Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Great Barrier Reef from Sunshine Coast

We will be staying at a timeshare for a week on the Sunshine Coast in January. We would like to see the Great Barrier Reef while we are there. I have looked at day trips to GBR from Sunshine Coast and it seems to be limited to flying to Lady Elliott Island which is quite expensive.

We will have a rental car, so would be able to drive a ways north. Could even spend the night somewhere and make it a two day trip.

Any suggestions?

You might want to check a map - you are about 400km south of Bundaberg, which is near Lady Elliott Island. But, realistically, the Great Barrier Reef starts at The Whitsunday Islands, which is a long way further north (another 500km +).

If you want to see the Great Barrier Reef, I would recommend flying to Cairns and spending three nights there, if time and cost allows. Otherwise, there are some great areas in and around the Noosa & Maroochydore area to see.