Easy Road trips

You don’t have to have a four-wheel drive or a well-accessorised vehicle to embark on an old-fashioned Aussie road trip. A reliable set of wheels and a sense of adventure is all you need to get your family on the road, exploring our great country. If it’s your first road trip, think about how your kids travel in the car and what is a safe distance for you to drive. Plan your first few of nights of accommodation so there is no stress working out where you are going to stay.

There are number of accommodation options available for travellers and it all depends on your preferences, budget and where you are going.  Australia has a large amount of free campsites as well as bush camping, holiday parks, self-contained cabins, units, motels and holiday homes. Although we tend to camp most of the time when we go on road trips, we often plan to stay at a holiday park once a week as it gives us a chance to wash clothes, have a proper shower, replenish supplies and get everything back in order.

If you are embarking on an extended road trip and you are planning on camping, it is always advisable to pack everything in the car and go away for a practice weekend. It provides the ideal opportunity to check if everything works, if you have everything you need or if you have packed too much. Sometimes it can be harder to pack less but the more you take, the more you have to set up, pack up and cart around with you.

FAMILY TRIPS

Road trips are a great way to spend quality family time together and share experiences and adventures. I remember clearly the road trips I enjoyed as a child and my parents would cram everything into our car and we would take off even if it was just for a couple of nights.

We are fortunate that both of our parents enjoy the outdoors and like to join us on adventures when they get the chance. Spending a week in Arnhem Land with my parents-in-law and driving the old Telegraph track with my parents have been wonderful experiences to share with our children and their grandparents.

We still laugh about the time my Dad, Noel got stuck in Nolan’s Brook on the Old Telegraph Track and we had to snatch him out. Even though his car filled with water to his knees, he still smiled and laughed when he hit dry land, opened his door and a river of water flowed out from his car.

Time moves so fast and we all get older but I am hoping we can still camp and go on trips with them over the next few years. We are aware that we only have our children for so long and we are going to take every opportunity to get out and enjoy the time with them while they still love going away with Mum and Dad.