About 50 metres of the Barkly Highway near Soudan Station in the Northern Territory, which is about 120 kilometres from the Queensland border, was washed away at the weekend, severing the major road link between the two states.

Northern Territory Police said there were other stretches of the highway in the area that had also been partially washed away.

Since the heavy rain started falling last week, a steady stream of truckies and tourists planning to journey across the Territory border became stranded in Camooweal – unable to leave at first due to rising flood levels on the highway and later due to the highway’s collapse. About 15 trucks filled a parking lot at the edge of Camooweal.

All accommodation in the town was soon booked out, with those who missed out forced to sleep where they could. Truckies slept in their vehicles, families slept in tents in the centre of town. A pair of men even set up a makeshift campsite at a driver rest stop along the highway.

In an effort to end the build-up of stranded travellers in Camooweal, Mount Isa City Council yesterday closed the Barkly Highway leading to the town.

As news filtered through on Tuesday that the Northern Territory highway would not open for at least three weeks, the storm weary and stranded truckies, tourists and travellers turned back and headed towards Mount Isa.

A convoy of about five trucks headed for Mount Isa late on Tuesday afternoon. As of yesterday, about five trucks remained in the town. The truck drivers who remain in Camooweal are awaiting instructions from their various employers about whether they will be driving their cargo back to Brisbane or if they will leave their trucks in Mount Isa and fly home.

The rain keeps falling. At time of print, Camooweal had recorded 113mm of rain yesterday, adding to the total of 337mm that had fallen on the small town since January 1. Weather observers predicted more rain would fall on the region in the coming days.

Camooweal Shell Roadhouse afternoon cook Michelle Butt said she believed the town had successfully handled the influx of travellers this week.

“It’s definitely getting a lot quieter than it was a few days ago,” she said.

“But Camooweal seems to handle it well.”

n TOMORROW: Tales of the stranded truckie, travellers camping out and how the town coped with being at the end of the line.