Port Stephens continued, camel rides on the beach

Although the wind had got up and the sand was swirling around everywhere the camels didn’t seem to care. Sat waiting patiently in line they hardly stirred as I ventured across to the waiting guides to join the first tour of the day for Oakfield Ranch Camel Rides.

The camels weren’t the slightest bothered about the wind blowing sand into their faces

Situated at the gorgeous Birubi Beach at Anna Bay this crew get excellent reviews. They meet you at the lower car park - keep driving around and you will find it I promise and take cash from you when you pull up. Apparently, you cannot book in advance and several people have mentioned that they do get big queues on busy days. Mornings are best for quieter options, and I was fortunate enough to just walk up. The team were super friendly inviting me to pick my own helmet (worn for safety, trust me you feel pretty high when seated on the back of a camel) and say G’day to the camels.

I was told that the second camel in line was the chap to pat, obviously more tolerant of us human folk than his fellow gang members. The others seemed pretty cruisy, but I followed instructions and didn’t risk finding out how they felt about a head scrub! As more folk turned up and were kitted out, we had a brief lesson where our guide taught us how to get on and off the camel safely. It was then time to do what we’d all come down for and climb aboard and go for a camel ride.

My camel was first in line and leader of the pack. I hoisted myself on to his back with a little help from the knee of my guide (I was immensely grateful, and I just hope I wasn’t too heavy). My camel, Jaffa, seemed so laid back I did wonder if he was going to bother to get up. But with a bit of encouragement from our guide Mark he slowly rose to his feet. I had to lean back and hold on tight otherwise as he rose, I was in danger of toppling over his head! Once safely upright I gave Jaffa a quick stroke. His fur was fluffier and softer than I expected and there was certainly no legendary camel spitting going on. More just a gentle willingness to stroll slowly over the soft sand on a trip he has probably done many times before.

As we made our way across the sand dunes, I was able to turn around and see the trail of camels following Jaffa. It was quite a sight to behold with about 15 camels all calmly following one another with their heads raised.

The ride in total takes about 30 minutes but it’s a fun time. Heading down the beach to the sea is quite surreal. Apparently on some trips dolphins are spotted from the shoreline. I had to be content to sit back, relax and watch as Jaffa cooled his legs in the shallow sea water. He wandered through the waves without a care in the world. Luckily, he didn’t decide to go in deep for a swim, so I managed to stay dry! Eventually we wandered away from the seashore and back across the sand to our original starting point. Dismounting Jaffa was almost as much fun as getting on him, I had to try to push myself over his side without falling, trust me I haven’t long legs and camels are bigger than you think, but I somehow made it without falling headfirst into the sand! My sense of relief was palpable.

The very handsome Jaffa the most tolerant camel

After the walk our guides encouraged us to give our camels a pat and scratch between the ears to say thank you. I enjoyed the ride and the fact that despite asking several dumb camel questions my guide failed to laugh out loud at my obvious stupidity. It’s a great tour and one I would totally recommend.