Day 20, 21 & 22, Boulia (Thursday 16th - Saturday 18th)

Boulia, The Camel Races, Thursday 16th - Saturday 18th

Thursday

This morning we headed off intending to stay at Bedourie, rather than  going to Boulia where we had stayed previously, it was only a 150 kilometer drive on a tar road so we arrived at Bedourie around lunchtime.
We did not really know what to expect at Bedourie and on our arrival after a look around the town we  unanimously decided to continue on to Boulia.

Back on the road it was only another 150 kilometers to Boulia and we arrived there at the caravan park we had stayed at before just after 1300 hrs.
They were pretty full because the Camel Race Carnival was on, but they squeezed us in to a spot which we thought was the best spot in the park anyway,grassy site, shelter, and our own fire pit, what more could you ask for.

We had not intended to go to the races thinking we would be in Bedourie but seeing as we were here we would go.

Friday

A visit to the race rack the this morning and we found out that the carnival does not really start until Saturday, there were a fair few campers at the track getting set up for a few days of fun and games, and there was plenty of room for more campers around the track, it was pretty rugged though, much nicer at the CP.
We spent the rest of the day doing some grocery shopping, laundry, tidying and generally relaxing at the CP.

Saturday

This morning we headed off to the race track about 1000 hrs, we had been told that the entry cost would be $30.00 per adult and kids were free but on on our arrival we could find no official to take our money, none of the entry gates were manned.
We went in and walked around a bit asking one of the ride attendants how we get tickets for the rides, he informed us that rides were free, they are generous out here !
The kids had some fun on the rides and spent some money at the stalls until the announcement of the first race.
As people started heading to the grand stand we followed and it was then we found out where the $30.00 comes in to play, if you pay the $30.00 you get to go to the bar and sit in the grand stand. We had no intention of going to the bar and the view of the race from the edge of the track was great, in fact we stood right at the finish line and had lots of room.

Race winner

We watched a couple of races which were very entertaining, the race caller was a bit of a character, as were the camels which seemed to cause all sorts of trouble for there handlers and jockeys, they had a bad habit of sitting down and not moving, or running the wrong way when the race started.
The boys had some fun on the amusements before going back to the CP for lunch, then returned to the track for a bit longer after lunch.

On our return to the track the boys decided to have a camel ride, they were very reasonable at $10.00 each, they had never done it before and had a great time.












We left the track at about 1400 hrs and got fuel which was $1.60 at the servo before heading back to camp, that night we relaxed around the fire pit with dinner.

The Camel Race Carnival at Boulia was an interesting experience nothing like any other race meeting we have ever seen, we had fun and it was good for the kids too, I think the night time entertainment would have been pretty interesting too, there were lots camped there and looking forward to a big session or two.

Boulia is a favorite spot for us and we enjoyed staying there again, tomorrow we head further North to Mt Isa for a few nights, we were going to head West from Boulia along the Plenty but have changed our plans a little, partly because the car is due for a service and Mt Isa is the last place to get it done for a while and also cause we have never stayed there.