Hi,

We have family that live on the Sunshine Coast and visit several times a year.

Australia Zoo is fantastic..it far exceded our expectations and our three year old loved it.

As for accomodation in the area, try Montville or Maleny. They are only about 30 mins north of Aus Zoo and have fantastic arts/crafts shops, cool cafes, etc. Very easy to spend a morning or afternoon just walking up and down the main street of Montville.Great for kids too. We stayed at "Clouds of Montville" and would thoroughly recommend it. But there are heaps of great family friendly places to stay with swimming pools etc.

From there, drive north through Kennilworth to Harvey bay and then across to Fraser Island from there.

Kennilworth is a great place to stop. It's only a tiny town but has a fantastic small cheese factory where you can enjoy a free taste test and stock up on some snacks and even better just over the road is the most amazing kids playground I've ever seen...yes even for a 10 year old (my 40 year husband had a BALL!!!). It really has to be seen to be believed.

Montville to Kennilworth and through Gympie to Fraser is a great drive, very scenic and gets you of the main, boring highway north. You will really get a feel for the area.

As for Fraser, The Kingfisher Bay Resort would probably be your best bet. You can catch a ferry from just near Harvey Bay across to the island. Once there you can hire a 4WD or (my mother-in-law suggests) join in on one of the resorts 4WD bus tours of the island. Heaps to do, you could easily spend 2 days!

Hope this helps!

Kate