May 26, Maroochydore, Mooloolaba, Nambour, Mapleton, Montvale

We stopped at the visitors information center in Maroochydore. The feisty little Englishwoman that worked there told us about going to Canada and the US. She was quite a talker, but we got good information. In our reading we came across the mention of a replica of the Endeavour, Capt Cooks ship. It wasn't here any longer. There was a tourist place called Nostalgia Town, that also is no longer here. That's why we stop at visitors centers.

This area of Australia is called the Sunshine Coast - sunshine, good beaches, lots of hotels and lots of people. We drove through Maroochydore to Mooloolaba, a continuous line of hotels and cafes on one side and beach on the other.

At Mooloolaba we went to Underwater World. It was a a great aquarium. They had divided their exhibits into zones; Weird & Wonderful, Billabongs & Backyards, Fresh & Freaky and Crawly Creatures. There was a huge underwater tunnel that was set up with different displays; Sharks, Manta Rays, Turtles and Coral Cove. They did something we hadn't come across before - music to go with the exhibits. That added so much to the experience. In the the Weird & Wonderful part, the music was slow and classical and the sea horses and octopus and little fish just seemed to move with it. In Crawly Creatures, the music was scary. It was well done and fun.

We drove away from the coast in search of the Big Pineapple and we found it. By the road was a giant pineapple big enough to go into and climb inside. It was a big attraction for years, but had fallen on hard times. New owners recently took over and it's coming back now. We had expected a pineapple plantation, but the pineapple had only been planted 2 months. There was a little train pulled by a cane train engine and it took us around the park. There were unusual fruit trees on the route; jack fruit that grew right on the tree branches, chocolate pudding fruit, star fruit, and so on. The train stopped to let people off to go to the petting zoo, but we continued back to the station. It was a little disappointing, but I'm glad they're trying to revive it.

We toured around the Blackall Mountain Range to see a few waterfalls. The road was steep, up to 12degrees in places, and went high on the mountain ridges and the views were fantastic. We could see all the way back to the ocean across green mountains and valleys. The towns we went through were busy with people having a Sunday drive to stop at the shops and cafes. The waterfalls were also busy - small car parks were crowded and lots of people on the trails.

We had trouble finding the campground tonight. We put the address in the GPS, but there was just woods there. We stopped at a park and the man we asked said we had gone right past it. He was kind enough to lead us back. It turned out we had driven right past it. It was a Boy Scout Camp that takes in campers. It was pretty casual. We were told to park anywhere and the manager would find us. To get electricity we parked close to a building and plugged into an outlet on the outside of it. There isn't a water faucet close by, but they have showers. Should be fine.

Pictures - Octopus, Picasso fish, Sea dragon, Otter, Sawfish, Samson & the Big Pineapple, Mountain view, Kondalilla Falls,