On June 13th we leave Sweden to spend about six weeks in
Japan, Australia and Singapore. We are going to spend most
of the time in Australia and we've planned this tour:
Melbourne - Uluru - Kings Canyon - Alice Springs - Darwin -
Kakadu NP - Katherine - Cairns and drive down to Brisbane
(camper van probably) - Sydney - Melbourne. Our girls are 5
and 7 and we would love some ideas on how to see things
away from the tourist track suitable for children, although
there are lots of "have to see-things" we don't want to
miss also. Also would like some ideas on how to prepare the
girls for the trip.
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Hi Elva, from Melbourne.
That's a huge trip you outlined and one which most adults
would have trouble with in the time you have. Kids of the
age you have will possibly not enjoy being in the car for
all that time. Have you considered flying some of the
sectors in Aust? Even the drive from Cairns south is a huge
venture in a short time.
I have eight year old twins with whom I've just travelled
Asia, so their experiences are fresh in my mind.
There are a few ways to stay cheaply and also give the kids
a chance to meet and play with other kids - a good
accomodation choice is in camping parks where there are
usually caravans or cabins available for rent and good
facilities for kids like swimming pools, play grounds etc.
Hope this helps. Send me a message if you have other
questions.
Cheers, Greg
Actually we are planning to fly quite a lot. We realise
it's impossible to drive all the way. I should have added
that. We have booked flights from Melbourne to Uluru, from
Alice to Darwin, from Darwin to Cairns, from Brisbane to
Sydney and from Sydney to Melbourne as well...
Have been to Brisbane and Sydney with my children - the kids
will love Movie World, Dreamworld, Seaworld, Wet n Wild and
the beach along the Gold Coast
For Sydney, it's the Opera House and the harbour
For S'pore, the Night Safari and the day zoo are definite
MUST-SEEs
Get a world map and maps of the countries you're going, show
them your travel route
Gather info about the individual countries and things they
can see
Don't forget to pack their favourite toys/books
If possible don't miss W.A. Especially the south. It is
magnificent. I have just returned with my two children 6
and 8 from touring the Tingle and Karri forests of Walpole
and Pemberton. The children absolutly loved it. We stayed
at a place called Donnelly River. In early morning and
early evening we had Kangaroos and Emus at the back door
waiting to be fed. They were very friendly. We could feed
Kookaburras and Parrots right out of our hands. I've never
had an experience like it. It is no theme park like Movie
World or Dreamworld, It is Australia at it's best and
definately worth the extra effort.......
Sounds great! Just be aware that you will need to protect
yourselves and children from the sun! Especially Darwin -
Kakadu - Katherine way you will need heaps of sunblock on
and hats, otherwise you'll fry! Have a great time!!! It will
be probably be freezing in Melb, hell - it's freezing here
no
Congratulations, you are meeting a challange! We did the
same last year and everyone said that we were crazy and our
three kids wouldn't last the distance! They did and it was
fantastic.
We travelled by car and stayed in cabins (with ensuite) in
good cravan parks which were we all prebooked(Uluru is
usually full) This gave us the freedom to sight see with
out lugging our house around with us. You can go through
quite a bit of petrol using a campervan as you are
travelling over distances at 120km/h in NT or so. Even
though there is an no speed limit on the open roads in NT,
be careful. Doing speeds over 120km/hr will chew up your
petrol. It's a long way between petrol stations. The
distances are long, so bring colouring books, gameboys,
music tapes etc, and they will be fine. We had 3 atari
lynx's plugged into the cigarette lighter via a 3-way
adapter plug and an assortment of previously unseen games.
The roads in Central Australia are excellent and we had no
problem with carsickness. Just keep an eye on the fuel tank
and stop every 2 hours. Make sure the kids stretch and try
to have lunch where they can get out and run around. Ensure
that each person has a drink bottle with them all the time.
You can buy a 10 litre casks of drinking water at any of
the big supermarket chains. Keep one one of these in the
boot at all times in the outback. Also take sunscreen, hats
and comfortable walking shoes.
You are travelling through the centre at the best time as
it is relatively dry and the days are not too hot. But it
will get very cold at night. Bring warm pjamas & sleeping
bags. By the time you hit Melbourne, you will certainly
need warm clothes and raincoats.
Forget looking at monuments, go for hands on sights like
the windows of the wetlands in Kakadu. If you stay in
Kakadu, stay at Gagadju lodge, as they run the sunrise
yellow water cruise from there. Waking up with nature is
worth it. Our kids were fascinated by the caves at Cutta
Cutta (near Katherine) and the giant termite mounds in
Lichfield National Park. They loved swimming at Litchfield
falls.
We encouraged each of our kids to choose one thing that
they would like to do most and we made sure we kept to it.
Eventhough at one point we travelled 1 hr each way along an
unsealed road to see dinosaur footprints! My 6 year old
daughter beamed from ear to ear when we had acheived our
goal. Fossicking at gem tree just out of Alice Springs was
also a winner and we took home some decent sized garnets.
Make sure that each caravan park (north of Sydney)you stay
at has a swimming pool - a must for the trip. The big 4
tourist parks were all very good.
Fill up at "Three ways"(albeit expensive petrol) before
attempting the long haul accross Camooweel in QLD.The
journey takes about a tank of petrol. The road from there
to Mt Isa is atrocious. Be careful as road trains(long
semitrailers)use this undulating narrow strip of bitumen.
The road improves as you move closer to the coast. The
Stockman's Hall of fame and schooIf you want to go to a
theme park on the Gold Coast, keep your eye out for (4 for
1) deals through automobile clubs etc. I suggest choose
only one(our kids liked seaworld the best), as your time is
limited and there are many other things to do.
In Victoria. So many places to go. Walkaround Wilson's
Promotory, or better still, drive out to Port Campbell to
the 12 apostles along the great ocean road(winding +++)
Stop along the way for a picnic at any one of the little
seaside spots, and return along a more direct route to
Melbourne.
The kids enjoyed the Eureka Stockade in Ballarat, panning
for gold and learning a bit of Victorian history along the
way.
You don't need to spend a lot of money to make the trip
memorable for kids. We found the little things had the
most inpact. Like like spotting a goanna crossing over a
dirt road, feeding the rock wallabies at dusk at the
caravan park in Alice springs, or running up and down huge
sanddunes near Wentworth NSW that have the most memories.
The kids got a lot out of this trip. We kept well within
our budget and I can say over again. It was worth it!