Mooloolaba - 10th Feb to 14th Feb

After a good few days in Noosa expectations were high as left and headed further south. Our next stop was Mooloolaba, a place not visited by many travelers as it is fairly quiet place but ideal for a few days while we got a few things sorted and dates for trips arranged. After a short journey down the coast we arrived at this small town and made our way to the only backpacker's hostel. Once booked in we enjoyed a free breakfast before checking into our room, although our first room was a complete dive. As we walked in there were two lads collapsed on the bed with all sorts around them including some used contraception…. Hmm you can imagine Rachel's reaction. So we headed back to reception to get our room changed and luckily we got an upgrade to an ensuite room, a good result I would think. Later that day we spent the afternoon on Mooloolaba beach until the cloud rolled in which sort of set the scene for the weather over the next few days. The weather out here is a funny thing as every time there is a full moon it seems to dramatically change. Now I have read this stuff on gravitational pull etc and did not believe it at all until we came to this side of the world, the moon really does seem to control the weather. As evening arrived we joined the hostel for dinner, an all you can eat taco session for 6 bucks 'banging' and then, with no one new in our dorm we had the room to ourselves where we sat and ate Doritos and watched Will Smith's new film '7 Pounds'.

Our plan the next day was to head out on bikes to explore the surrounding area of Alexandra Head, Maroochydore and Cotton Tree along the Maroochy River. However, the hostel was out of bikes so we took up the challenge of walking there. In total in was about a 7km walk, many would have thought we would have learned our lesson from 1770 but no, regardless of the 30 degree heat we decided it was a good idea to do it. Although the day was tiring we did get to see a lot more around the local area, Alexandra Headlands provided us with stunning views from North to South and the wildlife around the area was there to see around every corner we turned. As we made our way further along the coast we arrived at Maroochydore and stopped a while to soak up some of the town before heading to Cotton Tree and the Maroochy River. There we admired the wisps' of sand in the river as the tides lowered and the Pelicans stood waiting for their afternoon lunch of fresh fish. After a long afternoon we jumped onto a bus to take us back to base where we arrived in time for the 'all you can eat Dominoes for $4', how about that hey.

The following day was our big day out in Mooloolaba, Australia Zoo. The zoo has been made famous by the extraordinary work of Wildlife Warrior Steve Irwin and his family. After an early departure we jumped on a bus and made our way to the zoo traveling down Steve Irwin Way, which had been newly named in his memory. Although not really knowing what to expect on entering the zoo it was soon clear that we would not leave disappointed. Obviously the atmosphere around the zoo has changed since he has died, with lots of tributes and statutes in his name but the right ideas around preservation and conservation are still there. Unlike many zoo's Australia Zoo is all about the animals and creatures found in Australia with no outsiders from other countries. This to me is how a zoo should be, not only is it a place where a countries entire species come together but also a place to learn about the dangers of Australia, as it can be a dangerous place. As we made our way round the zoo we enjoyed a show in the famous Crocersium, where we were treated to a wild display of bird's free flying around the arena before enjoying Norman the Crocodile hunting his prey. After that we headed to the Kangaroo pen where we were in for a real treat as we entered into their world, a place where they roamed freely with us as visitors in their home and a place where we could feed them face to face out of the palm of our hands. These stunning animals, only found in Australia, were so friendly and to have them stand tall in front of us was just the best feeling of the day. As the day wore on we visited the snakes of Australia and attempted to see a Tasmanian devil. After such an exciting day we headed back on the bus only to be dropped off in one of Australia's notorious freak rain storms and within seconds we were soaked through to the bone with water turning streets into rivers. There's always fun over here!

On our last day in Mooloolaba any ideas we had about sightseeing in the sun were dashed as it was clear we were set for a day of heavy rain. Therefore we spent much of the day playing cards and eating a random selection of food available from our shopping bag before spending a night watching Australia and New Zealand in the final ODI. As we awoke early Saturday morning we got ourselves ready to head off to Brisbane where we would meet up with our friends from Thailan, Beau and Lauchie.