At this stage, after a couple of weeks of traversing very arid and isolated country, looking at emaciated stock standing in expanses of bare earth, we are really hanging out for the coast. We want to see scenery with the colour green and lots of blue water. Anyway I woke this morning at about 6am and started getting ready to depart quietly from the caravan park. Only one problem, it was still dark. When we checked a real clock (not the one in the caravan) it was actually 4:30. By the time we realised, we'd had breakfast and made the bed but we couldn't really leave at that time without causing a disturbance. Also in this country it is really dangerous to drive in the dark because of the animals, both domestic and wild, on the road. So, it was back to bed for another couple of hours sleep. We eventually departed just after 7 am and drove some 400 km along the bleakest roads I have ever experienced. At one stage we were zig zagging to avoid dead kangaroos and for an hour or so we would have encountered a dead kangaroo every 10m or so. I think the three and four trailer road trains which tear along these roads at 110km/h must just plough through them on their overnight runs. We eventually reached a little town called Alpha and refuelled and then pressed on to Emerald. The scenery changed suddenly, and tinges of green and full dams started to appear. It seemed we had emerged from 'the Outback' and I must say it was a pleasant change. We reached Emerald just after noon and after checking out a local caravan park we decided to call it a day and spend the rest of a very pleasant afternoon relaxing. The region we are currently in is famous as repository of gem stones. Local towns are named after them - Emerald, Sapphire, Rubyville. Apparently it is a fossicker's dream. Tomorrow we have an easy run (270 km) to Rockhampton where we plan to spend a few days.
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