Riding camels in the Sahara Desert near Douz Tunisia Jan 2013

Riding camels in the Sahara Desert

Heather and I spent a week's holiday travelling around southern Tunisia.  We flew into Enfiddha Airport and used Sousse as a base. Then by train, louage, taxi, 4x4 vehicle and shanks pony we toured around the tunisian countryside.

A 10 minute drive outside Douz in southern Tunisia, you'll find Dawar Salem, where you can ride camels, quad bikes, horses and start your trip across the desert.

This was the first time either my wife Heather or I had ridden a camel.

Despite some reservations, we couldn't visit the Sahara Desert and turn down an opportunity to have a go. I had read before our trip that camels used for tourists can be in poor health.  I did check on the Internet what weight camels can carry as I am a big fellow.  I was reassured that a camel can safely carry double my weight.

Tunisian camels in the Sahara Desert

Our camels looked well, from what we could see and judge.  My wife knows horses and although not the same, we judged the camels were healthy and happy enough. Our ride was only an hour long and the camels had a break and rest half way through.

All in all we had a great camel ride in the desert, a novel experience.

By the way Tunisia is written this way in arabic;  تونس

Heather and I flew to Enfiddah in Tunisia using Thomson Flights from Manchester Airport.  The videos in our blog posts are filmed using a Kodak Zi10 PlayTouch personal video recorder.

Heather and I thank you for watching this video. Take a look at more of our original video content: video diaries, travel videos, video interviews & reportage on our YouTube channel: Life In Another Town

Do you have some community news from around the Ormskirk area to share or a story to tell? Yes!

Please contact Life In Another Town

HD Douz livestock market by the Sahara Desert Tunisia

The Douz livestock market on the edge of the Sahara Desert in Tunisia.

During our recent holiday to Tunisia, Heather and I visited Douz in southern Tunisia.  Douz is knows as the door to the sahara desert.

This weely market in Douz southern Tunisia is full of smells, sights and sound alien to a tourist from northern europe, probably used to only seeing such animals grazing quietly in a green field.  For visitors from Northern Europe a Tunisian livestock market can be a novel and interesting experience. 

The Douz livestock market in Tunisia

A a child I remember going to several livestock markets, seeing sheep, cows and pigs gathered together in metal pens.  This has changed though in today's Britain. According to an article, from several years ago, I found on a BBC news website there are less than 200 markets in Britain, compared to a peak at the time of the Second World War of 800.

Many livestock markets have never recovered after being temporarily closed during the 2001 foot-and-mouth crisis. Some never re-opened.  The reduction is also being blamed on a general decline in agriculture and because the land in town centres, where many markets are based, is ripe for development. تونس

Heather and I flew to Enfiddah in Tunisia using Thomson Flights from Manchester Airport.  The videos in our blog posts are filmed using a Kodak Zi10 PlayTouch personal video recorder.

Heather and I thank you for watching this video. Take a look at more of our original video content: video diaries, travel videos, video interviews & reportage on our YouTube channel: Life In Another Town

Do you have some community news from around the Ormskirk area to share or a story to tell? Yes!

Please contact Life In Another Town