| The 34th edition of the Rhino Charge has ended yesterday evening in the scenic landscape of Nkoteyia Community Conservancy in Samburu County.
The event had been flagged off at 7:30am this morning by Mr. Jean Todt, the United Nations Special Envoy for Road Safety who is in Kenya on official duties.
Mr. Todt flagged off the event at the ManTech Guard Post, one of the 13 controls, within the expansive 70-square-kilometre venue. The conservancy falls within the Kirisia-Laikipia wildlife migratory corridor in the picturesque Samburu County, ‘the gateway to the Magical North’.
The Envoy is on a five-day mission in Kenya as part of his visit to Eastern and Southern Africa to advocate for the effective implementation of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, which aims to halve the number of victims on the road by 2030.
In his role as UN Special Envoy, Mr. Todt contributes, among other things, to mobilize sustained political commitment to make road safety a priority; to advocate and raise awareness of UN legal instruments on road safety; to share established good practices in this area; to striving to generate adequate funding through strategic partnerships between the public, private and non-governmental sectors.
At crack of dawn today, the competing cars lined up at HQs with revving engines, anxiety etched on the faces of chargers and their supporters. They were then convoyed to their respective starting guard posts.
By 5:30pm when the competition ended, only six competing cars had successfully visited the mandatory 13 checkpoints of the course to finish, while 14 had pulled out of the competition earlier due to various reasons, including mechanical failures.
Drivers’ briefing took place yesterday at 5:00pm where Don White, Chairman of the Rhino Charge Committee and Clerk of the Course, gave important information to competitors. He cited rough terrain, elephants, bees, scorpions as key challenges likely to be encountered in the competition.
Samburu County has hosted Rhino Charge five times before in various conservancies, namely Barsaloi, Kalama, Kalepo, Namunyak and Swari.
This year’s Rhino Charge main events are as follows:
• Today, Friday, 2nd June – Scrutineering (inspection of the Competing Cars)
• Tomorrow, Saturday, 3rd June – Rhino Charge
• Sunday, 4th June – Prize-giving
Kindly note that general information about the Rhino Charge is available online on the Rhino Charge website www.rhinocharge.co.ke. Digital contents about the Charge and Rhino Ark can be accessed at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17zpkaom5x6WlMP7nDbIN2a86u3Sub1_l?usp=sharing
The digital channels of the Rhino Charge and Rhino Ark are:
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