SYDNEY -- Emerging from the sand dunes of Birubi Beach, 200 km north of Sydney, a team of camels plods slowly into the shallows of the Tasman Sea, giving visitors riding the animals an unusual experience as the waves break at their feet.
The Birubi camel ride is just a small part of a complex mosaic of activities and enterprises that has tied camels into the Australian landscape for the past 180 years. Imported from South Asia in the mid-19th century, the dromedary (one-hump) camels now are farmed for their milk, meat, hair and hide, while a few are trained and exported to the Middle East as racing camels. Their genetic material is also used to help rebuild threatened overseas stocks.
