Thursday we left Noosa and headed south along the Sunshine Coast highway, stopping of at sunshine beach and sunrise beach, each adding to the growing list of reasons to love this part of the world. We made our way to Caloundra, at the southern end of the Sunshine Coast. Not quite as picturesque as Noosa but nice all the same, we also found out that they are in the process of building a new hospital in the area!

We stayed the night before heading for Australia Zoo, located in a place called Beerwah, think it's trip I have been looking forward to the most. The zoo is fantastic, so many animals and keepers who are so passionate about what they do. You get the feeling they are not just there to entertain the public but to care for the animals first and foremost and to educate the public around how to live with the animals. Many of the animals are endangered and they are keen to ensure we do everything we can in terms of conservation. The zoo has a rescue team who are available 24/7 for the public to contact should they see any animals in distress, and many are brought to the zoo's on site hospital to be treated. Whilst we were there we saw Koala being operated on to repair a broken arm.

The highlight for Steph was definitely being able to cuddle a Koala. We saw a Wombat being taken for a walk and we're able to walk through a mob of Kangaroos, each of which we could feed. We also learnt more about the Cassowaries we had seen in Mission Beach, turns out they are extremely rare to see in the wild as there are only 1500 left.

It is definitely a place I would recommend people visit, it's just like it was watching the crocodile hunter on the telly all those years back, only difference is Steve Irwin isn't there to greet you. It's quite sad that he's not around but you can see the affect that he has had and they are certainly carrying on the work that he started!

This evening we are staying in Narangba, just outside Brisbane, with an old neighbour of Stephs from Wyke. Having not seen Steph for over 20 years Chris and his wife Lorna, were happy to put us up for the evening, an offer we were happy to accept. It's nice to meet people that have gone through the same process as we are and have come out of the other side smiling.