Rhino Charge 2007 held on Saturday (2 June 2007) at Kinyach in Kerio Valley, raised a record ksh 68,676,619 ( over USD one million).

This beats last year’s record of ksh 57.6 million by over ksh 11 million (usd 164,179) and yet again by far the highest for any Rhino Charge event.
It represents a 19% increase over last year.

The event was won by veteran rally ace Ian Duncan in Car 2, a modified Toyota Land Cruiser scoring 58.167 kms over all 13 guard posts.
A measure of the toughness of the course this year showed in Duncan’s results – 13.467 kms over minimum distance of 44.7km.. Duncan has won the event twice before.

The Victor Ludorum was won for the fifth successive year by Car 5 -a modified Range Rover Buggy of Alan McKittrick /Bruce Knight/ John Trundell/ Nick Hutchinson which completed the course with a distance of 63.83 kms and raising a record ksh 9,275,754

The Victor Ludorum Trophy is made to an entrant who has achieved the shortest discounted distance calculated by discounting the actual corrected distance travelled at the rate of 2 centimetres per shilling of sponsorship raised. Mckittrick’s car scored a negative 121.68km!

Only 14 of the 59 cars completed the full course of this year’s Rhino Charge. However every entrant is positioned in the results on a system of guard posts completed so that every fund raiser entrant is recognized as a Rhino Charger.

Set in the stony hills of Kinyach the course was pitted with hidden 'luggas' and thick thorny bush. Rain fell the night before and added some muddy sections in the deep gullies and streams..

Second overall was TM/AM’s Mahesh Bhatti in Car No.7 a Land Rover 90 scoring 62.39 kms over all the 13 guard posts. Bhatti’s position was his best in many years of competing.

Second highest sponsorship came from Mike and Sarah Higgins who raised ksh. 5,260,577 in Car No.22 a Lada Niva Station Wagon. The Higgins have competed in every Rhino Charge event since it started 19 years ago.

The third highest cash sponsorship of Shs.3,145,885 was raised by the Hog Charge team of Mark Tilbury in Car No. 35 a Range Rover.
Both these veteran entrants and major fund raisers were put out of the event by mechanical problems.

Tiger Line 1 was won by Car 42 of Neil McRae / Will and Mikey Carr-Hartley/ Francombe/ Evans /Larby, a Range Rover Buggy which covered a distance of 7.594 km followed by Sean Avery in Car No 38 - Land Rover 88 Hybrid which covered it in 7.766kms. Third was Rob Collinge in Car No 33 a Range Rover Pick up with 8.827 kms.

Tiger Line 2 was again won by Neil McRae’s Car 42 team covering a distance of 2.907 kms. Second position went to Good Year’s Jacques Nell/ Team South Africa in Car No 31 a Range Rover J8 which covered it in 2.91 kms. In third place was Eric Goss/Danish Team in Car15 a Toyota Land Cruiser FJ 42 covering 2.917 kms

Again Good Year’s Jacques Nell Car 31 and Alan McKittrick Car 5 shared top position in the Gauntlet by covering a distance of 0.583 km.

The Coupe Des Dames went again to Rhino Rouge Team of Tanya Church in Car 17 which came fifth in the rugged Gauntlet section with a distance of 0.591 km. Tanya’s team of Julie Church, Mary Njonjo, Helle Sajer Hansen, Gemma Lawrence and driver Colleen Outram raised the sixth highest funds with ksh 2.549 million.

Speaking during the function Guest of Honour, Director of Kenya Wildlife Service Mr. Julius Kipng’etich thanked Rhino Ark’s achievements. He said it was an example of a ‘most productive’ public/private partnership with KWS, government and Aberdare communities.

He said the government had recognized the work of Rhino Ark. Besides having contributed Shs.60 million for fence line materials in this financial year, KWS has requested a further fund allocation for materials in the 2007/08 Budget being submitted to Parliament this month.

The support funding anticipated will begin to redress the balance of funds raised by Rhino Ark over the past 19 years, thus reflecting government’s commitment to the Aberdare fence project. It is expected that with such funding support the remaining 86 kms of the 400 km fence line will be completed next year.

The Rhino Charge raffle to assist the fund raise with over 100 prizes was extremely successful. The main prize - a two return air ticket to Paris donated by Kenya Airways with three nights on the executive floor of Paris Airport Hilton and three nights at Hilton Arc de Triomph, Paris donated by Hilton Kenya was won by donors to Mike and Sarah Higgins in Car 22.

Second prize two return tickets to Maasai Mara donated by Safarilink, 2 nights for two full board at Cottars Mara 1920s Camp and a balloon ride for 2 from the Keekorok base donated by Balloon Safaris was also won by donors to Mike and Sarah Higgins’ Car 22.

The coveted Michael Werikhe Perpetual Trophy donated by the East African Wildlife Society (EAWLS) was awarded to the Bongo Surveillance Community Team which monitors the endangered Bongo species in the Aberdares; and for their success in locating other herds in various indigenous forests in Mount Kenya, the Mau and Mt Eburru.
This award is only announced by the Rhino Charge Committee at the event but is presented at a later date by EAWLS.

Money raised during the Rhino Charge goes towards the fencing of the Aberdare Conservation Area and National Park spearheaded by Rhino Ark Charitable Trust.