So we arrived in the beautiful Sunshine coast on Tuesday for our stay with Zac and Rob. Rob gave us a guided tour of the area and we took a walk down to the beach, in the evening we grabbed a take away, had a beer and watched some TV together.

The next morning, we headed out and grabbed some lunch in Coolum, the next town up, and what a great place it is. Just a row of shops, cafes and restaurants, sitting opposite the gorgeous Coolum Beach, the place had such a good vibe, people seemed so chilled and it rubbed off of me. I loved the place. After lunch we drove up the coast further to Noosa, another amazing place, nice sized town, with shops and cafes down by the beach, just in the next price zone, with the likes of fancy apartments and Hugo Boss stores. Just chilled again in the evening.

Thursday morning I got up early to get a surfing lesson. I am getting better each time I feel and the instructor I had taught me a little better than the last one and I seemed to improve. After getting back, me and Bex hit the beach to laze in the sun and do a bit of Bogie Boarding, which was really good fun, but a bit of a come down after surfing. Then in the evening we decided to climb MT Coolum to see the sunset over the Hinterland. It had great views of the mountains to the West and coastline to the East. What a physical day that was!

Next Morning we had to get our car Serviced for the next stint of our journey, another 1500km to Cairns. Cost us a little more than we thought, but our car is so important that we really need to make sure she is always in tip top condition. We took a stroll around Maroochydore in the Southern Sunshine Coast where our car was getting fixed and had a wander around the shops. Maroochydore was a bigger town, with all the big supermarkets, garages, and stores you would need. I cooked up some chicken burgers for us in the evening and watched the footy. Go the Cats!

Saturday we sadly had to leave Rob and Zac's place. It really did feel like home, especially with the company of their cats who would curl up on our laps while we chilled out in the evening. We booked in with Barb, where we were staying next which was in Coolum Beach just 10 minutes up the road. We had wanted to stay longer with Zac and Rob but they had other guests staying. As we wanted to stay in the area we booked in with Barb. We had a quick tour of the place and then we drove inland to a Town called Eumundi, where they hold the largest market in Queensland.

The dive in itself was worth the trip, into the Mountains past the sugarcane plantations, and palm trees. It defiantly felt like we were in a different state on that drive. When we arrived at the market we were amazing at the size of it. Over 500 stalls selling everything from homemade hammocks, sunglasses, fruit and veg, yogurt (probably the best yogurt I have ever tasted) to handmade guitars. Beckie bought a cool custom necklace, and some sunnys, it was a good day out.

In the afternoon we managed to sit down and have a natter with Barb, who was zooming here there and everywhere, by the end of our stay it felt like we had the place to ourselves.

Went surfing the next morning and Bex lazed around on the beach. We grabbed some lunch and a coffee in Coolum and watched a few guys playing guitars and selling sausage sandwiches for a fundraiser to get a local surfer to a Championship in Portugal. In the afternoon we drove back to Noosa and went for a walk in the national park, the route we took hugged the coastline, amazing views of all the lovely beaches.

Monday went out surfing again, had a great time until right at the end, a wave dumped on me and my board wacked me in the side. Beckie took me to the local doctors and he confirmed that I had 2 broken Ribs! In quite a bit of pain but it's not too bad, I just have to take it easy for the next few weeks. After that we had a 2 and half hour drive to Hervey Bay our next stop on our way north.

We will miss the Sunshine Coast, I think personally it was my favourite place, it ticked all the boxes, amazing beaches with little shops and cafes, drive North and you have a great National Park, drive south and you have all the amenities you would need, drive west and in 10 minutes you feel like you are in a different country, with the mountains and plantations. The worst part of travelling is finding places and people you like and having to move on so quickly, but I tell myself, we can always go back if we want to, that is the freedom we have. Next stop Hervey Bay and then on to Rockhampton where we will cross the Tropic of Capricorn and officially be in the Tropics!