Despite Australia's Simpson Desert being known for its feral camels, the Birdsville Bakery in outback Queensland has been forced to travel 1,000 kilometres to source meat for its famous camel pies.

The bakery has formed a partnership with a cattle station, a small abattoir and butcher shop in the north Queensland town of Richmond.

"We were getting mixed results from various sources that we were getting camel from," bakery owner Martin Josselyn said.

It's not uncommon to get a camel pie with its very own hump as fresh pastries are pulled from the oven. ( ABC News: Aneeta Bhole )

"We wanted to make sure that when we got the meat that the meat had been processed properly and that a large majority of the fat had been removed."

As a result Mr Josselyn contacted the Carter family from Wyangirie Station, near Richmond, where the late David Carter had been grazing camels for decades.

"We're pretty comfortable that a nice controlled breeding program, like any beef enterprise or sheep enterprise, will work for us."

Keegan Nelson has a small abattoir in Richmond and says they had to modify the way they process animals when camel came onto the menu. ( ABC Rural: Eric Barker )

Abattoir revamp needed

In order to process the Wyangarie camels, local abattoir and butchery Moselle Meats had to revamp its plant, which traditionally killed cattle, goats and some sheep.

Butcher Keegan Nelson said there were some logistical problems with the camels being a completely different shape to the other animals.

"The first one that we got up the race and everything was a bit of an experience, but we got him up there, and we had a look what we needed then," Mr Nelson said.

Fresh camel pies are brought out from the oven as visitors crowd into the iconic bakery in Birdsville. ( ABC News: Aneeta Bhole )

"When he could put his head over the top of the rail and look at us, we thought well maybe we need another rail there.

"We've done a few modifications and made new cradles and made new stuff and now it's getting easier as we go."

After being processed through abattoir and butchery, Mr Nelson sends the camels on a truck 450 kilometres to Mount Isa where the Birdsville Bakery transports them south.

"In the scheme of things it's a long way but in areas out here it's not that far," he said.

A line of hungry customers wait in line from the early hours of the morning to late in the afternoon in the iconic Birdsville Bakery. ( ABC News: Aneeta Bhole )

Processing local camels difficult

With plenty of wild camels living in the surrounding area of Birdsville, Mr Josselyn said the bakery had considered using the local animals.

"We don't have a closed mind to the fact that there are several feral camels around this area on most of the major stations," he said.

"It's something we're looking at, a couple of the local station managers around here are quite enthusiastic about that scenario."

A closer look at some of the horses that have travelled from near and far for the 2018 Birdsville races. ( ABC News: Aneeta Bhole )

However, Mr Josselyn said the reliability of supply was the main reason for taking his supply chain to Wyangarie Station.

"It's no good having a curried camel pie if you can't actually get any camel because you haven't caught any this week," he said.

"It's a bit like the goanna goulash, we don't have one of those because those bloody goannas are too hard to catch."