Elephant Charge 2021
The Elephant Charge 2021 is taking place on Saturday 25 September this year. So far, 33 teams have entered to compete in Zambia’s extreme 4×4 event which is held every year to raise money for local wildlife conservation organisations.
The money raised for conservation in Zambia focuses on conservation through education. In the ten years since it began, the Charge has raised over $1,181,000 which has been distributed to 22 conservation organisations and projects working across Zambia.
What is the Elephant Charge?
The Elephant Charge is an annual event which challenges teams of cars and motorbikes to complete a gruelling course through the Zambian bush. It is a trial of 4×4 driving, navigating and endurance. The Charge was inspired by Kenya’s Rhino Charge which has raised millions of dollars for the Rhino Ark Foundation and the Aberdares National Park, since it began in 1989.
The Charge is held at a different location each year, close to Lusaka, over the course of a weekend in September or October. The exact location is a carefully guarded secret until the day before the competition.
Entries are in one of two classes: car or motorbike. Car teams consist of a vehicle with between two and six passengers, whilst motorbike teams comprise of three to four bikes and riders. Each team designates a navigator who is issued with maps and checkpoint cards before the race. The car teams designate a driver who is responsible for all the driving during the charge. The other members of the team are the runners who scout through the bush for the shortest route that can be taken, fix broken vehicles and get the whole team back in one piece!
The venue is revealed just days before the charge, with maps being issued to each team the evening before the race. The team that picks the shortest possible distance to visit all the checkpoints, whilst avoiding chasms, peaks and rivers, wins! But, to make the course more exciting, three of the checkpoints on the course are designated as ‘The Gauntlet’ – these checkpoints are close together within extreme terrain. ‘The Gauntlet’ allows spectators to get close to the action whilst the teams show off their skills. Distance though ‘The Gauntlet’ is then multiplied by three and added to the final distance so it is vital that teams take the shortest route possible through this extreme terrain. A special prize is also given for the shortest distance taken between two checkpoints, called the ‘Tsetse Lines’.
You can find out more about the 33 teams here.
Raising money for Conservation Education Projects
Each team is asked to raise money beforehand and to make a pledge to conservation charities that every dollar that they raise passes directly to beneficiary charities and NGOs as grants. The money needed to hold the Charge competition itself is raised by the organising committee and comes from sponsors and a small entry fee paid by each team. So all money teams raise goes directly into Zambian conservation.
Grant beneficiaries make applications each year, being selected based on their programs and projects which are in line with Elephant Charge’s mission of conservation through education in Zambia. The beneficiaries then report back, sharing how the money raised for the grants had been spent.
Find out more
Do you want to start a team, become a sponsor or just join in the fun and spectate for the day? You can find out how to get involved with the Elephant Charge 2021 here. You can also sign up to the Elephant Charge newsletter and visit their Facebook page for all the latest team updates, news on the charge, beneficiaries and upcoming events.