Emerald has changed a lot since we stayed here last. It is an example of Australia's resources boom and its affects on towns which supply shopping accommodation etc for the mines. We stayed in Emerald about three years ago. It was quiet, not too many people and no problem getting into a caravan park.
The Park we stayed in back then was next to the golf course and Ross was delighted to take advantage of this and play a few games so we were looking forward to him being able to do the same thing again. This time no vacancies and really not much interest in telling us when a vacancy might occur. We then decided to stay at Lake Maraboon about 20kms out of Emerald. It's in a really lovely spot set on a huge reservoir just 20kms or so out of town The trouble is they sqeeze so many caravans in that you feel a bit like a sardine. The managers make you feel ever so welcome but the overcrowding is a real pain. The amenties really don't cater for the people they sqeeze in. The scenery around the park is great and we found it a good spot for walking. One good thing was their "meals on wheels" idea. you order a meal and they deliver it piping hot to your caravan. It was delicious. Even though it was crowded we enjoyed ourselves and stayed for three days.
Monday
We then drove 279 kms north north on the Gregory Developmental Road and stayed at a typical outback roadhouse called Belyando Crossing population 5. No water, no TV, but we did have power and access to toilets and showers. We met a nice couple also camping there and we had a few drinks and a chat, watched some DVDs, slept and took off this morning for Charters Towers, but that's another chapter.