Mail Cart Race

One of the highlights of the Camooweal Drover's Festival was the old mail cart race. Contestants had to pull a cart down to the Post Office, collect a bag, run to the pub, drink a beer, run to the servo, pick up a passenger, and run back to the pub again. Quite a challenge.

Road Train

While the highway was closed for the Camooweal Drover's Festival, this miniature road train drove past in the parade.

Parade

Part of the Street Parade at the Camooweal Drover's Festival.

Old Highway

Part of the old National Barkly Highway joining Mount Isa to Camooweal.  This is at the Spring Creek crossing.

Unknown Territory

Shortly after leaving Camooweal you reach the Queensland, Northern Territory border. We stopped for the obligatory photo.

Camooweal Caves Campground

At the Camooweal Caves campground you will find this great water view.

Campdrafting At Camooweal

At the Camooweal rodeo you can catch the spectacle of the Campdraft event where the guy on the horse tries to guide the cow around the gates in the correct order. The cow often wins and gets to go where it wants.

Road Train

A road train pulled up the Camooweal Rodeo under the stars.

Georgina Morning

Morning campsite on the Georgina River in Camooweal.

Sign

An old sign indicating distance to the next centre of population.

Baby Road Train Stack

A road train passes through Camooweal Street intersection while the copper stack stands behind.

Sunrise

Sunrise from Camooweal rodeo grounds. Spectacular and crisp morning.

Camooweal Pony Club

The finish line at the Camooweal Pony Club and race grounds. We camped here overnight after the race from Mount Isa.

Camooweal Hall

The Camooweal Town Hall. Built in 1923, it is a classic old wood building with mortise and tenon joints in the solid doors and windows and exposed external frame in the German style.

The Earth Opens

And here is the mouth of the cave. Don't get too close to that crumbly edge!
Apparently there are many small bats living in these caves as it provides an ideal shelter and no predators or visitors can disturb them.

Approaching

Finally nearing the mouth of the sinkhole where the cave begins.

Plenty of Car Spaces

This is the car park at the Camooweal caves national park. It's easy to find a space here. You're getting closer to seeing a photo of the caves so you can finally see for yourself.

Google maps view here

Camooweal Caves

This is a close up of the limestone/dolomite rock which the rain has eroded. This is why there are caves in Camooweal. These rocks were on the edge of the large Nowranie cave. The caves are really sinkholes in the ground and require abseiling/ascending gear to enter and exit. Apparently the longer caves extend for many kilometres underground from this entrance.

On the Road Home

This is a view I'll never get tired of. This was taken on the Barkly Highway heading from Camooweal back to Mt Isa. The scenery is brilliantly coloured and the big sky envelopes all. This road used to be known as the worst section of national highway in Queensland. It was single lane bitumen, dirt shoulders, regularly flooded and a difficult drive for a mere 200km. Thankfully it is now upgraded, and as you can see, wide and flat with no potholes in sight. New bridges span all the crossings and there are even pleasant cambers steering you into some of the bends - not that there are many corners to negotiate out here.