We joined the tour as it headed out onto the Queen’s terrace to look out over the grounds. From there you could see all the way down to Old Parliament house at the other end of the park, and beyond that to a large war memorial. We were then shown some of the rest of the building, including the House of Representatives and the Senate rooms. After the tour we took the lift up to the roof where we could stand under the huge steel framework that held the Australian flag. The flag could be seen for miles and is roughly the size of a double decker bus. To get back to the car, we didn’t actually roll down the grassy slopes, we just strolled down them.

Later, we drove past the display of international flags, the lake and the High Court before heading homewards. Mark’s feet had survived, just, but they needed to be washed and rested. Then we both needed an early night as there was a lot of packing up and driving to be done tomorrow.

A few minutes later however, we were back in the car, deciding where to go next. We picnicked on cinnamon doughnuts and raisin bread while we surveyed the map. Finally, a decision was made and we were soon driving back along the road on which we’d come. We were driving back towards Sydney, where we planned (fingers crossed) to join the Highway heading north, towards Newcastle.

After quite a while, but only one U-turn later, we joined the Highway and were soon speeding along again. Around six in the evening, we pulled up to the caravan park in Stockton, a northern suburb of Newcastle. At first we were turned away as all the cabins were full, but as we were deciding where to head next, the manager came back with good news. Minutes later, we’d moved ourselves, our sleeping bags and our cool box into a cabin.

There was only one more trip to make today: for a takeaway. Mark chose a hamburger with the lot, and Laura half a BBQ chicken (we shared some chips too of course). We devoured the above mentioned supreme supper while relaxing after the long drive in front of the TV.

Mark’s feet were looking a little worse tonight, so we went through the salt water soaking procedure again. An hour or so later, things were worse. Not only were his feet sore and still covered in open wounds, but they had swollen up. From the ankle down, his feet were at least a third fatter than usual. This was very worrying and we immediately decided to take his feet to the hospital in the morning. We phoned his parents to let them know, and then tried to sleep. This turned out not to be too tricky as we were exhausted from the 600km journey.

When we were bored with the room itself, we leafed through the magazines. There were only a handful of them, and most were about interior design. So, we gazed at the vast kitchens, posh living rooms and huge pools of the rich and famous, pointing out things which looked nice and things which were hideous. After we’d read all the magazines, and the children's picture books, we returned to the simplistic act of chatting.

We were finally ushered into a little room, where a very nice Chinese doctor looked at Mark’s feet. He didn’t seem to know what to make of them and just prodded them a little, looking puzzled. Once he had thought of something to comment on, we came up against the next hurdle: his English. He tried very hard to express what he thought (or rather, that he didn’t really know what to think), but it was a lot of mumbling sounds from which we only caught a few words. He then called in another doctor for a second opinion. All the Australian doctors must have Sundays free as this doctor was as American as they get. He was very friendly and jovial, and suggested Mark have his blood tested in case the problem was linked to kidney trouble.

So, while the Chinese doctor took Mark’s blood, Laura held his hand for reassurance as she tried not to faint. Then, back into the waiting room, and having run out of inspiration in the room itself, we brought in the backup and spent the next hour playing hangman and eating a little chocolate. As we moved into the sixth hour at the hospital, the Chinese doctor came out, told us the blood tests were clear, he couldn’t think of anything else to say on the matter except "keep your feet raised" and keep doing what you’ve found works". Only six hours later, we were leaving the hospital and heading up the coast.

We didn’t go too far, just far enough to check into a delightful caravan park in Forster. Our caravan hand not only got a TV, it had all the Sky channels, and the manager’s new-release videos all day. It was exactly what we needed for a few days and we immediately took advantage of it by watching Runaway Bride again. Then, with Mark’s feet well raised and rested, we went to sleep.

We then went slowly about all the boring chores of washing, shopping and being lazy. Then we did a little internetting, watched a few more of the films back at the caravan, and then watched the Oscars. We sat with baited breath as one after another of the Oscars were announced. We were quite pleased to see the Matrix receiving some appreciation, and of course Phil Collins winning an Oscar was great. Sadly though, American Beauty still won more than we’d hoped, and we went to bed with mixed feelings.

As it was nearly dinner time, we went to look for some shops. We found them a couple of hundred meters down the road in the form of Pacific Fair. This was a huge shopping centre on several floors with an open air area done up to look like a village street. We also stumbled across a cinema, comprising just one corner of the centre. We decided to buy a movie meal deal for $11.95 which got us a cinema ticket and a junior whopper meal at Hungry Jacks. The entertaining thing about this deal is that you got all that for $11.95, whereas it cost $12 just for the cinema ticket on its own.

So after pocketing the five cents profit and eating our free meal, we played a few games in the amusement arcade before going up to the cinema. We watched the 7pm showing of The Beach which was alright though the story never really got anywhere. Then we drove back through the dark to our cosy cabin.