Best trip/destination ever

Hi Skinny

I love Fraser Island, and think the kids would have a lot of fun there. I get back there roughly once a year and never get tired of it. Plus you have a few options as far as accommodation, but camping there is good, albeit no camp fires there any more.

Jack

Hi Skinny,

A few questions for you -

Where are you starting from? I want to go to the Kimberleys but just getting there from Brisbane takes up a major part of the three weeks that I can afford to take the kids out of school so we are staying within Qld this year.

What type of camper have got ? Is it an offroad model and are you comfortable towing it on sand or rough tracks?

Are you going by yourself or with someone else? The type of areas you might be happy to tackle with someone else to help get you out are different to what you might do by yourself.

We have done two big trips over the last few years - Cape York four years ago and the red centre two years ago. We have found that our kids love the travelling (they are now 14 and 16) as long as we include them in the things we see. Make sure you have information about the area you are travelling to and through so that you can talk about the history etc with them. They do like to have someone else travelling with us to talk to rather than just Mum and Dad.

There are some fantastic things to see in the centre with but in the middle of the year is tourist season and you have to be willing to put up with that. Same thing up the cape really but it didn't seem so bad. As mentioned above Fraser is fantastic but you have to be happy to tow your camper on the beach. I'm not sure that I could spend three weeks there without getting up to some of the pretty remote areas up the north and that does make it difficult with young kids and a camper.

This year we are going up to Lawn Hill Gorge and that side of the gulf and I am sure we will see many interesting places so I suppose the message could be put as follows -

1. Do your research (yeah, I know, that's what you are doing asking this question :))
2. Only travel the distances that you are comfortable with taking into account the family.
3. Only travel to places that you are comfortable with taking into account the vehicle, camper and family.
4. Enjoy it, because everywhere you travel in Oz there is so much to see and never enough time to see it all.

Wow, that ended up a bit longer than I planned. Hope you find it useful.

Tim.

Skinny,

I would recommend a trip across to Broken Hill, Silverton then "Bush" into the Corner Country of NSW, SA & QLD. Heaps of History for the Kiddies, both Big & Small (BHP Mining, Bourke & Wills, etc) and you get a great experience of the real Outback.

Skinny the best trip will be one that brings back great memories to you and your kids in 20 years time. It really doesn't matter where, just go and enjoy.

goodday skinny
central australia alice springs the rock the olgas kingscanyon
we took our daughter and her kids up there our 1st trip into taht area eldest granddaughter was 6 did the 4hr kings canyon rim walk with me and her mum
she is now 13 and i dont think she or hersister or brother will ever forget with the west and east mcdonnell ranges and the alice thrown in

steve

I agree with Footloose.... kids love seeing new places/things. They mightn't always appreciate the drive to get there, but ya can't have everything... :-)

Our eldest son went back to school after our recent Fraser Island holiday, his mates asked him where he'd been and only a few knew where Fraser is, and one had never heard of it. So he realises that he has been to some special places.

My parents took me on two holidays during my childhood... to a place called Saratoga on the NSW central coast where a friend of my dad had a "weekender". That was about 35 years ago and I still remember it vividly!

The thing we try to do is see as much of the area we are visiting as we can, and learn of the history etc..

Our boys can't remember what they learned at school yesterday, but can tell stories about holidays we had 5 years ago!

To answer your original question, Fraser Island is our "favourite spot", it's not too far from us here on the Gold Coast and we try to get there once a year at least. There

G'day Skinny
Researching is half the fun. Get the kids involved so they have a say - that way they can't bitch too much if they don't like it since they'll have been in on the selection.
Do plan a leisurely trip ie do not make the daily distances too great - remember that if driving on dirt you'll probably be travelling a fair bit slower than on blacktop. In any case driving a bit slower is much more relaxing.
If you're going to be heading outback be warned that distances between points of interest can be very long - kids, wife and you will tire of the boring bits. At first it's all new but too much of a good thing becomes tiresome.
If this is your first big trip then I'd suggest a trek with a lot of variety so try to include the coast, high country and outback. Maybe a bit of walking, fossicking, various tours etc. If you stuff it up on the first attempt with a trip the family doesn't enjoy you can probably kiss future extended trips goodbye. Variety is the spice of life!
Get a decent book of 4WD touring, use the net, check out the trek notes on this site, contact tourist bureaus etc etc.
Make sure you have some entertainment for the kids as older kids not used to long travelling times can become a pain.
Best trip/destination ever - no such thing mate. Australia has so much variety that picking a best is impossible for me. Just love getting out there and enjoying what's available.
Good luck.