This year’s Elephant Charge was not for the faint-hearted! With a course set deep into the Zambian miombo valley of the Funswe river, slopes were steep, and gullies were rocky.
The unique event is a 4×4 off-road challenge with teams of six traversing a course of ten checkpoints in the Zambian wild. Each year a new course is set by the voluntary committee and this year’s course was a real highlight. The area chosen was in the Shamilonga community under Senior Chieftainess Nkomeshya close to the Kafue Gorge, west of the Chiawa Game Management Area. This part of Zambia holds completely untouched, breathtaking views with intact Miombo woodland perfect for shady campsites.
On Saturday 30 September as the sun rose over the peaks of the mountains, 27 teams revved their engines on the start line. The course was, as always, an intense challenge for experienced 4×4 drivers with the checkpoints placed precariously on the top of steep climbs or at the bottom of rocky riverbeds and gorges. However, 17 teams finished the race within the qualifying time of 8 hours with many teams achieving some impressively short distances across the terrain. The winning Team Popcorn 1 in their White Land Rover Defender 90 completed the course in 34.21km, with only a few metres separating the podium positions, Green Mambas came in a close 2nd and Sausage Tree 3rd place. The Bombshells won the shortest distance by an all-female team with 37.56km. The most important prize went to Autoworld for the most funds raised and shortest net distance (distance travelled minus funds raised) who raised an incredible K524,745 ($25,350)! This year’s newly added activity the Elephant Charge Trail Run was a great success with six teams completing the course and winning the Spirit of the Charge trophy! Two motorbike teams also entered with the Biking Baboons completing the course in the shortest distance of 28.84km.
In total, the Fuchs Elephant Charge 2023 has raised an amazing ZMW 3,500,000 for conservation in Zambia this year. These funds will support several conservation projects in Zambia including the WECSZ “Chongololo” Conservation School Clubs. Local communities in the area also received a large donation from the event. Over the years the Elephant Charge has supported 25 grassroots causes, and provided vital, flexible funding to help small organizations doing important conservation work across the country particularly focusing on conservation education.
Thank you as always to all of our supporters, too many to be named, but a few here: Fuchs, Geotab, Pre Secure Security, CC Systems, Autoworld (TJM), Lilayi Lodge, UAG Zambia, Rapid Aluminium, Big Tree, Country Choice Chicken, National Milling, Kal Tire, Omnia, Turaco, Leopards Hill Memorial Park, Sun Sweet, Hippo Charge Mozambique, Signs of the Times, Rooney’s, Kept Cool, Honda, Ishop Zambia, Duncan Quinn and SATIB Insurance.
And finally thank you to all our service providers including Jean Dollery, Skytrails, MARS Ambulance service, Bright Future Project, Stars and Legends, Peaberry Coffee Roasters, Afro Red and Mezza.
Want to know more about how to get involved in the next adventure? Visit:
www.elephantcharge.org or join us at Zambean, Leopards Hill Road, Lusaka for Results Night, 1830, 14 October.
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