Heading West

Our goal is to get across the southern states as quickly as possible to get to warmer weather. So we race across New South Wales and Victoria, and into South Australia.
Along the way we drive through dozens of sleepy little towns -  some picturesque, clearly proud of their home town  and  trying to attract the tourist dollar,  others tired and a little sad.
It's unbelievably lush and green,  thanks to the recent rain,  so much so that with the rolling hills and abundance of sheep,  you could easily think you were in New Zealand or Ireland - at least until you spotted a flock of emus or a kangaroo!
We enjoyed identifying the fields of crops - canola,  cotton,  then as we got into Victoria it was mostly citrus trees.
We stayed at Hay,  NSW  in a free council run campground where the kids enjoyed riding their bikes and we had a family of ducks adjacent to our site.  (According to our neighbours,  the ducklings were only 3 days old.)
Our border crossing from Victoria to South Australia involved an inspection by agents from the Dept of Primary Industries who were looking for fruit and vegetables which could transport fruit fly and other pests.  An inspection of our fridge meant emptying a knee high pile of goods from the back of the camper trailer to retrieve a punnet of blueberries which we had to eat immediately. All sorted and we were on our way again.
Our next overnight stop was on the shores of Lake Bonney,  in South Australia.  A very picturesque spot and the kids had a wonderful time making sand castles and digging holes in the sand.
The next day we were definitely heading into more remote areas and the landscape became flatter with small shrubs.  We stayed in a caravan park in the little historic town of Gladstone to catch up on washing and have showers.  The town was extraordinary - 90% of the buildings were beautifully preserved/restored stone cottages.  We had a look at the real estate and discovered that an idyllic 3 bedroom cottage would set you back $95-120k, while a sprawling 5 bedroom farm house with various sheds and 33 acres was $300k!
With our fuel and water tanks full,  all our clothes washed,  and fully stocked up with groceries,  it's time to head into the outback....