Day 218 of our travels was to be a driving day as we had 400km (250 miles) to cover in order to keep to our schedule. Our first stop for the day was Yamba (home of Kev and Sonya from Part 2 of our tale) and we probably spent a little too long in the town, as after some epic Tuna Sandwiches for lunch (eaten in front of some epic coastal views), Joe and I decided to have a kick-about with Wilson on the beach. I somehow managed to hoof the ball into some mangroves on top of a sand dune and it took around an hour to locate it. With Wilson back safely, we continued onto a free site in Clybucca which was next to a BP garage. This, however, was very much a truckers site and we got the feeling that campers weren't really welcome, so despite it being solid darkness by this time, we ploughed on to the next free site about 50km (31 miles) down the road. This was marginally better but still looked very ominous as they always do when you arrive at night. After a quick dinner, we hit the sack early to continue with our driving in the morning theme the following day.

Another early start was followed by another McD's wifi stop, after which we headed onto the towns of Tuncurry and Forster, which are separated by the mouth of the Wallis Lake/River. Whilst exploring on the Tuncurry side, the J's spotted dolphins playing at the point where the lake meets the sea. We were all mesmerised and it was evident at this point that we were going to be staying in the vicinity that night. We were told by locals that whilst the water is a bit murky at this time of year, in the summer, it's that clear that you can see the dolphins whilst they're in the water, not just when they pop their heads up; Anne and I pledged to return.

As the sun was beaming down at this point, it seemed only right that we had BBQ for dinner, so we headed into Forster to pick up the relevant provisions before heading on into the local countryside to locate our camp for the night. After a brief stop in the town of Green Point for some amazing photo's across the water (including some with a few photogenic pelicans) we arrived at Camp Elim, which was very much a American style school holidays camp set right on the lake. We couldn't believe our luck when we were quoted just $30 a night between the four of us to stay there and utilise the full facilities (usual cost was around $45-55). For an additional $10, we were able to rent canoes to take over the lake and we embarked on a mission to Pelican Island (guess what birds could be found in abundance there). The row back began to take its toll as our incredibly poor fitness levels became apparent but Joe and I made it back with enough energy left to devise a football game utilising the volleyball net on the waters edge as our goal. We played until nightfall, with Anne and Jude capturing some high quality photographs of the sunset across the lake in the meantime. That evening, after freshening up, we finished a highly enjoyable day off with a BBQ and the now ritualistic card games.

The next day proved to be a slightly frustrating one, as we all desperately needed to get online for one reason or another but we also needed to make enough head ground so that we were on track for visiting the Blue Mountains the day after. Finding a wifi spot proved to be harder than anticipated and it wasn't until well past 3pm before we were properly on the road. Joe and I made the decision to attempt to get as far as we could and so this meant that we were arriving at another free site past nightfall, which once again meant that our surroundings looked very seedy and well, to be honest, quite perilous too. What didn't help proceedings was that we were high up in the mountains in a place called Bilpin and we were surrounding by an eerie mist amidst the incessant rain which had plagued our entire afternoon.

Once again, however, the place didn't look too bad in the morning and after a very early start, we were on course for the Blue Mountains, taking in absolutely stunning views for the entire duration there. The best was saved for once we arrived though, as despite the large crowds (which are to be expected at such tourist traps), it was still a breath-taking sight looking out amongst the mix of greens, browns and deep blues which formed the distant backdrop. All but Anne decided to embark on the 900 steps down to the bottom of the valley, which inevitably were a lot harder on the return ascent.

Feeling suitably filled with our fix of scenery and exercise, we trundled back to the vans for lunch and to make our way onto our resting spot for the night, which ended up being at the Richmond Club, which was kind of like a social club with all functions and facilities (including a bowling green), situated around 60km (37 miles) north west of Sydney.

It turned out to be a fantastic little find. Firstly, Joe and I had to sign up for a years membership (which cost around $4), then we got access to camp on their grounds along with a book full of drink tokens. As this was to be our last day with the J's, we'd planned a feast for dinner and opted for the ol' favourite of meatballs, mash and gravy. So after Joe and I had one last game of football, we all piled into Henry for the final supper, followed by a few scooners* in the club. Anne and I finished the night off with a DVD in our little van, which we had been given by some fellow 'Spaceship' renters, Herman & Greta from Austria (despite what you might think, these names were not fabricated). We also managed to acquire a whole bag full of goodies from them, including kitchen utensils and spices, as their Australian trip was coming to an end and they needed to discard of them, much to our delight.

It was all a bit surreal thinking that we'd be on our own again from the following day. Joe and Jude had become as much of a permanent fixture in this leg of our travels as Tim & Jens did in Russia, Mongolia and China, or Matt & Jess and Mathilda & Stina in Vietnam and Cambodia. Since meeting up in Airlie Beach we'd travelled around 2,000km (over 1,200 miles) together, which is the equivalent of driving from Manchester to Warsaw for our English readers, or from Helsinki to Moscow to Vilnius in Lithuania for the Finnish... It was definitely going to be another emotional farewell.

*A scooner is a measurement of beer, practically a half pint but it's very much what is commonly ordered in these parts. Hardly anyone goes for pints and we obviously wanted to blend in.