Get trackside Saturday morning for the start of the camel race heats. They’re run over 400m and camels placing 1st, 2nd or 3rd will progress to the 1000m heats held Saturday afternoon.

To progress all the way to Sunday’s Final of the Boulia Cup, camels will have competed over 400m and again over 1000m. The Final for the big prize money is run over 1500m and you’ll be barracking for your favourite for a little over 2 ½ minutes before they lumber over the finish line.

Camel Tagging is a crowd favourite and quite simply you just can’t miss this!

It’s easy to explain, but not so easy to do. Fearless contenders enter an arena where a few young and lively camels are waiting. The object is to ‘tag’ a camel by sticking a piece of duct tape on it, then run back to the starting position, only to have to then chase down that same camel to retrieve the tape and finally return to the judge at the starting position. The fastest contender wins, but one could say that any who walk away without a bruise to their body, or pride, are winners!

When the dust has settled on the racetrack and the stunning outback sunset has finished its show, the evening program is just starting to heat up. There’s live music and dancing, plus an auction raising money for the annual event and of course the bar is open until late.

It’s around an evening campfire when some of the best times and memories are forged with new found Boulia friends, sharing a yarn and vowing to meet again next year under the big skies of Boulia.