One of the joys of this trip has been the realisation that the best places to visit aren’t on the main roads. We’re also a bit slow and heavy (I’m not speaking personally, I’m talking about the truck, people!) and so it suits us to take the scenic routes, the gravel roads, the slow side-passes and mountain tracks. They lead to wondrous places.

When we left Rainbow Beach, we intended on landing at a friend’s house for the night, but our winding way around Gympie reminded us of how beautiful Australia can be. So many times we have felt that the landscape is stark and dry, but a trip through the Sunshine Coast hinterland reminded us of one gorgeous, green pocket.

And then we saw the sign to the Noosa Botanical Gardens outside Cooroy. We couldn’t resist.

We spent the night in the spacious carpark at the botanical gardens. We were right beside a section planted with aromatic plants, and the cool night air released the scent of thousands of flowers upon us.

Bromeliads growing up around the base of a palm tree. This is a fantastic way to make a garden look lush, and at home I've placed bromeliads around the trunks of the trees, hoping one day they'll look this good.

The gardens were full of surprises — all of them good. We love to let the girls wander freely, and we follow the paths that they choose, trusting that whatever is around the corner will be worth the effort.

There's always a great variety of paths to walk down.

If you haven’t been to your local botanical gardens, you should make it a goal to visit. Take a picnic, spend a lot of time, and enjoy the manicured gardens and variety of plants.

My only sadness is that it was here we lost Delaney’s special Fishy Rug. We had it with us this morning, and it’s no longer with our stuff. We have a second one, but it’s been really nice to have two Fishy Rugs — the one we lost is the handkerchief-sized rug that we give her in her car seat.