Indonesia to host Camel Trophy again
Indonesia to host Camel Trophy again
JAKARTA (JP): The 17th Camel Trophy adventure expedition will be held in Kalimantan, Indonesia's largest island, and the world's third largest island, from April. 1 to April. 22.
The expedition will start in Balikpapan, the capital city of East Kalimantan, and wind up in Pontianak, West Kalimantan's capital city, crossing a distance of around 1,850 kilometers and passing through about 50 logging concessions.
Twenty drivers and twenty co-drivers from twenty countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Turkey and South Africa, will take part.
Camel Trophy is a competitive adventure for amateur drivers around the world. Its first outing crossed the Amazon in 1980.
Indonesia has been home for the adventure three times: in 1981 (Medan in North Sumatra to Jambi), in 1985 (Samarinda to Balikpapan in East Kalimantan) and in 1988 (Manado in North Sulawesi to Ujung Pandang in South Sulawesi).
Iain Chapman, director of Worldwide Brands. Inc., a major sponsor of the event together with LandRover, told reporters here yesterday that this year's expedition is going to be very difficult because while it runs from east to west, it will have to negotiate 11 major river running from north to south.
Nick Masson, president of Worldwide Brands, Inc. said that "for the sake of the environment, we limit the participation to 20 teams only, each team representing a country."
Masson said that to ensure minimal or no environmental impact the route will follow existing tracks and will never touch the primeval forests.
Declining to reveal how much Worldwide Brands spends on the expedition, Masson told reporters that participating teams, once they are declared eligible for the expedition, were not required to pay anything.
"There were national selections in each of the participating countries a year ago. Final selections were then made in Spain over four days," Masson said.
Peter Ansell, one of the organizers, said that preparations started 18 months before the actual event began. The expedition will include two doctors, one ambulance and two rafts. (arf)