The road west of Dingo crosses the lower reaches of the Bowen Basin coalfields at Blackwater , then moves into cotton country , signalled by fluffy white tailings along the roadside around YAMALA , where there's a cotton gin to tour (by appointment tel 07/4982 3888).

EMERALD is a misleadingly named place. This close to the Gemfield towns of Sapphire and Rubyvale, you'd think its origins could be traced to precious stones, but in fact the area was named Emerald Downs by a surveyor who saw its rich green after heavy rains. A dormitory town for the Bowen Basin coal mines to the north, and set at the junction of routes north to Mackay and south to the Central Highlands, Emerald is a busy place at the heart of a soundly productive district: the rich soil supports sunflowers, citrus trees, grape vines, lychees and rockmelons, all of which attract swarms of seasonal fruit-pickers . Despite being around a hundred years old, the town appears quite modern due to rebuilding after a series of disastrous fires in the 1950s.

Most essential services are on the Capricorn Highway, here called Clermont Street , where the main feature is the pristine station , built in 1901 and restored in 1986. One road back from this is Egerton Street, where 250-million-year-old fossil tree trunks outside the town hall are preserved in great detail, right down to the texture of the bark. The tourist information booth at the west end of Clermont Street (Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 10am-2pm; tel 07/4982 4142) has leaflets on local attractions; at the other end is McCafferty's bus station (tel 07/4982 2755). Accommodation is plentiful, though during the April harvest or November cotton chipping season there may be very little room available: the Central Inn , near the station on Clermont Street (tel 07/4982 0800, www.centralinn.com.au ; $35-50), has a big kitchen, simply furnished rooms, and offers good advice for either farm work or visiting the Gemfields; the Meteor Motel , corner of Opal and Egerton streets (tel 07/4982 1166; $50-70), has a pool and a good steak restaurant; and the Explorers Inn Motel (tel 07/4982 2822; $50-90) is in a quiet spot at the edge of town - it's newer than the rest with comfortable, well-appointed rooms and a saltwater pool.