Day 115 - 116 Getting the job done

Rolleston - Springsure 73km (115)   //    Springsure - Emerald 71km (116)

With the needed break in Emerald so close, I can almost smell the laundry detergent in the motel room towels. Fresh clean towels! Completely underrated. But there are still 140km between us and the highly anticipated bathroom pleasures. Looking at the map, it is bound to be a job that needs doing, without much frou-frou along the way. 

Leaving Rolleston doesn't leave us broken-hearted. The town looks and feels a bit fallen apart. Which is a shame, given its close proximity to one of Queensland's most spectacular National Parks. But the new managers of the caravan park do their best to inject a bit of small town charm and cheerfully chat to their guests no matter where they come from or where they go. A sense of humour often does the trick, and some people in this town haven't obviously lost it yet:

It is Dawson Highway pleasure all the way to Springsure. We pass the turn off to the Rolleston coal mine and see a huge road train delivering gigantic new tyres for some monster mining vehicle, reminding us of our new bicycle tyres hopefully awaiting collection in Emerald. We enjoy the cooperative and jolly attitude of a female traffic controller at a major road work site, she stops the traffic at both ends to give us a clear sprint on the one-laned channel through the construction site. It feels a bit like a stage finish at one of the grand tours. In all the hurry, there is still enough time for Louise to share the cute country song Wayne and Wanita with the chirpy lady. 

The town of Springsure requires a bit of a "looking both ways" approach. The town's spectacular backdrop of the range in the Minerva National Park looks inviting to anyone who shares a love for the outdoors. But there's little information about how to get into the park, yet alone how the various walking trails and viewing point can be accessed. I am a bit puzzled by the naming of the Virgin Rock, which was named after, well you guessed it, virgin Mary (holding baby Jesus). I give it a fair go, staring at the rock for a while, but can't see no Mary, no Jesus and no virgin. You have a go:

Virgin Rock in Springsure

The campground is part of the roadhouse at the entrance of town. It is practical but definitely without frou-frou. There's an old notice board with some touristy information - it looks like from the 1980's. More puzzled and irritated thoughts surface when i read about a recommendation to visit the memorial of Will's Tragedy which I follow up with some Google search. This is definitely a matter of "looking both ways". Cullin-la-Ringo Massacre

Always "look both ways"

The steam coming out of my ears after this confronting piece of history is fuelling the final push into Emerald. 

The first stop is the Post Office where we collect several parcels containing bicycle parts, replacement riding apparel and... [drum roll] chocolate! There's no way I just leave at that. The chocolate comes from Louise's sister Alice, a seasoned Chocolatier with many years of experience in the world of fine chocolate. Alice is just about to start up her own chocolate business (called Wonderland of Chocolate) and she generously recruited us as taste testers, supplying us with a huge amount of chocolate delights. We dig into the parcel and soon disappear in Alice's chocolate wonderland.

Chocolate heaven 

If someone would have walked in on us, it would have been easy to suspect that we work as some kind of drug mules by bicycle! And, in addition, we got quite high from the deliciousness of her creations. I have never tasted chocolate like this (and I am from Switzerland!).

The chocolate is, of course, devine. And so is the hot shower, the fluffy towels, the cold beer. It really feels like a Friday night, a week's work done and dusted, a job well done.