Australia...Boulia Camel races (July 2015)

Work colleagues/friends Yvonne and Emma and I set off for Boulia, 300kms south of Mt Isa, Queensland for the notorious camel races held each year. This year being the 19^th annual event.

It took 2 attempts to pack the car with our swags, cooking gear, food and personal items. We thought we had it pretty good the first time but veteran outback driving friend Jan suggested we put the spare tyre and tools on the top so all the gear had to come out again. We could see the sense in this as in the event of a puncture we would have to put all our gear on the roadside to get to the tyre and if a truck went by we would be showered in red dust…Thanks Jan.......... Luckily it didn't eventuate

 The next stop was the bottle shop…Emma and Yvonne deciding what to buy

It was an interesting drive through bolder littered countryside to flat plains and varying fauna.

Our first stop was at the famous "rabbit proof fence" which was constructed between 1901-1907 stretching 3,256km and comprising 3 fences. It was built to keep rabbits and other agricultural pests from the east out of Western Australian pastoral grounds. A film was made about the journey of 3 aboriginal girls who followed the fence home after escaping from domestic chores after being taken from their homes during the period of the stolen generation in 1931

We arrived near dusk at the Boulia racecourse where campers and caravaners were setting up camp. We had fun setting up our swags on the ground. We had been offered a tent but it wouldn’t fit in the car! It was the first time I had slept in a swag. 

It was an awesome experience. 

Yvonnes swag had a hoop 

over her head and was fully zipped up

We shared a fire/campsite with Mt Isa residents Deb and Lyn who had a great setup.

The morning temperature we were told was 2C, but we had a cosy night in our swags with plenty of warm bedding

Emma and Cathy... Cosy in our swags

Emma took charge of the toast using a great little toaster which went over the coals.

Yvonne filled our tummys with yummy bacon and eggs.

But the next morning we discovered that we had a gas leak overnight so we used a neighbours coal cooker. An ingenious pot belly stove made out of an old LPG bottle

The campground was well setup. The ablution block supplied hot showers… One had to get in early before the hot water ran out.

We excitedly setoff to the racecourse to look at the camels prior to the races

Emma and Yvonne enjoying a yarn with a stockman while he saddled 2 camels for rides

There was a baby amongst some of the younger camels which were used for “tagging” later

The camels were led, some happily and others grudgingly to the start line

Then the racing began

15 yr old jockey on camel "Hook em up"

 Camel "Biscuit"

 Camel "Sneaky"

 Camel "Dr Buffer"

Glenda Sutton, one of the woman jockeys had a special bond with this camel “Chief”. He was constantly seeking her out and when near her he nuzzled into her face constantly.

I joined in for the women’s race. That’s me 4^th from the left! I got a chocolate frog for entering.. Probably because I was the oldest!

Funds were raised for the local school where children were auctioned to win a race using their own classroom built camels.. The community effort was fantastic. Each child raised between $70-150 each. The money was going towards a trip to Sydney and the snow fields. Some of these children had never left Boulia. We were happy to give a donation.

Camel tagging was another event. A young camel was led into the arena and a competitor had to tag a camel with some sticky tape, run back to the judge then get close enough to their tagged camel and return with the tape to the judge. This was not an easy task for some and some kicking and bucking took place. The winner did it in the quickest time

In the evenings there was music and dancing and auctions of donated goods to raise money for the annual event. There were food stalls and souvenirs to purchase.

We took a drive into town at dusk to photograph the windmill and old wagon

The next afternoon we said goodbye to Boulia and drove back to Mt Isa

It was a fantastic weekend…. Thanks Yvonne for inviting Emma and I and both of you for your great company

Yvonne your photos are superb.. Thanks for allowing  me to publish them on my blog

Thanks also to work friends Colleen, Liz, Marion and Jan for the use of your swags, bedding, warm jacket and cooking equipment. It made the weekend so much more enjoyable.