Friday, Jan 27, 2017

Dubai: A group of male and female riders who set off on a weeklong camel trek headed back to Dubai after experiencing what they described as a “one-in-a-lifetime journey”.

Despite experiencing the challenges of life in the desert of the UAE midway through their journey, the 13 members of the third edition of ‘Camel Trek’, organised and supervised by the Hamdan Bin Mohammad Heritage Centre (HHC), were in high spirits as they moved towards the end of the expedition and returned to Heritage Village at Global Village at 3.30pm on Friday.

The caravan comprised camel riding enthusiasts from Oman, the United States, Egypt, France, the United Kingdom and the UAE, who were selected for the ‘Camel Trek’ after expressing interest in following the footsteps of people who lived in the desert. They underwent an intensive training programme by the organisers HHC.

For most of them, it was a fascinating once-in-a-lifetime experience of travelling back through time, of leading a nomadic lifestyle in the changing landscape of the desert and experiencing the unique Arabian hospitality.

After four days on the trail, there were many sore legs and tired bodies as they covered a distance of nearly 50 kilometres each day. But they were not complaining.

Leader of the convoy Khalifa Bin Sabeen praised the team spirit, discipline and sense of camaraderie displayed by the group of Emiratis and expatriates.

“At the beginning, there were certain challenges. People were not used to the camels ... no matter how you train them, until they get control of the camel to know them because in training you don’t do for continuous long hours. But they did everything asked of them, even when they were assigned different tasks at the camp,” said Sabeen, hailing from a family which owns camels.

Speaking about the conditions they experienced during the trek, he said: “The second day was a bit windy and cloudy but it was fine. Everyday, they woke up early, had a good breakfast and stopped for a break of an hour to have some fruits because they couldn’t have heavy food while riding.”

He said it was very important for a convoy to go in one line and not ride out of step. “They adhered to this discipline of following the leader. They also now know how to take care of their own camel, saddle it and feed it. They know everything about the camels,” said Sabeen.

Among the group was a French woman, Anne-Laure Laine, who thrived in the adventure of a lifetime.

“I did part of the trip last year. It was really an amazing experience to embrace the culture and tradition of the UAE. That’s why I decided to do it and I got the opportunity to do it this year,” said Anne who has immersed herself in the Arabian lifestyle.

“We were learning about how people lived back at the time when there wasn’t civilisation like now. How to eat with my hands. Guys taught me some Arabic. It was fun as we were sitting around the fire most of the time to have dinner,” said Anne, a restaurant manager, who was happy to shut herself away from the outside world in the middle of the desert.

Staff Report

Gulf News 2017. All rights reserved.