Oh I envy you! Its a great drive - you'll have an amazing adventure.

I am very biased given I grew up in this town but I'd highly recommend going into Noosa. It is a tourist town but it is not at all touristy. It's about 1 and a half hours North of Brissie on the Sunshine Coast. Its only just off the highway and the coastal road is beautiful - so much more appealing than the miles and miles of scraggly pine trees that line the Bruce Highway in that area.

Turn off just past the Ettamogah Pub at the Maroochydore / Buderim exit and then follow the coast road up to Noosa - it literally hugs the beach the whole way. Main Beach and National Park are deserving of the tourist hype (go do the walk up to Boiling Pot). The Noosa River is also a great spot and is teeming with native birds.

Its a great time of year to be travelling up the coast. I'd also highly recommend Mission Beach up near Cairns. Its not terribly well known but its a place where the rainforest comes right down to the beach and its about 14 miles of clean white sand. The place not to miss though is Paronella Park. Its an amazing Spanish styled 'castle' built by one man in the middle of the rainforest.

Have a great trip!