Ahhhhâ..Mooloolaba!  I just love saying the name!

It just sounds so exotic, so rough and ready, soâ.AUSTRALIAN!!!

And, thank goodness, itâs one stop along our journey that that old suck-up, Captain Cook, didnât manage to name after one of his cronies back in England!

In fact, Mooloolaba, depending on where you check out the entomology, derives from the Aboriginal words mulu meaning Snapper Fish or mulla meaning Red-bellied Black Snake.  I prefer the Snapper Fish version myself.  We did observe a sizable fishing fleet in the harbor and Snapper was a popular entree on many restaurant menus so thatâs my definition and Iâm sticking to it!!!

And, this fabulous, laid-back beach yachtsmenâs paradise certainly was the perfect spot to slow down for awhile and enjoy all the âperksâ of the Sunshine Coast.  With miles of beautiful beaches, a snazzy waterfront esplanade, great shopping & dining, endless watersports activities and handsome, six-pack âab-fabâ Australian lifeguards stationed every 200 meters along the waterâs edge, whatâs not to like???

We even found a song that touts Mooloolabaâs praises by the American singer, Eric Stone, a former Floridian .  Eric is a mainstay entertainer at all the US Boat Shows as well as sailing events and regattas around the world.  Check it out!

We anchored out in Mooloolaba Harbor for six nights prior to Amyâs arrival and used our dinghy to get to/from shore each day.  The weather wasnât living up to the âSunshine Coastâ moniker but we figured that it just couldnât rain forever and, hopefully, by the time she arrived, a beautiful Southern Hemisphere summer would greet her, and luckily, for the most part, it didâ

The harbor in Mooloolaba is alive with activity.   There were kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and outrigger teams constantly whizzing by us.  On the Saturday night before Christmas, the annual Holiday Boat Parade was held in the serpentine canals that bisect the harbor.  As it turned out, we were strategically anchored at a turning point so we got to see all the colorfully decorated, illuminated boats as they passed us first on one side of Peregrina and then down the other!  It was very reminiscent of the Boat Parades in Las Olas, Fort Lauderdale and we were reminded of the many times we joined our friends, Gillian and Ian Miller at their waterfront home for the festivities.

Finally, our wait was over and we drove to Brisbane to meet Amy at the airport, after bringing Peregrina into a slip in the Mooloolaba Yacht Club Marina.   It was such a joy to see her and the best Christmas present we could imagine.  We were sad that Lauren couldnât join us this year but she had just taken on two part-time jobs in Costa Mesa, CA a few weeks earlier and wasnât eligible for vacation yetâ

So, hereâs a quick wrap up of our Christmas vacation with Amy...

On the 2nd day, we went to the Glass House MountainsâTWICE!  The first time, we left very early in the morning so that we could enjoy a full dayâs hiking in these spectacular volcanic protrusions that jut out of the earthâs surface like some weird Jurassic Park replica.  There are 16 volcanic peaks that tower up to 1625 feet above sea level.  Their sheer rocky sides are the result of millions of years of erosion and they are hauntingly beautiful.

About half-way into the trip, Amy and I were both at our witâs end with her father who just couldnât seem to get a handle on driving on the left side of the road or judging distances with the steering wheel on the right side of the car.

He either took his half of the road right out of the middle or careened along the rough edges at the side of the road, perilously close to oncoming traffic on one side or trees and guardrails on the other.  Either way, one of us was sure weâd be killed.

Inevitably, before anyone could shout quick enough to avoid disaster, a HUGE pothole appeared in the road.  With headâs smashing on the ceiling and metal grinding on the tarmac, we bounced in/out of the abyss with a pounding, teeth-chattering THUD!  Now, you would have thought that we would have stopped to survey the damage, but Nooooooooooâwe were on our way to the Glass House Mountains and no stinkinâ pothole was going to get in our way!  Well, theoretically, it DID get in our wayâ but we carried on anywayââ..Big Mistake!

When we arrived at the head of the trail at Mt. Tibrogargan and got out of the car.  A cursory look at the wheels revealed not one but two missing hubcaps!  Upon closer examination, our front rim was dented and the air was clearly escaping from the tire.  The back rim also had a dent in it but, luckily, it seemed to be holding tight.  We decided to go back to the main road some 30 minutes back to find a gas station.

After changing the front tire and, just in case, topping off the back with air, we headed back to the mountain and continued on with our hike which was spectacular.  (See photos)  We drove back to the rental car agency late that afternoon and, after filling out numerous forms to address our liability (tires and windshields are NOT covered by insurance in Australia) we picked up a new car and were back on the road againâ  FYI - this little fiasco cost us $395!

Day 3 finds us at the Australia Zoo  â Home of the Irwin family minus Steveâexcept that Steve is EVERYWHERE at the Zoo!  Itâs a living tribute to the âCrocodile Hunterâ and somehow they manage to pull it off without creeping everyone out!  If Steve isnât around, via photos, audio, video or wide screen overhead projection in the huge outdoor amphitheater, or âcrocoseumâ  as they call itâthereâs always Bindi, who now, at 12 years old, looks and talks so much like her father, itâs uncanny!  And, little Robert, who was only 2 when his father died, is now 8 years old and a miniature crocodile/reptilian fanatic himself.  They are continuing Steveâs legacy and creating a multi-million dollar âbrandâ for themselves and their American mother, Terri, who has done an amazing job as CEO of the Australia Zoo.  In fact, she received the Australia Business Person of the Year award in 2009.  Itâs just a wonderful feeling to be there - not only to see animals (Theyâre not in cages but in free roaming semi-natural habitats) - but to be able to touch and interact with them as well.  Many of the exhibits have open access where you can get up close and personal with kangaroos, wallabies and koalas among othersâ  It was a GREAT day! (See photos)

But, it was time to say goodbye to Mooloolaba as we needed to head south if we wanted to do some sailing and still get to Sydney for Christmas.  We sailed 65 nautical miles from Mooloolaba to Moreton Bay in one glorious day and put our anchor down for 2 nights at Moreton Island, just north of the Tangalooma Resort and adjacent to the eerie looking Tangalooma Wrecks (See photo)

This anchorage was formed by scuttling 15 work boats and barges along the Sholl Bank to create a wall two football fields long which was supposed to provide protection from westerly winds.  The project failed, as those of you who read Peterâs âTerror in Tangaloomaâ already know.  We had been warned  that it would be very uncomfortable during strong winds.  Luckily, when the storm hit us, our ground tackle held Peregrina safely.  Our friends in Crysallis II werenât so luckyâ

But, I should tell you that the storm that drove Crysallis II aground wasnât the only one we experienced in Tangalooma.  Amy and I had our own adventure in bad weather the day beforeâ

We had spent the morning snorkeling around the wrecks which support the richest collection of coral species, fish and marine invertebrates in southern Queensland and then hiked around sections of the island designated as National Park which are very beautiful.  There are more âsand blowsâ on Moreton  Island as well and Iâve attached a photo of Peter at the bottom of one of the dunes so you can see the âsand sleddingâ  that tourists enjoy here.

By 2pm, Peter was all tuckered out but Amy and I still wanted to do a little more walking down the beach so he went back to the boat and we headed north along the shoreline.  We walked for about an hour before realizing that dark clouds were forming ominously behind us.  We turned and âkicked it up a notchâ on the return trip but not before the wind picked up significantly and the rain started to fall, harder and harder.  Before we knew it, we were running in a complete âwhite outâ and the wind was just howling like a freight train!  Then, the rain started to really hurt!!!  It had turned into hailstones and, at one point, I looked at Amyâs long hair and it was covered with pea-sized pellets of ice.

Now, I have to point out that Amy has never been known for her calm in the presence on danger.  By now, she was experiencing an overwhelming sense of doom in relation to our plight and her modus operandi in these types of situations is to run around in circles, flapping her arms and crying, âWeâre gonna die!  Weâre gonna die!â   This is actually pretty amusing in most cases but, as I was trying to hunker down in some low-lying brush at the edge of the beach to get out of the hailstone assault, I was concerned that sheâd run away and get lost in the maelstrom.  I finally got her down and we waited out the storm which really was quite fierce for another 10-12 minutes before it passed over us and then a beautiful double rainbow appeared which reminded me of that wacky âDouble Rainbowâ YouTube post.

Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI.  Itâs hilarious as are the resulting parodies from the Jimmy Kimmel Show.  I know this is a non sequiteur (sp?) but, since I donât have photos of Amy freaking outâ.itâs the next best thing!

Anyway, we left Moreton Island (which was named by Captain Cook after the Earl of Morton but somehow acquired an extra âeâ over the years) and sailed on down the bay to Peel Island and then an overnight in Raby Bay visiting friends, Alan and Ronnie Hodges, who allowed us to tie up to their dock and enjoy the luxury of a hot shower and clean sheets for the night.  We then pushed on to Scarborough Marina where we will keep the boat for two and a half months while waiting out Cyclone Season.

We immediately arranged for a rental car and started out on our journey to Sydney â only six days left before Amy would have to fly out on Dec. 26^th!  Along the way, we stopped at Fredoâs Pies in Frederickton - supposedly one of the top three pie emporiums in the country and famous for the two Marilym Monroe statues out front (See photos) and sampled a Kangaroo Meat Pie.  (Never again!)

We spent one night in Newcastle before arriving in Sydney and the Breakfree on George Hotel right in the center of townâ.

More on Sydney in the next postâ