to ensure that no waste is left in the entire Rhino Charge venue.
In 2013, the Rhino Charge received a special award for fundraising efforts towards the conservation of Kenya's water towers by the Total S.A. Eco Challenge.
