06/11/2008 by GurviR.

Mix seven teams of ex-pat Kenyan Bushboys, a bunch of gritty Yorkshire off-roaders, some local school children and their teacher and various other wacky teams and let them loose in the wonderful environment of Pippingford Park in East Sussex for the day and it is perhaps inevitable that a good time will be had by all. Add a plentiful supply of mud, some beautiful early autumn weather to chase away the recent rains and enthusiastic bands of spectators and it is hardly surprising that most teams had a smile on their faces most of the time, even when lost on the navigation routes!
Just over £12,000 was raised by the event which was won by Alan Wormald, who had to cope with a failing crankshaft sensor on his Mercedes G-Wagen aka The Green Sinking Machine, and swapped it for a Discovery half way through the day. Rashminder Bhabra was second in his impressive Toyota Landcruiser Special which also won the Tiger Lines from Mark Edwards in his Suzuki SJ410.

Two teams were particularly successful with their fund raising – Kit Kaberry (Land Rover 90), was second in both the overall fund raising stakes and the Victor Ludorum for the combination of performance in the UK Rhino Charge and money sponsored, only being beaten in both by Sachin Patel in his massive Nissan Patrol with an equally massive sponsorship fund.

Selone Chadha and her team of Bushgirls filled their Landcruiser with plenty of noise but lacked navigational sophistication, asking the clerk of the course, Brian Hartley, where they were every time they saw him to earn the Where the “F” are We prize. As Sachin Patel ended up comprehensively stuck up to his axles in the middle of the Tiger Line, having struggled to avoid all the trees at Pippingford in his Patrol on steroids, and lost half his points by failing to finish on time, he ended up with the Spirit of the Event award by way of consolation as he and his team were very much up for every challenge that was thrown at them. Perhaps a smaller 4×4 might be better suited to UK conditions next year?

The enthusiasm for the UK Charge itself and for raising funds for Rhino Ark made this year’s event one of the best for a long time with a tremendous atmosphere throughout the day which carried over into the prize-giving. We would like to thank all the teams, their supporters and the marshals for making the event so memorable.

Bushboys/girls raised a whopping £3,500 towards Rhino Ark.

Few of us will be off to Kenya at end of May to tackle the real Rhino Charge http://www.rhinoark.org/  for details. Anyone interested in going to spectate, contact Gurvir. Accomodatin etc can all be arrangd.

results here: http://www.rhinoark.org/RC-UK2008/rcuk2008.htm

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28/08/2007 by GurviR.

Founded in 1988, Rhino Ark’s mission is to finance and materially support the building of an electrified fence around both the Aberdares National Park and the demarcated forestry areas of the Aberdares Conservation Area in Kenya. At the same time the charity is trying to mobilise relevant national and international stakeholders towards a joint initiative to protect and conserve the Aberdares habit, prevent any illegal exploitation of the forest habitat and promote the sustainable use of forest products for the benefit of present and future generations. The building of the fence also provides safety for the local people who are in constant threat from the wild life due to the lack of territorial boundaries.

By doing so Rhino Ark seeks to protect the interests of the Black Rhino, preserve the valuable eco-system of the Aberdares Mountain Range, conserve the resources of one of Kenya’s most important indigenous forests and resolve the conflicts that exist between humans and wildlife that co-habit the area.

To learn more about the activities, history and importance of the charity please visit the extremely informative website www.rhinoark.org

The event:

Rhino Ark UK are delighted to announce that this year’s UK Rhino Charge charity 4×4 event will be held on Sunday 16th September at the traditional venue of Pippingford Park, Wych Cross, East Sussex.

The vehicle and crew navigate around the site, of which a map will be provided. Crews will need to navigate to a number of locations at which a variety of secret special tasks will have to be performed for which points are accrued towards a final total. These tasks will require a range of skills based around off-roading but with problem solving, teamwork, navigation, a bit of lateral thinking and common sense all playing an important part.

The Team:
Bushboys Inc.

We are preparing two Land cruisers. One is a standard Land cruiser series 80 with mud grip tyres, a factory fitted winch, lockers and a snorkel. The second is our project, a 1970s series 40 land cruiser hybrid built on an 80 series engine, chassis and axles. The team need to raise a minimum of £400 target for each car for the charity as this is part of the entry requirements, but require your help and support to raise as much as we can towards the Rhino Ark fund.Most importantly the event is an international event that takes place in the UK, US and Kenya every year to raise money for the Rhino Ark fund.Please use the just giving link below to help raise funds for the Rhino Ark charity. Let us do our bit for conservation! http://www.justgiving.com/bushboys

Additional information on Rhino Ark, Rhino Charge, picture galleries of the Kenyan & UK event etc. etc. on www.rhinoark.org

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