In May 2019, the Rhino Charge descended into Northern Kenya for a memorable weekend of champagne, rainbows, mud and thorns to raise millions of US Dollars for an amazing 30 year old socio-enviro cause that protects the water towers of Kenya for its people, fauna and flora for generations to come.
Every year we need a team: this year was a great year for team-mates: Thank you ALL !!
Julie, Tony, Otto, José Luis, William, Mike, Tom, Ian, Edward
07:31 - 08:03 SATAO to TIREWORLD
(5th of 36; 32mins; 1.198km) v (Car 4; 13mins; 1.191km)
Charge Car 30 paused on top of a pile of strewn rocks and boulders, momentarily uncertain of how to tackle the wilds of Africa ahead.
Other teams were already off, filled with the benefits of past experience and seemingly assured in their route and intentions yet, of the six teams that set out from GaurdPost (GP) Satao this warm morning, only three would bask under the rainbow as the watery dusk fell at the end of the day.
Car 30 also carried the mantle of its sponsors, numerous private and corporate donors whose generous support of Rhino Ark Charitable Trust had helped the Car 30 team on its way to reaching its own entry pledge to raise $15,000 for the conservation charity.
Bolloré had provided bright orange polo shirts and our runners were easy to spot as they fanned out across the savannah to find the best route for the car to take. The challenge in the annual Kenya Rhino Charge is to get from Guard Post to Guard Post in the shortest possible distance, as measured by a satellite-tracked GPS device mounted in the vehicle.
The signal crackled over the radio for the car to come forward and Car 30’s wheels climbed over the perimeter and descended down into the dust-bowl of a wild and inhospitable land, cross-crossed with small finger-like rivelets known as dongas that the rains had cut into the grassless earth. Normal cars would be stuck at the first but the larger tyres and heightened clearance allowed us to rock and roll through each ditch, slowly but surely enough.
We had had the advantage of Google Earth the night before to see that there were two sets of fingers, aka dongas, to cross and we had planned to skirt to the right of them but the orange-vested runners suddenly seemed not party to the plans of the night before and decided on a slower, if less circuitous route to the first GuardPost.
In due course we arrived and roared bravely into the white, chalk circle for our GPS to register the first of 13 potential checkpoints. The GP attendants swarmed towards the car, proffering glasses of rehydrate and orange slices but we had yet to expend the energy that needed a refill.
08:03-10:26 TIREWORLD TO BROOKHOUSE
(4th of 14; 2hrs 23mins; 1.374km) v (Car 5; 41mins; 1.202km)
Just before the Google Earth programme had died the night before, we had seen three ridges to cross to get to our next destination. The imagery however had not prepared us for the sight ahead which was a valley and a high ridge, protected by a steep cliff that was impossible to pass.
The car was left waiting in the GP, whilst the rock rabbits headed off to see what could be done. Patience is a virtue in the Rhino Charge, especially with a brand new team, and so the driver and navigator continued with the task of manually entering GPS points into the back-up iPhone that was secured about the driver’s head in the cab.
Our trusted Rabbit Leader, Mike Davis, eventually came back with news of a steep descent and the question of whether or not we had a working rear winch. This had been tested in the Karen gardens of the team only two weeks previously so affirmative answers were relayed before the vehicle was manouvered around a large rock and down a short steep hillside onto a small plateau below the GP.
This first properly scary bit was not the steep descent mentioned. That lay beneath and Rabbit Leader’s plan was to attach the rear winch to a small tree and drop the car straight off a very significant cliff below.
After much consultation with everyone surveying the seemingly impossible descent, it was agreed to continue, largely because heading back was hardly an option. Then a rather significant blow: the rear winch was in fact not working after all, so the car would have to be driven without it. More out of courtesy than sense, the driver suggested free wheeling the winch with a manual lock…...fat lot of use. So balls to the wall, helmet and straps on, large runners standing on the rear, over she went and bouncing a little on some man-size boulders made it down…...phew! Definitely one of the most memorable moments in 15 years!
Having made it to the bottom we then set off around the second ridge and whilst climbing the third came across a steep gully which had to be entered gingerly before trying to power out.
As the power went on, the car slipped and ended up facing cross-ways facing a large rock and no room to manouver. The decision was quickly taken to tie the front winch to a tree on the right of the vehicle which would be used as a slingshot to try and pull the front around as the car reversed and then rocked forwards.
With her nose still in the ditch, the engine revs fell and with everything all happening at once the engine stalled…..turning the ignition revealed that the starter battery, which had been linked during winching, had drained and there was not enough power to turn the starter motor.
Mike and Edward looked at each other in horror. All vehicles are just lumps of metal if the starter motor cannot crank the engine…...it was agreed to wait a few minutes, we turned off all fans and pumps that might draw power and crossed our fingers and toes…...the time came to turn the ignition and thankfully she fired at the first attempt !! Phew! Again!
Now the important thing was to drive the car into a steep ditch, pump the brakes into the slope, maintain the revs, run the winch and also drive the vehicle up the other side…...multi-tasking to rival any gender, ultimately proving successful.
It was not far into Greensteds and crossing the sandy river bed we climbed the opposite bank into the welcoming arms of Julie and Tony, our support crew.
After all the effort we decided to check the fuel tank - it was almost empty! Thank goodness the Support Team were there and had plenty of petrol to offer us from the roof rack of their green vehicle. We filled up quickly under the energetic rappers from Brookhouse School.
10:26-10:56 BROOKHOUSE to SOLEX
(21st of 39; 30mins; 1.19km) v (Car 48; 20min; 1.03km)
Back down into the riverbed, we had planned to search the left bank for a straighter route but we had lost a lot of time on the Grand Descent and so now we were more interested in catching up and looking for an exit.
In the old days the Falcon would have needed a push and shove to climb out of the sandy river but with a fully updated drive-train she now sports bigger wheels and the original 3.5ltr V8 made short work of things up the bank.
There was a smell of petrol in the back seats and Ian Cox identified the cause as a loose fuel cap. Having screwed it back on tightly, he straightened his back without thinking and got caught in the face by a low-hanging branch and thrown off the back of the Charge Car, landing on his back and hitting his head on a rock. It is hard to communicate above the noise of the engine and the vehicle had travelled 50m before the driver realised what had happened. Strong as an ox, Ian insisted on carrying on in spite of lacerations to his craggy profile and a growing splodge of reddening blood on the back of his blonde head.
Finding the GP proved easy enough although this simple route proved our worst placing at 21st. While Ian was able to seek some kindly medical assistance, it wasn’t long before the Runners were off again ahead of the car seeking a new route.
10:56-13:21 SOLEX to HARDI
(1st of 6; 2hrs 25mins; 2.161Km)
The night before had seen our laptop refuse to process the large file size of our Google Earth images at the afore-mentioned riverbed exit so from then on we had been forced to plan our route by way of contours on the map alone.
A ridge that ran down to Hardi GP had been identified and a waypoint plotted to aim for that would bring the car down between the heads of two rivers. The runners fanned out and once again found a path but it did not correspond to our planning. Sure enough the rivers proved hard to cross so the sensible choice to head uphill was taken and before long we found ourselves at the mapped waypoint.
Once on the ridge it felt like things were coming together nicely when suddenly the car lost its previously marvelled-at power and failed to make it up a small incline, rolling back into the bushes at the bottom of the hill.
The driver, a mechanical novice some years ago, realised that power = fuel and on jumping out of his seat, followed the fuel lines through a jagged crack in the floor behind his seat. To his dismay he soon realised that the lacerated metal had been working away at the rubber pipes and there were a number of splits and cuts through which Car 30's precious lifeblood had been seeping. No wonder we needed a refill at Brookhouse!
Frankly it looked like Car 30's Charge might once again be over and done with. We carried no spare fuel line, certainly not the 4m needed to connect pumps and engine. As the scene was surveyed, one suggestion was to cut a section of the water pipe from a CamelBack but to the CamelBack owner’s relief the pipe was just too wide and did not fit.
Thankfully we had a broad-fingered Spaniard to plug the dyke pipe while the real men got on with the grease-monkey jobs. Even at our direst moment of need, the team were laughing and teasing each other, just another example of the great Spirit of 2019.
Eventually we worked out we could use some of the wider fuel breather pipe as an external bandage, which was possible if we could only find something to secure the two pipe sections to each other without petrol leaking under pressure. What was needed were two metal Jubilee clips, that could be ratcheted closed with a screwdriver and create a tight seal. Not having them as spares, we searched the engine bay for an alternative pair to steal, finding one that might have worked but was just too big. We tried using a plastic tie-wrap but this failed on the old narrow pipe. We had to do something and so tried again with the plastic tie-wrap on the wider pipe and it held !! We were back in the race, albeit having lost at least another couple of hours which we would have to try and make up through the day.
We climbed back up the ridge and soon found ourselves rolling across another river bed into the Hardi GP to the pleasures of a cold ice cream and canned water spray; a wonderful climax to a proper bush adventure. Our Support car team were there to cheer us in again - such joy to see a friendly face after working our way through such a major mechanical issue.
Once we had recovered our wits, and Mike had been properly adored by his bevvy of up-country admirers, the team discussed our plan and we reckoned that if we took the escape route we might have a chance of carrying on and getting back home to Satao Camp by the end of the day.
We agreed with the Support Car to meet them at SandStorm GP in about an hour’s time, hoping that they would bring Ian to rejoin us for the last part of the afternoon.
While we were battling leaking fuel pipes, Ian had sensibly taken himself forward to the GPost and was driven off to the Medical Centre run by ResponseMed where he was given a number of stitches and advised not to rejoin the crew due to potential concussion issues.
At 1:21pm we were a man-down, had only completed 50% of the GPs and still had a long way to go.
13:21-13:54 HARDI to VINEYARD CHURCH
(14th of 42; 33mins; 5.43km) v (Car 22; 1hr36; 4.524kms)
The new Clerk-of-the-Course (Don White) had decided this year to mark a couple of escape routes, and I doubt anyone needed it more than we did at this point in the day. Tom, one of our runners, had been feeling unwell the day before and there was a general fatigue setting in to the running crew. The rather tired bunnies had a bench seat in the back and without a 4th runner they could brace themselves across the back and hold on whilst those in business-class comfort could enjoy driving the old hunter’s roads through the scenic bush. We thought it was a stroll, but still took a couple of tighter lines on the corners and in the end we came 14th in the Tiger Line !!
There were opportunities to take even sharper lines that appeared along the way but hours had been lost and the gain would be minimal. The escape routes do not count towards on-road driving but prior years’ experience led Our Dear Leader to start getting the navigator José Luis to start calculating road distances. Last year a new rule was introduced that allows all competitors to travel 5kms on the marked roads without distance penalty and a further 5kms with distance penalties. After that each 5kms tracked on roads costs a GuardPost!
13:54-14:31 VINEYARD to SANDSTORM
(12th of 33; 37mins; 3.76km) v (Car 33; 45mins; 3.477km)
The control officer would not let us carry on until both driver and navigator had donned their helmets. We complied without fuss and soon were on our way, still road-bound as time was against us until we reached the our prior night planned spot at the confluence of two rivers where we stopped and sent the runners forward to find the short route to Sandstorm.
After some initial uncertainty, a workable path was decided upon and the car lurched right off the road and back into the bush again. It is a strange feeling after a bit of relaxed road running to suddenly find oneself back into the perilous unknown of real bush-driving but the roads were soon forgotten and without too much fuss we rolled into Sandstorm GP.
14:31-14:52 SANDSTORM to SLATER
(17th of 43; 51mins; 1.793km) v (Car 42; 26mins; 1.538kms)
We looked for our support crew and even the GP Sponsor Mark Stephenson who had been seen at scrutineering the day before and to whom we had promised a visit but our searching was in vain. Only on our way out did we find Mark lugging a cool-box back to the main tent so it was a wave and a hoot as we left him smiling on the side of the path. No sight of our support crew who we later discovered were halfway back to Nanyuki.
We followed the road a short way around the small hill and soon enough could see Slater GP across the valley. We had a relatively simple run into the Guard post, the route reasonably clearly marked by 2pm after so many cars had passed this way before us.
14:52-15:38 S&W to KWS
(6th of 8; 46mins; 3.649km) v (Car 25; 47mins, 2.301km)
Our prior night’s planning had suggested that we head to Toolcrafts GP and so gamely we took the straight line out of S&W back into the hills towards it. The bush in this section was thicker than our route before and although the runners found a way, the going was hard and the sands of time were beginning to run faster through the hourglass.
We had some exciting moments, where the little car managed to grind her way through the darkening forest and we entered the dream-like state of just another donga after another. Eventually we made it up and out onto a small hilltop.
After a team consult, it was decided that given the time of day, our sensible option was to hit the road again, and instead of carrying on to Toolcrafts, to give it up and instead get down to the Gauntlet as quickly as we could, to see what was left for us to tackle. On the way down the road we came across our wayward support crew, Julie at the wheel and Tony no doubt providing witty directions / commentary and with lots of hooting and shouting for them to follow us, we carried on to the Gauntlet.
We parked in a car park at the middle section and jumped out to find that we could see little of the obstacle. A helpful official advised us to take it in the direction we sought to end up and so we rolled around to KWS and stood in the white circle looking at a steep drop off and then an almost sheer hill climb that any car would struggle on were it covered in tarmac.
15:38-15:42 KWS to HIGHLANDS
(3rd= of 47; 4mins; 0.22km) v (Car 1; 22mins; 0.219km)
It was agreed that the car needed to be as light as possible so all runners were ejected although one or two looked a little forlorn at the unenviable prospect of having to climb such a steep hill under their own steam.
William (aka The White Rabbit - TWR) had already made it across the gap and was halfway up the hill waving back at us. An official in the GP kindly remarked that the right hand side was by now reduced to dust so better to stick left if we could and with those words ringing in my ears we set off, down the first steepish incline.
Reaching the bottom safely, it was time to lift the revs and let the old girl off the leash. She hit the bottom of the hill under full revs and powered up the first section, clouds of dust billowing behind until I could see the wide eyes of the spectators at the mid-point. The relatively benign part to the left was in fact a serious rock field that normally would have needed runners to help us cross but any loss of power and momentum would be hard to recover from and so there was no option but to plough on.
With the engine roaring and some quick turns the car bounced through the jagged edges and then for a moment stood motionless, like a cartoon with all wheels spinning yet no movement at all. The Falcon was scrabbling at the hillside but going nowhere in a hurry; a couple of quick turns of the wheel to either side somehow enabled the wheels to find a little extra grip and slowly she started to move, laterally at first and then with more traction the old Falcon (in tribute to Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon) gained her feet again and lurched forward. The rest of the hill was mild in comparison and within moments we had arrived at the mid-point of the Gauntlet.
15:42-15:48 HIGHLANDS to AUTO EXPRESS
(8th of 47; 8mins; 0.405km) v (Car 28; 10mins; 0.398km)
TWR soon caught up and was off again, turning occasionally to beckon on like Alice In WonderLand. A moment’s hesitation about the rest of the team was dropped and the car rumbled forward towards another hill, another rocky section and straight up we went, over a small cliff and dropped into the final GP to the excited cheers of our 2-person support crew (Tony and Julie) who were there to wave us in.
We had done the Gauntlet in only 9 mins, which astonished the final GP officials and we ended up 5th in the final rankings for the Gauntlet prize! Who dares to say this car is not competitive!
15:48-16:59 AUTO EXPRESS to COPYCAT
(10th of 42; 1hr 11mins; 2.72km) v (Car 5; 1hr5; 2.443km)
We might have only taken 9 mins but it took a while for the hefty runners to climb the hills behind us but before long they appeared, wheezing and a little red in the face, cursing the fact that they had been left behind but no doubt grateful that they had not been called on to do any heavy lifting along the way!
The officials pointed to a big rock and told us that was the way the Champions had all gone so TWR headed off whilst everyone else got a drink and caught their breath.
Behind the big rock was a steep and rocky slope but once through, the Falcon took the bit between her teeth and headed down the mountain, caution to the wind and navigated a number of steep and rocky fields until finally the driver wrestled back control and stopped her between two very tight and high rocks.
Mike and Tom were needed to break a path, man-hauling huge boulders, one which had been helpfully broken by a previous competitor. We dropped deeper into the mountainside as the bush seemed to grow around and envelop us but somehow there was always the friendly chirp on the radio of our front runner that he had found a way through.
We broke through onto flatter ground eventually, and we crossed a smallish donga (at least by comparison) but found ourselves stuck and TWR without a way through the deep cliff edge he had come up against. Oops, it seemed we would need to turn back for the first time of the whole day which is a testament to our runners ability in sniffing out available options before bringing the car on.
Suddenly the radio cackled to life….Rabbit Leader Mike had been scouting to the left and had found another path and a route through that was possible. So with a spring in the wheels we returned and crossed the Lugger (river) and climbed the other side towards Copycat.
José Luis our Spanish navigator told the runners to hunt out the cut & run path that had been shown on the map but as the rain started to fall it’s existence proved elusive as the Falcon was asked to climb the ridge. As there was seemingly no path on the other side, the runners took the car for a little traverse which proved somewhat hair-raising for those inside. El Navi was heard to comment “I saw you use that tree so as not to roll over” in a somewhat meeker voice than before.
Traversing is one of the hardest things to do and certainly the most dangerous as these lifted 4x4 vehicles can easily roll over, as had been experienced already in last year's event. A number of frightened calls went out and much gratitude for the XXL sized runners who bravely stood on the sides to keep us ship-shape. Eventually the tree-leaning got too much and one protesting branch sliced through the bars and smashed through the top right corner of our windscreen.
Eventually the missing path was discovered but by now the rain was falling steadily, a first in 15 years for our team. Thankfully the worst of the hillsides were conquered but the mixture of tree sap, rain and no windscreen wipers made it very hard to see and so following the path was not at all easy.
Eventually we rolled into a wet and rainy GP. The CopyCat officials were all cowering under cover and were more than a little pleased to see us soon depart for our Final GP with a good luck wish as they scrambled back under cover from the rain.
16:59-17:22 COPYCAT to SATAO
(8th of 8; 23mins; 6.26km) v (Car 53; 63mins; 2.519)
Most went Copycat to TIREWORLD
30 mins left on the clock left little chance for error on the final leg home. The temperature of the car floor was by now surprisingly hot and there was fear that possibly the central diff oil had leaked out so we would not be bush-whacking to get to our final checkpoint. But Navi and Driver also knew that we had already covered around 6kms on the roads so a further 6kms on the roads would break the 10k limit and render the final checkpoint worthless to our cause. Nonetheless the joy of finishing would likely overcome the lost checkpoint disappointment so on we boated...
The rain was really falling by now and we drove on gingerly, trying to find what had surely been a road in earlier hours. Perhaps we could protest that this road should not count having been washed away (!). We made it off the slippery hill and nearly missed the tracks we had followed in the morning to get to the Start, everyone tired and wondering if we still had enough time to get home before the 5:30pm deadline. Our game and much loved support crew were already at Satao but had seen via the RC App that we were still miles away and were feeling somewhat deflated that we would not finish.
Meanwhile we were still trying to make it, finding our precious muddy road blocked by a stricken lorry which we somehow managed to pass. Through the rain it was getting harder to see the route and we did at one point find ourselves on the way to TireWorld in error which was corrected by another helpful official who pointed us back towards Satao.
As we climbed up onto the ridge top, we bemoaned the fact that the rain prevented us from moving the required 5m off track but the water was running across the muddy ground in torrents and with the central diff as hot as hell the sensible decision was to stick to our course and just try and get her home.
When you need a right turn to show up, it is amazing how long it takes for it to happen. We saw the tents and flags of Satao seemingly ages before the bend in the road came and thankfully we slid and slithered down the final metres into base with 8 minutes on the clock to spare. Car 30 had entered the Charge and made it home !!
Our astonished Support Crew came out from under canvas to welcome us and at last we stumbled out of the rust bucket onto terra firma and into each other’s arms for a well deserved team hug. Our arrival was greeted with warmth and applause from all the others who had also made it round and a very special bottle of Moët & Chandon champagne was given to us by Mike Kirkland, as he had promised some 10 hours before.
CONCLUSION
Much can be drawn from the tale above, but what does not perhaps come out in its full glory is the happiness amongst the team members and crew. I have been on teams that finished in the top five yet managed to engage in unpleasant arguments that negated the success. This year not a word was spoken in anger, very little frustration shown and amongst a group of guys who were largely brought together for the first time for this event.
Car 30 ended up in 31st position out of 56 entrants which came as something of a surprise to us given the effort and successes described above. Upon further analysis of the route statistics, the following explanations to our lower than expected position might be forthcoming:
When we look back at each of the sections above, we see that Car 30 was in fact very competitive and finished in the Top Ten for 8 of the 13 sections on the course and in the top 21 for the other 4 sections.
So how did we end up so low down the running order ?
> 20 cars managed to visit all 13 GuardPosts
> Car 30 managed to visit 12 GuardPosts (as did 7 others)
> Car 30 incurred 6.14km road penalties, exceeding the allotted allowance and as a consequence lost a GP so we were classified as having only 11 GPs.
The need to run roads was our defining weakness, albeit that the decision to do so got us back home and gave us a much more exciting end to the Charge. The cause of the road running was a lack of time which was largely caused by mechanical failure, particularly between Solex - Hardi which we did in a shorter distance than any of the others but it took us 2hrs 25 mins of which ±60% was spent on the ground fixing fuel lines.
So our Charge was done for another year. We drank champagne and ate delicious bitings before emerging into a watery skyline with a full rainbow across the Satao GP.
In order to take part, we needed to meet our minimum commitment to raise $15,000 for Rhino Ark. This was only achieved thanks to the amazing generosity of many private individuals (Joss Taylor special mention) and the following corporate donors: Fred Black Insurance, Carr Steyner & Gitau, Excel Chemicals, Nairobi Bottlers, RABO Bank, Bolloré, Mzuri Sweets, Liquid Telecom and TaxWise.
