(Posted 05th May 2024)
Kajiado will be the host of the 35th edition of the Rhino Charge to be held during this year’s Madaraka Day weekend.
Don White, the event’s Clerk of Course announced this today during a well-attended pre-event briefing at the Braeburn School in Nairobi. Competitor teams, checkpoint officers, officials, sponsors, camp operators and families attended the social and informational event.
Some of the highlights at the event included an update on Rhino Ark activities by the Executive Director, Christian Lambrechts, briefing by Don, including the location of where the route notes for the 2024 Rhino Charge will start as well as information to checkpoint officials and sponsors.
The much-anticipated route notes to the actual venue, which remain secret, will only be released to competing cars, sponsors and spectators a few days to the event.
Christian used today’s chance to explain to the audience the activities and programmes that had been undertaken by Rhino Ark in the last one year in key areas of Mt Kenya, Mau Eburu, Aberdares, South Western Mau and Kakamega Forest.
Nkoteyia Community Conservancy in the Ewaso Nyiro landscape in Samburu County hosted the 34th edition of the Rhino Charge’s venue, at which KES 173 million was raised towards the completion of the 61-km-long section of the Mt. Kenya Electric Fence in Nyeri County, the construction of the Kakamega Foret electric fence, the maintenance of the 758 kilometres of electric fence built to date in Aberdare, Mt. Kenya, Eburu and Kakamega, the expansion of community patrol teams to include South Western Mau, among many other activities.
The Rhino Charge is not only a world renowned 4×4 off-road competition, but also, it is one of the few sport events run with a national conservation purpose. It is conducted to support the safeguarding of the integrity and ecological functions of Kenya’s mountain forests, also known as water towers, as they are the source of all main rivers in the country.
Indeed, since its conception in 1989, the Rhino Charge has raised a staggering amount of nearly KES 2.1 billion towards the conservation of Mount Kenya, the Aberdares, South Western Mau and Mount Eburu in the Mau Forests Complex, as well as Kakamega Forest. Whilst the first Rhino Charge raised only KES 250,000, this amount has increased tremendously over the years to cross the KES 180 million mark in 2018, thanks to supporters locally and internationally.
Projects funded thanks to the Rhino Charge funds include the construction of the world longest game-proof fences, such as the 450 km Mount Kenya Electric Fence of which 300 km have been built to date. The funds have also been used in the maintenance of the completed 400-km Aberdare Electric Fence and 43.3 km perimeter electric fence around Mount Eburu, as well as for the ongoing construction for the fencing of Kakamega Forest in Western Kenya.
This year’s Rhino Charge main events are as follows:
• Friday, 31st May– Scrutineering (inspection of the Competing Cars)
• Saturday, 1st June – Rhino Charge
• Sunday, 2nd June – Prize-giving
The organisation of the Rhino Charge is supported through in-kind contribution from the private sector, including some of Kenya’s largest corporations, such as, Total Energies, Safaricom, AutoXpress, Tarpo, White Cap, Castor Vali, Rotor Jet Aviation, Z Boskovic Air Charters, Sandstorm, Mantech Inflight Systems, Aquamist, The Iceman, Tropical Heat, Papyrus, Northscape, Rivercross Tracking Ltd, Instarect, Chloride Exide, Bins, to name a few. Their contribution has enabled the reduction of the cost of the event to less than 15% of the total funds raised.
Kindly note that general information about the Rhino Charge is available online on the Rhino Charge website www.rhinocharge.co.ke
The digital channels of the Rhino Charge and Rhino Ark are:
Rhino Charge Rhino Ark
Facebook RhinoChargeKenya RhinoArk
Twitter @rhino_charge @RhinoArk
Instagram Rhino.Charge Rhino.Ark
Hashtag #RhinoCharge #RhinoArk
Youtube rhinocharge4x4
Website www.rhinocharge.co.ke www.rhinoark.org
