More than 100 stragglers have caused chaos at a north Queensland pub, with Mount Isa police called in to move a large mob of cattle from the car park of the Overlander Hotel in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Overlander Hotel manager Chris Naumann said he found the cattle milling around hotel guest rooms about 4:30am.
"One of the customers here woke me up, my dogs were barking as well — it was something you don't see every day," he said.
"Obviously 150 head of cattle make a fair bit of noise but I spoke to a couple of customers that were staying in the hotel rooms and they said they didn't hear a thing."
Mr Naumann said with the hotel being in an urban area the cattle were frightened, which kept them moving around the area quickly.
"They were herded up the end of the car park, rubbing up against a customer's car and it was shaking a fair bit," he said.
"They've eaten most of the grass around the venue, which is good for us — we don't have to mow today."
Mr Naumann said the herd then made a dash across the car park and headed for the nearby busy Barkly Highway.
Police Acting Sergeant Andrew Lloyd-Jones said officers blocked the road and guided the cattle to a nearby paddock.
"We sent a couple of crews down there just to ensure that they didn't get onto the roadway because the Barkly is quite a busy highway," Sergeant Lloyd-Jones said.
He said while the cattle were spooked, they ended up safe and sound.
"They were a bit skittish but when they got into the paddock they calmed down and milled around together," he said.
The Mount Isa City Council said it was attempting to notify the owners of the cattle.
