We spend a morning of schoolwork then a drive to Surfers Paradise where things are still getting cleaned up after the V8 Supercars a week ago. We find the time clock to the start of the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast and hope we're back here in a couple of years to watch some events.

Back east we head to Toowoomba and nearby Grantham where floods caused havoc in 2011. The Lockyer Vally was pretty and we stopped for a snack in Forest Hill near Gatton. The lure of the surf beckons so Dad found the motorway and we zoomed past Ipswich to a caravan park near the Gold Coast where we book in for a week. Our earlier than expected visit here is to avoid schoolies week which sees an invasion in just a couple of weeks time!

Getting further from the coast we reach Kingaroy which is like a ghost town on a Sunday. Sadly there were no tours of the peanut factory or any farms so we had to settle for some purchases at the famous peanut van in the main street. After lunch in Kumbia we pass through Dalby on our way to a campsite at Lake Braodwater. This is a popular water skiing spot and we find some quiet backwaters to paddle the kayaks around, while Dad watched us from the bird hide.

Inland we go and after finding that the Buderim Ginger Factory wasn't at Buderim, we finally visit it at Yandina. We enjoyed the tour and the tasting plates of ginger products afterwards. Nearby we visit a macadamia factory which also had some tasty treats to sample. We travel south along the range to Mapleton and Montville which had great views of the hinterland out to the coast. Mum finds us a great camp spot at the showgrounds in Woodford.

A final day of schoolwork for the week and we get much of our English pieces drafted while Dad marked our maths. To finish our stay on the Sunshine Coast we drove out to a huge aqua park at Coolum where we met Belinda for a play on the inflatable equipment. Many of the slides were steep and we had a great time slipping and sliding around the park.