What is the Elephant Charge?

The Elephant Charge challenges teams of cars and motorbikes to complete a gruelling course through the Zambian bush. The event is held at a different location each year over Zambia's Independence weekend in late October.

The winning team is the one that completes a course of nine checkpoints in the shortest distance possible. Each team must find their own route between the checkpoints through valleys, over ridges and up escarpments in a trial of driving, navigating and endurance.

The Elephant Charge is proud to have been inspired by the Rhino Charge in Kenya.

The Rhino Charge has raised millions of dollars for the Rhino Ark Foundation and the Aberdares National Park since its launch in 1989.

Teams
Elephant Charge accepts entries in one of two classess: car or motorbike. Car teams consist of a vehicle with beween two and six passengers, while motorbike teams comprise of three to four bikes and riders.

Each team must designate a navigator who is issued with maps and checkpoint cards before the race. Each team hopes that their navigator knows which way up to hold the map, their left from their right, and how to switch on the GPS.

Car teams designate a driver who is responsible for all the driving during the charge - and all of the blame afterwards.

The rest of the team are runners. The runners scout through the bush for the shortest route that can be taken but which gets the team to the finish in one piece.








The Charge Site
The exact location of the Elephant Charge is a carefully guarded secret until the day before the competition.

Teams meet for sign-in and vehicle scruitineering on the day before the race and are given directions to get to the camp site and Charge HQ.
Maps and Route Planning
Maps are issued to teams on the evening before the race. The maps show the location and GPS coordinates of each of the nine checkpoints. Each team is also given - by random draw - a starting checkpoint.

Teams study their maps the evening before the race and pick their intended route, aiming for the shortest possible distance across the course while avoiding the chasms, peaks and their own short-comings.

During the race, the teams must visit each of the nine checkpoints before returing to their starting checkpoint. Each team can visit the nine checkpoints in any order and any direction they like.
Distance, Time and Speed
The Elephant Charge is about covering the terrain in the shortest possible distance and there are no prizes for speed. However, the race does have a time limit and each team must return to their starting checkpoint by 2pm on race day, having completed the course, to be considered for the honours.

Each team must make their own assessment of the time their chosen route will take and adjust their plansduring the race for any setbacks, breakdowns or ravines that they had thought were highways.

There are bush roads cut to each of the checkpoints and these are marked on the competitors maps. These roads never give the shortest distance but teams can use them if they are running short of time.
Tsetses and Gauntlets
Three of the checkpoints on the course are designated as the Gauntlet. These checkpoints are close together and include some extreme terrain. The Gauntlet allows the spectators to get close to the action and the teams to show off their abilities.

When the final results are calculated, each team's distance through the Gauntlet checkpoints is multiplied by three. This means it is especially important that teams aim for the shortest distance possible through the Gauntlet as it has a greater impact on their overall result.

There are two Tsetse Lines on the couse which teams can decide to attempt. Each Tsetse Line is between two checkpoints where the shortest distance would be extremely challenging. There is a special prize for the shortest distance achieved on each Tsetse Line.