Anney, we have taken visitors to Australia Zoo twice, and will probably go again soon to take the boys. It's quite good. Here are the answers:

1. Probably about 1 1/2 hours outside of peak hour. You would bypass Brissy on the Gateway I would think, so M1 to Gateway, to Bruce Highway.

2. I think Beerwah is the closest town. This is really Sunshine Coast Hinterland, rather than Sunshine Coast itself. I think Beerwah has some B&Bs and so forth. Aus Zoo is about 5 or 10 mins from Beerwah if my memory is correct. You would be looking at about 30 mins to get to Maroochydore which is "real" Sunshine Coast.

3. Whoops, answered above.

4. 1 day is definitely enough. I recommend going early as it makes it easier to fit in the shows if you want to see those. There are lots of other things to do around that area though if you are staying overnight.

5. Try contacting the Tourism board before you arrive as you can sometimes get discount vouchers. It is not cheap, but it is worth a look I think.

HTHs.