Not so long ago, the camels were ridden by small boys, but not surprisingly an inquiry found that the children were not safe and so Robots were introduced.

Of course there were extenuating circumstances but I'll not go down that road.

They are strapped to the camels back and when the race begins there is a second race…. 100's of vehicles with owners wielding remote controls race around the track urging their camels on with remote controlled whips.

You take your life in your hands when you enter that crowd I can assure you. Its a great adventure.

Of course there are no women there, only us…. it's a mans world and surprising everyone is welcoming, very friendly and they chatted to us with familiarity and we were urged to capture the event on film.

"Take this photo of my friend, he's handsome"  said one Emirate man, so I did.

In the waiting yard at the beginning of the track their were 100's of camels sitting on their knees…. (its the only way they sit) and as I mentioned in a previous post it was like being in a documentary.

Grouped, they await their time to race.

There was an air of expectancy…

Everyone watched as the camels were bought up to the line… sometimes quite unceremoniously.

Even the handlers saw the end of a cane from the police !!!

The camels don't often oblige by standing in line very often..!!!

The handlers have on helmets and jackets… but it's no protection from a camel in full flight.

We saw a few accidents but I didn't photograph them it just didn't seem right.

Suddenly the green tarp in front of the camels goes up, the handlers run in every direction.

You can see how dangerous it is…

The camels took off at a pace and cars went past in a blur of skids and dust.

There's more to come, but we have to catch a plane right now to Kruger National Park… hopefully we have internet in our 5 star tents… you never know.