Elephant Charge 2016

A team tackles the rocky terrain of the Gauntlet drowning in the riverThe Bushtracks team winches through the bush before

By: Sam Tett Photos: The Elephant Charge

It is Friday 4pm on a hot, dry October afternoon. We’ve just been given a detailed 20m-contoured map from circa 1965. It shows ten checkpoints and some interesting contours over an area of bush approximately 10km x 10km straddling the Chongwe River. We must complete all 10 checkpoints in the shortest distance possible if we are to stand a chance of winning.

The following morning at dawn, we make our way to our starting checkpoint. We are feeling brave and our vehicle, a 1985 Toyota FJ45 Landcruiser, is ready. The Warthog, as it is known, was the first rhino game-viewing vehicle we purchased second-hand 20 years ago when we started Bushtracks Africa, the tour operating company we run from Livingstone. We have modified the car for the Elephant Charge quite considerably in the hope that our team, Bushtracks, will make it round the challenging course.

Our starting checkpoint is on the summit of a 1,180m hill close to the Gauntlet, a trio of checkpoints that zigzag over the Chongwe River. A sign saying DANGER: Potentially Crocodiles and Bilharzia reminds us of where we are. The line we take here is essential as distances are tripled in the Gauntlet. Thus before we start, we must decide whether to approach the 10 checkpoints anti-clockwise, and do the Gauntlet first while everyone is fresh and strong, or clockwise, meaning we’ll do it later in the day when a path has been beaten down by other vehicles. We decide to tackle the Gauntlet first. We head straight towards the river, hitting some vertical drop-offs en route before arriving at the riverbed at 860m. Our plan is to drive up the rocky riverbed to our first checkpoint through the deepest channel, confident our engine is waterproof and the snorkel will do its job through chest-deep water. But, just as we are half way across, our left wheel falls into a soft spot. The car lists, momentarily floats, then sinks to the left. The top of the windscreen is now the only thing showing above the water.

We winch out of the river and drain the engine. It splutters bravely to life for a couple of turns then dies. For us, that is the end of Elephant Charge 2016. We will have to wait till next year – and a new engine – before we can try again. But we have loved every minute of it.

For more information please visit www.elephantcharge.org

The Bushtracks team is submerged in the Chongwe River