To Thar on back of camel...

Press, 10 June 1980, Page 28

To Thar on back of camel...

In a tourist world where travel becomes faster and more sophisticated every day and the standard or accommodation increasingly comfortable, there must be conversational value in a camel safari through Rudyard Kipling country. Other than his fiction, the most noted literature on the Indian province ot Rajasthan is probably still Todd s Annals of 1842. The Great Indian (or Thar) Desert between Delhi and Pakistan (just, south of the Punjab if that helps) is the location of a 12-day camel safari being mounted by Venturetreks next Christmas. Roads and lorries now circle the desert, but the safari will -explore remote villages inhabited by nomadic and pastoral tribes who retain the old desert style of life. The safari group will camp in the desert at night, where temperatures will be a crisp lOdeg C, and by day a warm 30deg. Each man in the group will be given a Rajasthan traditional dhoti and turban, while women will be given a Rajasthan skirt and scarf to cover head and face. “Whether they wear these things is up to them,” said the tour operator, Walter Romanes, of Auckland. “However, they are the most appropriate dress and certainly will not look out of place.” Departing on December 19 and returning to New Zealand on January 18, the Rajasthan safari includes a number of Indian cities and “main stream” tourist centres. more in keeping with Venturetreks’ traditional destinations, there is a flying visit to Kathmandu in the Himalayas, with scenic flights in the Everest area. Which, if nothing else, will certainly be different from camel riding in the Thar Desert. _ — MAURICE DICK.