SUNREEF Mooloolaba is busy prepping their team and their vessels for what is anticipated to be the biggest Swim with the Whales season yet. The Humpback Whales are currently feeding in the Antarctic and will start to migrate up the East Coast of Australia, reaching the Sunshine Coast in June, with official Swim with the Whales experience kicking of in July.

The 2016 season will be Sunreef’s third after launching Australia’s 1st Swimming with Humpback Whale encounters in 2014. Sunreef are keen to help more people experience an encounter with these magnificent mammals from a new perspective.

Humpback whales are the gentle giants of the sea and now you can see them up close from within their own environment, with Australia’s 1^st Swim with Humpback Whales experience on Australia’s beautiful Sunshine Coast.

Sunreef Mooloolaba launched its Swim with Whales experience in 2014 and there is strong demand for this truly unique wildlife experience.

Just one hour north of Queensland’s capital Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast waters are clear and warm, even in winter, offering perfect conditions to see these gentle giants in their own environment.

An army of willing Buderim volunteers will mobilise this weekend to deliver a very special publication to every home in the Buderim community.

The “Spirit of Buderim” publication is a joint initiative of the Buderim War Memorial Community Association (BWMCA) and the Buderim Foundation.

Buderim Foundation Chair Prof. Paul Clark said the 16-page publication celebrates the community’s achievements and seeks to explain how important our volunteers are in enriching the lives of every resident in the area.

Most homeowners like to think they know what’s happening within their ‘four walls’ however, there is an entry that is often left unguarded.

Every brick home in Australia has gaps left between some bricks in external masonry walls that are known as weepholes. These often go unnoticed by homeowners.

Sunreef Mooloolaba is welcoming the warm water on Friday 4^th December with a family fun afternoon at its dive centre, including free tank dives, stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, face painting and heaps of other fun activities.

FM’s Todd & Sammi will host the Warm Water Welcome afternoon with a live broadcast and sausage sizzle.

Sunreef’s Dan Hart said as Summer approaches, the Warm Water Welcome afternoon would provide a great opportunity for people to try activities they may not usually think of trying.

Sunshine Coast businesswoman Janelle Martin is set to spark children’s creativity and imagination just in time for Christmas with the launch of Creative Story Stones.

Creative Story Stones are a tool to spark children’s creativity and imagination and it doesn’t hurt that it is an opportunity to get them away from “screen time” including TV and devices that have become so prevalent.

Coffee King and entrepreneur Phillip Di Bella is coming to the Sunshine Coast to share the secrets of the perfect brew! Fresh from an international tour of coffee producers and providers, Phillip will entertain and inform on the drink that’s become the most widely consumed beverage in the world.

The Buderim War Memorial Community Association (BWMCA) are asking locals to save the date in their calendar as they prepare to spread the message of peace and goodwill at the annual Buderim Community Carols on Saturday 12^th December.

This will be the first time the annual event has been held at the new Buderim Village Park. The park boasts stunning views across the Sunshine Coast so event organisers know this will add to the family fun atmosphere that Community Christmas carols create.

As summer approaches, Sunreef Moooloolaba is farewelling the last of the Humpback Whales as they make their journey back to the Antarctic where they will spend the summer months resting and feeding on krill.

Over 20,000 whales make the journey up the east coast of Australia, north to Queensland every year arriving in June and July to breed and give birth to their calves before feeding and fattening the calves up ready to make their way south in spring as the water heats up.

With the New South Wales summer only weeks away and a predicted El Nino to hit the East Coast of Australia, homeowners are being reminded that weepholes in brick homes pose a risk during the states bushfire season, offering an open door for bushfire embers and pests to enter and cause havoc from inside your home.

In NSW, the large bushfire near Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains in August showed how dry conditions had become and fire authorities believe if replicated in summer with low humidity, high temperatures and strong winds the fire season for NSW will escalate. To ease this pressure more fire fighting aircraft have been added to NSW and Victoria and authorities are requesting homeowners to proactively prepare for the bushfire season.