THE DESERT VET

Alex Tinson was literally plucked from the Australian outback 27 years ago to become chief vet in charge of the United Arab Emirates President’s racing camels and make them the fastest in all of Arabia.

In achieving this, he has pioneered breeding techniques and training regimes that have made him the world’s leading camel expert. He has been involved in conserving endangered breeds of camels in places as far afield as Mongolia and Ladakh. Along the way, he has also been involved with the President's horse-racing stable and tending the animals in the private zoos of the sheikhs. Success has given Alex a rare entree into the life of the uber-rich Gulf royal families. He speaks Bedouin Arabic—almost unheard of for a foreigner—and his daughter is married to a local Emirati, after a long and complicated romance. This is an exotic story full of vivid anecdotes about an extraordinary life adventure. DAVID HARDAKER has worked in the Australian media for close to 30 years. He began his newspaper career at News Ltd before moving to Fairfax and then to television as a producer at 60 Minutes. He has worked as senior reporter and program executive for Four Corners, The 7.30 Report, Foreign Correspondent, AM and PM. He is also a former Middle East correspondent and has won two Walkley Awards. After leaving the ABC, David worked in the Arabian Gulf, based in Abu Dhabi. David speaks, reads and writes Arabic and is regarded as an authority on the Arab world. He holds a first class honours degree in Linguistics.