'THE' long awaited Camel Safari

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Geo: 26.9118, 70.9127

As some of you know I have wanted to go on a camel safari for a very long time. It has finally happened and I am happy to say - been there done that!

This morning we headed out on a camel safari. We spent the better part of the day riding camels. Rocket, Richard's camel is a racing camel and I had Raj – she was just a run of the mill camel but we got along well. Overall, it was quite fun but as the hours went on, we were very glad we did not bike yesterday. Our butts were really feeling it! We had a very long, leisurely stop for lunch. We relaxed and the camels wandered. The camel drivers cooked lunch. After eating and waiting for the camels to be rounded up we were off again. We were joined in the afternoon by a young couple from Miami – Anthony and Caroline. It was nice to have the company as the camel drivers were not particularly chatty. We rode for another couple of hours and then stopped for the night at an area with low sand dunes. The Thar desert is not really sandy. It is more of a scrub, dry landscape but there are areas where the winds and slope of the ground do collect enough sand to create dunes. We had our dunes all to ourselves which is a side benefit of going through Shahi Palace for this safari. Other safari's go to dunes that are more accessible and therefore a lot more people. We lounged around. Watched desert beetles make tracks in the sand had dinner and then bedded down for the night. The sky was intense with stars – the milky was really milky! I had a bad night – really, really bad heart burn. I think it was the spices in the tea. So I sat up most of the night. By early morning things had settled down so I probably got about 2 hours of sleep. Once up and around I felt fine except for very achy legs and very sore butt. Not looking forward to getting back on Raj.

After breakfast we once again waited for camels to be rounded up – it's amazing how far they wander even though they are hobbled. Saddled up and on our way again. The 1 ½ - 2 hour ride to the jeep couldn't go fast enough. We are very happy we did this but would suggest anyone who hasn't been on a horse regularly prior to signing up for this, to take the shorted ½ day/overnight/1/2 day version. It would be a lot easier on the old bod!!

Once back in Jaisalmer we showered and lounged around on the roof top of the Shahi Palace until it was time to go catch our train to Jodhpur.

Our train to Jodhpur left at 5:15pm and arrived in Jodhpur, right on time, at 10:20pm. Our hotel – Devi Bhawan – picked us up.

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Photos

Richard on Rocket
Rocket is a racing camel. The camel driver - walking ahead - has riden him to victory in the annual races during the camel festival held every year in Jaisalmer.