Wild Camel Protection Foundation EXPEDITION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Kathy Koops:
How much water are you carrying and how much do you have to drink per day?

Answer: It depends on whether we are near a well or spring. The average total load is between 150 and 200 litres. We drink as little as possible and depending on how available it is. But not more than a litre per person. None for washing and a small amount for cooking.

Have you been bitten by anything horrible?
Answer: No so far no one in the team has been bitten.

Sophie Williams: Has anyone suffered any injuries yet?
Answer:
No. The only incident is that Johnny Paterson fell off his camel but fortunately he did not injure himself.

Akina Haiden: Have any camels died yet?
Answer: Fortunately none they are all in good health, even the ones we are riding every day.

Have you seen any funny designs made by wind in the sand?
Answer: Yes absolutely wonderful designs in the sand.

Celia Bryan-Brown: Where are you now?
Answer: In the north of Niger in a place called Bilma. We are resting up after the last trek which lasted 20 days. We have to buy grass, food for the camels. The camels will carry their own food for the next part of the journey as there will be little food for them in this part of Niger.
We are also resting and preparing for the tough trek ahead.
Bilma is in the north aod Niger and approximately for us, two weeks south of the border with Libyan.

Has it been easy to find your way?
Answer: Fairly easy and we have guides with us
Stephanie Mack: Has anyone been ill yet?
Answer: No one. Everyone is very healthy. There is no smog or pollution. The air is very clean and at night we can see millions of stars

Are you a fussy eater? What do goat's entrails taste like?
Answer: No I am not. Delicious rather like liver or kidneys.

Vicky Short: When it's so hot at midday, what do you do?
Answer: Try and find shade. If this is not possible we erect the tent like a canopy and rest in the shade. It is very very hot, too hot to sleep or eat.

What else do you eat apart from goat's entrails and noodles?
Answer: Goat and marcaroni and porridge.

Sophie Williams: Has anyone suffered any injuries yet?
Answer: No one fortunately.

Lydia Shackleton: Have you found anything unusual or unexpected?
Answer: Amazing formations in the desert. Beautiful springs.

Charlotte Ashton: How are the camels? Have you had to shoot any yet? (!)
Answer: Very well and holding up to the journey extremely well.
No not one we still have the same number, 25 as when we left Nguigumi 450 miles back done the track.

Sophie Sweerts: Have you been in a sand storm yet?
Answer: Not while travelling but there was a bad one in Bilma yesterday.

Jo Carnegie-Brown: Have you seen any other animal and if so, how close did you get?
Answer: No other big animals but lots of small animals, lizards, beetles, and birds.
Very close especially near the watering places.

Jessica Cussins: Do you usually stay in "two mud huts and a bit of thatch" or do you enjoy staying
sometimes in a nice hotel in a tourist area?
Answer: Always I prefer the open spaces and find them much more attractive than a nice hotel in a tourist area. The are no tourists at all where we have been..

Charlotte Craven: Are you killing any wild animals to eat for food?
Answer: No. We are able to obtain enough goat meat.

Katie Holden: What did you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner in Nguigmi, and what do your meals
consist of in the desert?
Answer: Breakfast Porridge or cornflakes.
Lunch Nothing it is too hot.
Dinner Goat macaroni, or noodles or goat.
All with tea.
It is about the same in the desert when we are travelling

Vicky Morrison: How much money is John hoping to raise from the expedition?
Answer: £50,000 for the Wild Bactrian Camel Captive Breeding Program in Mongolia.
This will enable the program to start in the spring of 2002.

What else is he hoping for out of the trip?
Answer: To show what wonderful animals camels are and that they are still very useful. They do not harm the environment like cars and trucks and four wheel drives. There is still a place for them in the modern world especially the unique wild Bactrian camel.

Camilla Swift: How does John obtain enough water for the journey?
Answer: Springs and Wells. This is why we have guides with us, as they know where the waterholes are on the route.

Where does he get it?
Answer: Wells and Springs.

How often can he get more water?
Answer: It varies, which is why the camels carry water is bags made from goat skins.

Imogen Loat: What is the hottest temperature you have reached so far?
Answer: 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ellie Verity: What do you do if you get hungry and thirsty between meals?
Answer: I keep a handful of dates in my pocket.

Annette Wong: What was your equipment list for the journey?
Answer: Enormous. Sleeping bags, tents, mosquito nets, kerosene cooker, cooking utensils, cutlery, plates, pots, pans, kitchen utensils, torches, ropes, blankets, food, water purifying equipment, water canteens, and four gallon water containers, bottle and tin openers and a medicine box. All this has to be able to be carried by the camels.

Tui Bhirom Bhakdi: Have you been attacked by any wild animals?
Answer: No, none fortunately.

Question: What was the atmosphere like in Nigeria?
Answer: Pristine, unpolluted. Travelling without vehicles, no aeroplanes in the sky and almost no sign of a combustion engine and riding this unique animal the camel is a very environmentally friendly way to travel.
The people we have encountered have been hospitable and friendly.

Did you celebrate halloween?
Answer: We did not even realise it was Halloween. It is the month of Ramadan here and we are aware of that as some of the guides are Muslims and are fasting.

Can you describe the trip so far in one (or just a few) words?
Answer: Absolutely marvellous

Any thought of giving up?
Answer: Absolutely not.