Sometimes, half the fun is getting there. Even when you have kids in the car.
A couple of times a year, my husband and I drive our two young kids from Sydney to Adelaide to visit family (and then drive them back, obviously).
Our friends think we’re crazy.
Airfares are so cheap.
They can’t understand why we would choose to spend so much time on the road. Well, it’s partly because we have family members and friends scattered in different country towns, but also partly because we like the trip.
Yes. In the car. With kids.
I have to admit, these road trips haven’t always been fun. When my daughter was tiny and still in a baby capsule, I had to read to her the whole way over or she would cry. By the time I got to the end of the trip, I wanted to tear Postcards From Kitty into tiny pieces.
There was also the time, when my son was a few weeks old, we ended up in a freezing motel in Wagga Wagga in the middle of winter and I thought we’d never make it through the night. Oh, and then there were the bushfires, dust storms, floods, plagues of locusts, etc, etc.
But, on the positive side, my kids have seen a lot of country Australia. They’ve watched, fascinated, as herds of cattle and flocks of sheep have crossed the road in front of our car. They’ve seen emus running alongside us, and kangaroos hopping by. They’ve been transfixed when we’ve stopped the car at night, in the middle of nowhere, and stared up at millions of stars, looking like a tub of glitter that’s been spilled (a sight I’m very familiar with).
I do have a few bits of advice, though, for any parents about to set out on a major road trip for the first time.
Don't be too ambitious. We don't usually plan to drive for more than five hours a day, although the kids have coped with more than that. Within that five hours or so, we'll schedule two stops. If the kids run around enough at the stops, they'll spend a big chunk of the drive sleeping.
Get advice from the locals. When you're buying petrol from a roadhouse or pies from a bakery, ask the person behind the counter where the best parks and playgrounds are. The Monash Adventure Park is famous, but there are also really good playgrounds in places like Narrandera and Wagga Wagga. Plus, country pubs quite often have play areas for kids, which is a massive bonus for parents.
Think big. No tourist attractions are too cheesy for kids. Before you go, research the Big Things you're going to be driving past. We stop at the Big Merino at Goulburn every time. I don't think my kids will ever get sick of taking a closeup look at its gigantic testicles.
Buy along the way. No matter how many books and toys your kids start the trip with, they'll always appreciate something new halfway through. Newsagencies are good for sticker books, puzzle books and blank journals, and a surprising number of country towns also have secondhand bookstores.
Make up your own games. Sure, you can buy books full of ideas for travel games, but it's much more fun to make up your own. Our favourite one involves writing lists of things we have to spot along the way, then crossing them off as we see them.
I have no doubt that when my kids get a few years older, they'll be demanding that we fly instead of drive every time. But right now, road trips are our little family adventure. Just the four of us and the open road.
What advice do you have for road trips with kids?
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