Riding a Camel

                                      Not the same as riding a horse

     When we were in Alice Springs in the Australian Outback, to break up the long ride, we stopped at a camel farm where I learned Australia is the largest producer of camels in the world, and they are exported all over the globe.

    My travel  buddy and I are always ready to try anything new, so we decided to take a camel ride. Even if either of was an equestrian, this would be a different experience. The animal handler gave us advice on what to expect when the camel got up or down.

    For easy mounting the camel was lying down. We each took a seat on a double saddle. A camel stands on his hind legs first giving one a slight thrust forward, but nothing to get excited or shout about.

    One does not bounce in the saddle like on a horse. The ride was a rather bumpy one and we agreed that an all-day ride on a camel would seem very long.

    Back in the corral the camel went down on command, The fore-legs go down first creating a sizable jolt that produced a spontaneous, simultaneous whoop from both of us. However, we did manage to survive that forward thrust and stayed in the saddle. The hind legs going down was tame in comparison.

    As  I wandered into the museum I remarked  that it  had been a different kind of ride but a fun experience.

    A couple years later I rode a camel at a local ranch, but that time boarded the camel from a platform which was easier and the camel was a single hump one. That ride reconfirmed that I would not want to ride a camel all day long. They make wonderful pack animals and I’m willing to leave it at that!