Camels in the Outback

Sunrise revealed a group of camels out on the treeless plains. We were using a small ridge as cover, the last crest before a vast open expanse. They were about 1.5km away. The camels aren’t always in this area, they come and go, and can walk long distances in a night.

Daytime temperatures were in the low-30s. It was such a glorious morning, everything was perfect. I peered over the edge with my 8x30 binoculars, looking for a big bull camel with a thick neck and a large bump on his forehead. There were some bull camels in the group, but they were not mature enough.

We decided to stalk to another high point to see if there were any good bulls on the other side of the ridge. A route was planned that took advantage of the low terrain and the vegetation, which included mulga trees that the camels browse on. Although the camels were far away, they