Monarto Zoo camel rides: Lisa experiences some of this old desert travel in the Murraylands region of South Australia

What was once cropping country on the plains east of Adelaide is now a one thousand-hectare open-range sanctuary where the wilds of Africa roam the South Australian bush.

Welcome to Monarto Zoological Park. Just 70 kilometres or a 45-minute drive up the South Eastern Freeway, Monarto is the ideal day trip. Once you get here, there are lots of different ways to explore the tracks around the enclosures. You can take a bus tour, wonder around on foot, or book a trek with a volunteer guide.

Now there's a different way to experience the wonderful wide-open spaces on your own four-legged cruiser - on top of a camel. Graham Boothby, of the Inland Camel Company has three camels at Monarto and offer a truly unique way of getting around.

They never seem to look particularly happy - but Graham reckons that's just their normal disposition. Soon we're loaded up and slowly and gently picking our way along the tracks through the mallee scrub. It's a relaxing ride on a very odd looking creature - but what these guys lack in beauty they make up for in efficiency.

Graham Boothby, Inland Camel Company: "Given the worst conditions if it's hot weather and the camels are working hard and on dry feed they can still go for a week to ten days without a drink. But after that they need a good drink to make up. And they might then drink 150 litres in a couple of days."

The camels are incredibly quiet, which means you can get quite close to the other animals. We emerge from the bush for our first close encounter with some of Monarto's non-native residents - the Southern White Rhinos which are quite content to take things slowly in their boma. From high up on the camels you can see over the fence into the enclosure.

The white rhino is the second largest land mammal after the elephant and the baby is proof of Monarto's successful breeding program.

Graham Boothby, Inland Camel Company: "They were down to 100 animals in the 19th century and now numbers have built up to I think 13 or 14 thousand which is a credit to conservation. So it shows things can go to the brink like that can recover and of course, that's what Monarto is all about - saving creatures from extinction."

Back on the track and the highlight of our trek - a meeting with one of the zoo's most popular attractions - the cheetahs. Even though they've been hand raised it's clear these guys haven't lost their hunting instincts. As they keep tabs on our progress I can't help wondering if they see us as 'meals on legs'.

Thankfully, the cheetahs are now quite blasé about us and our unusual form of transport with the snack courtesy of the keeper proving far more interesting.

Again, Monarto has a wonderful track record having bred nine cubs in captivity. It's estimated that fewer than 10-thousand cheetahs are left in the world with about 3-thousand in captivity. The fastest land animal, they can reach speeds of nearly one hundred kilometres an hour so it's reassuring that we're separated by a wire fence! For Graham, this is all in a day's work and his interest in conservation helps explain his fascination with the one-humped dromedary.

Graham Boothby, Inland Camel Company: "Really I was looking for an alternative, because to me, motor cars are just a luxury we can't afford - look at the state of the atmosphere now. So that was the starting point plus I really enjoy working animals and it's a way I can connect with nature - I see that as an important thing for people to do."

But Graham also sounds a warning about his preferred form of transport. The feral descendants of the camels originally brought in by Thomas Elder and Samual Stuckey in the 1860s have adapted to the Aussie bush too well they now number one million.

Graham Boothby, Inland Camel Company: "They really are thriving up there. I mean there were a few - probably tens of thousands released in the 1920s, 1930s and from that small population they've built up to perhaps one million. And given conditions they will double their population in eight years so that's a scary statistic and I'd argue that if they are not a problem now they will be soon."

In the meantime, Graham keeps Riegel and his mates well under control. The only downside for us is a sore backside … but that's tempered by another wonderful experience at Monarto. Graham runs 1-hour camel treks on weekdays only - you need to book at least a week ahead and you'll need to wear long trousers and sturdy shoes. Short rides are available at the Visitor Centre on weekends and during school holidays. For details or to book call Graham on 0427 326 133 If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au

Monarto Zoo Camel Rides
Monarto Zoo
Princes Highway
Monarto
Bookings 0427 326133
www.monartozp.com.au

1 Hr trek
Adult $45 Child $25
Weekdays only
Bookings essential

Short rides on weekends, school holidays $5

Published 16th November 2008