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Surrey Hills
Llamas - Llama Treks
Our treks take you through the Surrey
Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty. You will appreciate the
extraordinary tranquility that can
be found just 40 miles from the
centre of London in an area that
was amazingly once at the forefront
of the Industrial Revolution. We
take a variety of routes and our
treks are individually tailored
to suit our customer’s fitness,
ability and dietary needs.
See below for our range of treks.
Click on the blue links to see pictures
and find out more information about
each trek.
The English
Picnic Trek
A day trek with a traditional English
summer picnic.
The Luxury
Champagne Picnic Trek
Something for that special occasion.
A day trek with a luxury picnic
and champagne. Each couple share
their own llama. A fantastic and
unusual anniversary or wedding gift.
Summer Evening
Trek
Make the most of the long summer
evenings with a gentle llama walk
through beautiful woodland paths
Childrens
Birthday Party Trek
Have the coolest party in town.
Winter Morning
Trek
The Surrey Hills in winter are a
wondrous sight. The Winter Morning
trek includes a traditional English
lunch in a historic country pub
in a picturesque village setting.
The Overnight
Camping Trek
Camping with a difference. Our wonderful
llamas carry the camping gear while
we trek out over the North downs
way.
Corporate
Events
Team building days and Corporate
Entertainment with Surrey Hills
Llamas. Soothe the stresses of everyday
life at the office with a Llama
trek and picnic for your team.
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Price list 2007
The pricing for all Llama Treks
is listed below. (Prices shown in
brackets are for Children) Please
note the minimum age to lead a llama
is 8 years. All children must be
accompanied by a responsible adult.
We are very sorry but we cannot
take bookings for children under
the age of 8.
English Picnic Trek (Child 8-15)
£59.00 (£30.00)
Champagne trek £79.00
Overnight Camping Trek (Child 8-15)
£245.00 (£90.00)
Winter walk (Child 8-13) £59.00(£30.00)
B&B w/end (Child 8-15) £195.00
(£110.00)
Family Picnic Trek (2 Adults 2 Children)
£149.00
Summer Evening Trek (Child 8-13)
£30.00 (£16.00)
Evening Barbecue Trek (min 10 adults)
£35.00 (£18.00)
Birthday Party Trek (9-14 years)
£22.00 (all year round)
Contact Details:
For more information: www.surrey-hills-llamas.co.uk
Tel: 0845
600 9484
Llama History
Llamas, members of the camelid family,
are believed to have their origins
in the central plains of North America
around 40 million years ago. The
dawn of the Ice-Age, saw a southerly
migration into the South American
Andes of the guanaco and vicuna,
which adapted to the inhospitable
climate, sporadic moisture, high
altitude, vast daily temperature
fluctuations and unpredictable food
supply of the region. Domestication
of the guanaco and vicuna is thought
to have given rise to the llama
and alpaca, with the llama originating
from the guanaco and the alpaca
from the vicuna. The earliest domesticated
animal, llamas were first trained
by the Incas in the high Andes Mountains
close to Lake Titicaca around 4,000
years ago. The Inca tribesmen used
the intelligent highly trainable
camelids for hauling and carrying,
but llamas were much more than beasts
of burden. The Incas called the
llama "silent brother",
they recognised the llamas importance
as a source of meat, fibre for clothing
and blankets, skins for shelter
and as a sacrifice to the Inca gods.
The Incas had a high dependence
on these animals. Domestication
of the llama allowed the additional
use as a beast of burden as well
as selective breeding for specific
traits. The adaptability and efficiency
of the llama as a pack animal made
it possible to link the diverse
altitude area of the mountainous
Andes and to cover great distances
of the region. Llamas and alpacas
were so important to the Inca culture
and economy that they were the property
of the government. State herdsmen
controlled the breeding and production
of llamas and this was closely monitored.
The arrival of the Spanish conquistadors
in the early 1500's had a huge effect
on the llamas and alpacas in the
Andes. The Spanish destroyed almost
all of the llamas and alpacas, putting
in their place their own domestic
animals, mainly sheep. The Incas
and their animals were forced to
move to higher altitudes over 4000
metres. Decimated in numbers, these
hardy animals adapted to the harsh
climate and terrain and developed
the ability to live on low protein
vegetation where only the strongest
survived.
Selectively bred for gentleness,
for thousands of years, a well trained
llama will eagerly follow adults
and children alike, from groups
of enthusiastic ramblers to self-proclaimed
couch potatoes.
The Spitting
Llama?
Spitting is used by llamas to settle
arguments, establish dominance and
pecking order, tell males that females
are pregnant, discipline crias and
express fear or discomfort. Llamas
often spit only at other llamas
and not people. The actual contents
of the spit can take various forms,
namely, the grain spit, the saliva
spit and the green stomach content
spit. The grain spit occurs when
the llama is defending its food.
It will spit whatever is in its
mouth and usually occurs when its
eating grain. Llama will also just
spit by just spraying the saliva
in their mouths. This is usually
a warning before the green spit
appears. The green stomach content
spit is the worst and the llama
means business when spitting the
green stuff. The llama can spit
this up to a distance of about 10-15
feet. This spit is very smelly to
both people and other llamas.
The llama's
feet
Llamas do not have hooves like horses
or cattle. Their feet are designed
to enable them to be sure-footed
and cause minimal damage to the
environment. Each foot is made up
of 2 toes which have a toenail and
a pad, the pad covers most of the
bottom of the foot and is very sensitive
giving the llama better contact
with the ground than horses or cattle.
Since the pad is softer than a hoof,
llamas cause less damage to the
environment. It will take a llama
longer to wear a path than a horse
or a cow.
Flood Myth
of the Quechua
The world wanted to come to an end.
A llama, knowing this, was depressed.
When its human owner complained
that it wouldn't eat, the llama
told him of the imminent flood and
suggested they go to Villca Coto
mountain. They arrived there to
find the peak already filled with
all kinds of animals. The flood
came as soon as they arrived and
lasted five days. Afterwards, the
man began to multiply once more.
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