Lots have mentioned to me that they would like to see around Emerald and what life is like here on the edge of the outback so today is the first of the "cooks tour" otherwise known as Emerald through sues eyes!

Emerald is a town built at the crossways of two major highways (Gregory Hwy- runs north south & the Capricorn Hwy East West) and it has grown out from those four corners, two things run through the town, the train line and the river, so for today's tour lets go up river!

There are walking tracks along the edge of the river and are very popular with the locals. The water is this lovely shade of green and the only people I've seen swim in it are the local young people - there brains haven't formed yet!!!

The towns location to the river is close so when it floods there is no escape.

To get an idea here is the flood map of emerald in 2011.

           
As you can see there isn't much that isn't wet!
At work you are always asked by people looking for rentals they want a house that didn't flood,  I'm like what didn't flood in emerald!  About 1% of emerald was dry!

Its hard to get the idea of the depth of the water that has to come and do this to the town but 
I'm going to try to give you a visual these are the three bridges that lead to our town to the left is the railway bridge the middle is the old bridge and the right is the new bridge

the water goes over the old and new bridges!!  that's a mighty amount of water!!

So this is the top side there are those bridges underneath there!!

And this is in the supermarket its hard to see but above that tell us what you think sign is a silver plaque that says water level that was through the store

So there you have your Emerald river cruise! and the name of the river that runs through emerald? The Nogoa.