EVENTS
Camel carnival
A new growth industry finds its legs
Story: Suzy Young
Photos: James McEwan
Despite
their tendency to spit on people for no apparent reason and to suddenly
stop dead in the middle of a race, then wander off exploring the nearby
bush, feral camels of the Australian outback are enjoying new-found stardom
as prized racing animals.
In fact, organisers of the Boulia Desert Sands 2000 Camel Races, in far west Queensland, are touting camels as a new growth industry in Australia.
Boulia has just held its second annual racing carnival and those who attended pronounced it a howling success.
With prizes of more than $20,000, the event attracted camel enthusiasts, locals and travellers with a sense of adventure to this tiny town near the edge of the Simpson Desert for three days of racing, including sprints of 300-400 metres and a major race of 2000 metres.
This would be a sprint in the Middle East, where camel racing and betting is a multi-million dollar industry and a distance race can be as long as 10 kilometres.
But until Australians take the sport more seriously the main attraction
of the races probably will continue to be the non-stop party that rages
in Boulia for the duration of the carnival. 
Full story issue 1, October-November, 1998
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And to see what's coming up, try our OUTBACK events calendar.
