CAMEL TROPHY: The Spirit of Overlanding

What all of these places have in common, beyond their awe-inspiring natural beauty, is a mere snapshot of some of the far-flung destinations traversed during the legendary off-road competition, Camel Trophy. The Camel Trophy was essentially an open-source overlanding competition, whereby individuals from competing countries could enter for the chance to push off-road vehicles — and, by extension, themselves — into the extreme, mud-saturated, water-logged nooks of the world. Its global reach and country-designated teams eventually led it to be nicknamed “the Olympics of 4x4”: a muddier, high-octane version where both human and machine united for the gold. 

What made the Camel Trophy so interesting — or perhaps a little more unhinged, depending on how you viewed it — was that it wasn’t populated by professional drivers, but rather amateurs with a penchant for mud-induced adrenaline. In fact, if you had a professional racing license you were exempt from entry. That wasn’t to say the entry requirements were low, not by any means; each contestant had to go through a rigorous selection process, typically consisting of gruelling tasks ranging from orienteering to 4x4 driving in extreme local terrains — hinting at the psychophysical endurance battle that lay ahead. As a result, while the Camel Trophy was open to the public, the selection methods meant that those entering were more than capable of dealing with the waist-high mud, enveloping jungle and extreme temperatures they’d face. 

While the Camel Trophy was undoubtedly a global affair, both in its competitors and the corners of the earth it became immersed in, its origin story was much more local. As the name implies, the Camel Trophy was concocted as part of a marketing campaign for its namesake cigarette company, specifically an advertising agency located in West Germany. Its first year consisted of three German teams at the helm of Jeep CJ5s, which were reworks of Ford U50s that were locally built in Brazil for the voyage. The journey was far from smooth running, the dense, impenetrable jungle and jagged terrain chipping away at each vehicle as the miles passed, leaving two to limp their way to the finish line and another to meet its demise along the way. Still, despite this, the hearts and minds of people around the globe were captured, including Land Rover who decided to sponsor the overlanding competition from its second year with a fleet of custom Range Rover V8s. 

It was a relationship that lasted until 1998, wherein several Land Rover icons were commissioned as expedition vehicles: Ranger Rovers, Series IIIs, Defender 90s, Defender 110s, Discoveries and Freelanders. Each one was painted in that now-iconic yellow colour scheme and rigged out with snorkels, bull bars, spotlights, winches — all the armour plating needed to withstand the mud-engulfed hell they’d be put through. But this was what truly made the Camel Trophy what it was, witnessing Land Rovers lopsided in mud; suspended in mid-air by helicopters; half submerged in murky, alligator-infested water — ultimately stripping what Land Rover stands for back to its very essence: to explore unfrequented terrain, no matter how difficult the conditions. Of course, the notoriety of the competition worked excellently in marketing the cigarette company through not just the striking yellow, Camel Trophy-branded vehicles, but also in demonstrating the capabilities of Land Rover. Here you had a fleet of vehicles being continuously pushed to a razor’s edge through heat, cold, mud, rain, jungle, sand — whatever was thrown at them. 

But the Camel Trophy had evolved into something much more than just four-wheel-drive ruggedness, with teams of researchers using the rare opportunity to visit remote destinations to conduct eco and geological surveys, help deliver supplies and also build bridges and wells. Admittedly, these efforts are somewhat paradoxical with hulking, combustion engine 4x4s chugging away through unspoilt corners of the globe, so perhaps an element of this was offsetting. In any case, it wasn’t just the overall purpose of the Camel Trophy that evolved, but the scope of the overlanding competition’s requirements, too, where competitors were given a series of “special tasks” including orienteering, kayaking and mountain biking. This notion of evolvement and change, however, would eventually signal the end of the Camel Trophy’s two-decade-spanning run, with 2000’s boat-only event marking a somewhat uninspiring finale and signifying the end of Land Rover’s involvement. This wasn’t before the Camel Trophy name had made a significant impact globally, however, catapulting overlanding into the mainstream consciousness and showcasing what could be achieved with grit, determination and a Land Rover at your disposal. 

Illustrated by Josh Aitken (@jjoshaitken).