Day 58: Wednesday 13th April. Sale, Paradise Beach.
This morning we left Melbourne and began our East Coast adventure heading towards Sale. We stopped off at Lake Guthridge and Lake Guyatt for a walk and some lunch as well as to get purchase some much needed DVD's as the one's we had selected from Spaceships weren't the best.
We then drove onwards to Paradise Beach at our first free campsite which was along the stretch of beach called Ninety mile Beach.
It started to rain as we pulled in which meant that dinner (Pasta) was cooked in the pouring rain, not the best start but it was still fun nonetheless!

Day 59: Thursday 14th April. River Cann.
We woke up to the sunshine poking through the curtain of the van before heading down onto the beach which was about 20 meters away, and really got us excited for the East Coast.
Some breakfast further up the beach in the sun was great and then we hit the road towards Lakes Entrance, just as it started raining, annoying!
We made it to a town called Metung which was hal;f an hour short of Lakes Entrance and it was the cutest place, complete with a "Goldern Oldies Tour" in old-school cars all parked up and down the highstreet. We stopped for some lunch here and walked along through the Marina before heading towards Lakes Entrance where it was raining yet again so we headed on through it to a Tourist Centre where we were advised that the original route we had selected to take wasn't suitable unless we had a 4wd vehicle. So we decided on an alternative route based on the weather and time and stayed on the main highway instead of going up through Errundi National Park we went towards Cann River.
We tried to pull off the highway a few times but the rain wouldn't yield so we headed for a little campsite complete with OAP's further on up the road. Our tiny van looked pathetic compared to all the hardcore campers who practically lived in their campervans! Dinner was a welcome relief with the rain eventually stopping followed by a a DVD before bed.

Day 60: Friday 15th April. Canberra.
We woke up to yet more rain and so decided that it would be more suitable to head straight towards Canberra rather than hope for a break in the weather. After ringing the Robertson's to check that we could in fact arrive a day earlier than planned we got on the road and headed to Coomba.
Coomba was our lunch stop an hour short of Canberra where we had a coffee and a quick walk through town before making tracks towards the Robertson's.
The drive towards Canberra was great. The sun came out and the scenery was immense, so many spectacular views of mountains and national parks on either side of us.
We arrived in Canberra to a great reception before unpacking and having a much needed hot shower before heading out for an amazing curry and a huge catch up session with the Robertson's and Linda & Rodd. Coffee later at Gails completed the evening of luxury for us. We had even managed to secure a tour with Linda for the Tuesday at the Australian Institute of Sport! So excited!

Day 61: Saturday 16th April. Canberra.
We went house hunting in the morngin with the Robertson's, where Gail was looking for a new property. That afternoon James and Margaret took us up to Mount Ainslie where there was a panoramic view of whole city! It was incredible and such good whether compared to what we had been through the past 3 days!
Next stop was a cafe for coffee and cake which where top-notch yet again! Thoroughly being spoiled!
We then headed home before walking their 2 dogs along the golf course outside their house (wow).
To finish the day off we then had a superb BBQ with seafood and plenty of meat befor eheading out for a night out in Canberra city centre. That night was so much fun, great bars, great drinks and great food at the end of the night!!!

Day 62: Sunday 17th April. Camberra.
We had a deserved lie in for the morning, some were nursing hangovers more than others (AJ...) before we set off on an afternoon of sightseeing around the city center.
We parked the van at Lake Burley Griffin and headed up to both the New and Old Parliament buildings where there were yet more amazing views of the city.
A walk around the Lake in the sun was perfect and another good way to see the city.
Back at the Robertsons we walked the dogs again along the golf course, trying to avoid stray slice shots! A roast was waiting for us when we got back in which spoiled us rotten before skyping the family back home to conclude the day.

Day 63: Monday 18th April. Canberra.
We got up early this morning and headed to the city center again to visit the Canberra war memorial museum. This was really interesting as neither of us had any idea of the volume of involvement Australia had during WWI and WWII. The tour guide was good fun aswell picjking on us both constantly due to us being British!
We had a great picnic lunch down by the Lake in the sun until the whole of Korea arrived looking for a Kodak moment, badtimes!
Back to the Robertson's, me and James set off to play some golf, just the front nine holes though thank god. I was awful! Slicing and hooking multiple balls, James patience was being tested. I feel it was an unfair advantage seeing as he lived and played on the course but I was shocking!
Another amazing dinner that evening and great fun chatting into the early hours completed another great day!

Day 64: Tuesday 19th April. Canberra, AIS.
We met Linda at the AIS today for a VIP tour around the facilities. This was incredible, definitely one of the highlights of our travels. We both found it really inspiring and motivating for us especially with our Masters awaiting us back in England upon our return. Certainly considering a spell of work out in OZ?! The facilities there were second to none and the provision for all the athletes were ridiculous! It couldn't help to make you excited about our potential for the future!
We did the usual bakery run for lunch and then headed back to the AIS to look around the Athletics track and Rugby Stadium before heading to visit James where he worked at Canberra University. He gacve us a tour around the facilties and gave us an incite into the world of forensic science which was fascinating! Again wierdly making us excited for our studies!

Day 65: Wednesday 20th April. Canberra.
Today was to be a day sorting out bits and pieces for the following day in which we planned to drive to Sydney.
We then headed to the Botanical Gardens but the weather soon put and end to our ambitions of a walk. We decided to head back and pack before going for a last run along the golf course.
That eveing we were taken out to the best meal of the stay... an amazing Surf and Turf for myself and AJ's Fish dish plus lots of wine and dessert was a brilliant end to our stay in Canberra.