We had a lovely weekend in Canberra, being looked after by John and Madeleine. It was great to be in a house for a few days and be chauffeured in and out of town! We saw the Old and New Parliament Houses (had lunch on the roof), the National Gallery, National Library and the High Court. We visited the National Museum too. We felt more culturally aware. Sort of.

We said our goodbyes on Sunday 10th and spent the day on an air conditioned bus to Melbourne whilst it was over 40 degrees outside. On Monday we got up early to do a free 6 hour walking tour. We saw most of the landmarks and then we found Suzie! She has been going round the world in the other direction so we have exchanged tips on our next destinations.

That night was Neighbours Night, billed as the best night in Australia. It pretty much was. Suzie and Jo were delighted that Stuart was one of the stars, though I was rooting for jelly belly, Harold Bishop. Alas, we got Stef and Toadie instead. We had too much to drink, took far too many photos and were rubbish in the quiz. Then we went home.

We achieved little in the next couple of days and on Thursday we started our road trip to Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road. We stopped at Torquay where I attempted to surf but had lost all ability since reaching world champion status at surf camp. We ate far too many sweeties during the rest of the day and started finding everything too amusing. We spent the first night in Apollo Bay.

The next day we decided not to pay $10 to see the Cape Otway lighthouse, but we did manage to spot 16 Koalas along the Lighthouse Road. We saw the famous landmarks along the road (12 Apostles etc) before taking a detour into the Grampians.

We stayed two nights in a brilliant hostel in Halls Gap. We spent our full day climbing Mount Stapylton. We didn't really believe the sign at the beginning describing rock scrambling but we scrambled pretty well. Great views and a well deserved lunch at the top.

Yesterday we completed our journey to Adelaide. We've spent today pottering around the city, relaxing in the Botanic Gardens trying to ignore the cricket. And football.

Tomorrow we're going to start heading back to Melbourne, possibly stopping somewhere on the way. Heading to Bairnsdale for a couple of days then it's Christmas in Geelong.

Hope you're all well, lots of love

jo & mike xxx