Christmas already!

I say it every year and I'll say it now... I can't believe it's Christmas again already! Where has the year gone? It's been an eventful year of ups and downs but personally it has been a year of big changes and I'm eagerly looking forward to 2012.

New Year is a time for reassessing your goals and dreams. At the rate at which the years are flying by there is no time to waste procrastinating about that road trip around Australia! If you have a dream to travel Australia, see what's beyond the urban sprawl and reconnect as a family THEN DO IT!

Just remember... Life is too short and money doesn't make you happy. Family, helping others and experiencing all life has to offer is what will bring you satisfaction.

Merry Christmas and Safe Travels

Jacqui x

1000 Great Places to Travel with Kids in Australia

Yes its been a while since my last post! I have been busy selling my house and getting packed up ready to move to the beautiful Margaret River region in WA, just after Christmas. Christmas is a crazy time of year as it is!

Anyway I discovered a new book to share with you...

1000 Great Places to Travel with Kids in Australia by Anna Ciddor, published by Explore Australia

1000 Great Places to Travel with Kids in Australia is family holiday planning made easy! Choose from a feast of kid-friendly attractions, activities, eateries and accommodation options around Australia. Whether your kids are into dinosaurs, circuses, koalas or fairies, you’ll find something here to thrill them, as well as life-saving tips on how to travel with kids. And to ensure your family gets the most out of every experience, a host of fabulous facts and intriguing questions are included to keep the whole family on its toes: ‘What sort of nests do saltwater crocodiles build?’, ‘What noise do pelicans make?’ and ‘Is it true that lorikeets have hair on their tongues?’

Carefully researched, written and illustrated by children’s author and seasoned traveller Anna Ciddor, this book will help you plan your best family holiday ever!

Tragedy in Karijini a sad warning

My heart goes out to the family and friends of Chris Majewski who fell and died at Fortescue Falls this week. He was trying to save his young son who had slipped down an embankment and who remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition. Chris was a well loved primary school principal from a small community and so many people are feeling his loss.

Karijini National Park was the highlight of our trip around Australia - an amazingly magical place. We had left our five year old son with family in Dampier and I remember being grateful we had gone without him as exploring the gorges requires some scary climbs.

This shockingly sad tragedy is a warning to all of those lucky enough to be out exploring our rugged and unforgiving land. Please be bloody careful.

Eco Friendly Travels

As a self-confessed tree hugging greenie I am passionate about ecologically responsible travel, reducing our carbon footprint and preserving our natural environment. Kimberley Kampers in Ballina NSW are leading the way in ensuring we pack in some environmentally friendly habits when we hit the road in their Eco-suite, a caravan that not only reduces fuel emissions but fuel costs as well. It's powered primarily by the sun and it's secondary fuel source is Australian soy bio-diesel and a methanol fuel cell.

The caravan can run its own air-conditioning, cooking equipment and water heating, as well as powering up devices such as laptops, smartphones and iPods. Even the toilets are vacuum designed - like those on an aircraft - so there are no chemicals involved.
Travelling in this green machine means you could be anywhere for months and operate independently of traditional power sources.
Eco-suites leave only half the carbon footprint of a regular set-up and boast about a 35% reduction in fuel costs. Check them out at http://www.kimberleykampers.com/

Australia's Native Wildlife

Taking time to discover and observe native animals is a popular activity for many travellers around Australia. Whether you're visiting the tropical rainforests of the country's north, inland through the vast Outback, or enjoying the spectacular coastal destinations, there is a wealth of native wildlife to discover.

Exploroz have written a brilliant article to give you an overview of the species of Fauna you are likely to encounter in the various regions throughout Australia, and where and how to find them. This article also included a list of National Parks, Wildlife Parks and Sanctuaries - must see destinations for nature enthusiasts.

Every Australian will learn something new about their own native animals.

Read it here

Be a Responsible Traveller not a Tourist Vandal!

In a remote part of the Dampier Archipelago, in the north of WA, an electric drill is used to gouge ugly dents into weathered stone bearing ancient rock art. Across the bay, on a remote bluff, graffiti is painted in massive letters on a rocky outcrop.

Hundreds of kilometres away, along the Gibb River Road, toilet paper flutters in the wind above a buzzing circle of blowflies. Farther south an abandoned campfire smoulders, ready to ignite a wildfire that could burn through the Kimberley for months.

In the Pilbara, imported seeds brought in with firewood on the roof of a four-wheel-drive, are taking hold.

Deep in the forests of the South West poor hygeine by forest users has helped spread phytphthora dieback to more than a millon hectares of the globally significant eco-region.

Ignorance, lax biosecurity and deliberate vandalism are taking their toll on Australia's natural and cultural assets. We are in danger of destroying our burgeoning ecotourism inductry by failing to understand the need to preserve and protect the environmental assets we visit and enjoy.

Don't be Careless or Thoughtless!

• Plan ahead and prepare
• Travel and camp on durable surfaces
• Dispose of waste and rubbish properly
• Leave what you find
• Respect wildlife
• Extinguish campfires
• Bury human waste away from water courses
• Don't walk on ocean reefs, they are fragile and damage easily
• Be considerate of your hosts and other visitors

Leave No Trace is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting and inspiring responsible outdoor travel and recreation through education, research and partnerships. Leave No Trace builds awareness, appreciation and respect for our natural and cultural heritage.
Visit http://www.lnt.org.au and educate yourself!

The first five paragraphs are taken from an article written by Jane Hammond in the Weekend West

Take the Bor out of the Nullarbor!

It's 1200km of some of the most dramatic landscapes in the country, incorporating the spectacular Great Australian Bight, rural farmland, magnificent ocean cliffs and the red earth of our outback. As well as beautiful scenery, a trip across the Nullarbor can now also include interesting stories and commentary if you take the time to download the audio tours created by ABC reporters Emma Lee Pedler and Emma Wynne.

The series of 10 audio tours include interviews with locals, tour operators, whale watchers, fellow travellers and history buffs. They are available to download from the ABC website and they are FREE!

abc.net.au/eyre/nullarbor

Thanks for the info RAC

Share Your Adventures with a FREE blog

Whether it's a lazy year around Australia in the Caravan or something more adventurous, you can now Share Your Adventure with your own FREE 'Hand Built' Expedition Website at Expedition Australia.

FREQUENTLY ASKED Caravan Buying Questions

Q: Do I need an off road caravan?
A: Most of Australia can be covered in your family car, including most National Parks. A standard leaf spring suspension will handle corrugations, however an independent suspension will do the job much better and is easier on the caravan. A Simplicity suspension is an excellent all round set up and is a load sharing suspension that handles all road conditions well. Clearance under the caravan is probably more important than choice of suspension.

Q: What type of vehicle do I need to tow with?
A: All vehicle manufacturers have a specified maximum allowable weight that your vehicle can tow. This is given as an "ATM" (Aggregate Trailer Mass) which is the weight of the caravan plus, usually, 400Kgs on a tandem axle and 300Kgs on a single axle of additional load. Many vehicles such as turbo diesels will comfortably tow the recommended ATM but we recommend that you try to keep your load at 85% of the ATM for economy and ease of towing.

Q: Which is best, aluminium or timber (usually Merante) frame?
A: This has always been a contentious issue and every one has their own opinion. Modern methods of construction have overcome the old short comings of aluminium frames and there is little difference between the two although aluminium is lighter. It becomes a question of personal preference.

Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of a full caravan against Pop Tops?
A: Weight, rather than shape, is the decisive factor in how much fuel you will use. Modern caravans are reasonably well designed aerodynamically, so you won't notice a big difference in fuel consumption between the two. Pop Tops are great if you want to store them in a garage or carport, but a full caravan is more convenient as you can stop and open the door and you are set up. A caravan also has full insulation and much more storage compared to the Pop Top that has vinyl, which eliminates quite a bit of overhead cupboard storage space. Again it is a matter of personal preference.

Discover Geocaching the High-Tech Treasure Hunt!

I'm excited! I'm usually up to date with knowing about 'cool new things' but embarrassingly I have just discovered the new worldwide craze, Geocaching! Now I'm not sure how long this has been going on without me knowing but it seems a number of geocachers have been at it for quite a while, and that number is growing very quickly.

So what am I on about?

Described as a high-tech treasure hunt, geocaching is about finding secret 'caches' that have been hidden in public spaces by fellow geocachers, then logging your find online. The cache is usually in the form of a small weatherproof box or container with a log to record who has discovered it and when. Often there is also a selection of inexpensive trinkets that the finder can swap for one they have brought along.

Geocachers are found using a GPS which of course these days is as easy as having a smart phone. They are ranked according to how hard they are to find and the difficulty of the terrain they are located in. Users log onto the geocaching.com website and type in their location to get a list of nearby geocachers and their GPS co-ordinates.

Adults, kids, families, corporate groups, community groups - they are all getting into it. It's like cyber orienteering complete with its own language and jargon, secret codes, online community and clandestine methods of retrieving a cache in a public place.

There are close to 1.5 million geocaches worldwide with hundreds of thousands of them in Australia. They're hiding in old quarantine stations in the outback and in false pickets on an urban front fence.

What a brilliant activity to add to your Australian road trip! The kids get to learn how to use a GPS and you get to discover places you may not have stopped at, stretch your legs and together enjoy the thrill of the hunt!

For more information on Geocaching visit:
www.geocaching.com.au
http://www.geocaching.com/
http://www.australiangeocachingessentials.com/

The Long and Wounding Road - Danny Katz

Thank you Danny Katz for another insightful and humorous piece....

A very long road trip can be lots of fun but only if you're the very-long-road-trip driver because then you get to do all the fun driving stuff like steering and accelerating and overtaking slow caravans on hills, yelling: "Outta the way, Jayco, move your fat pop-top arrrrrse." But a very long road trip is not as much fun if you're the very-long-road-trip front-seat passenger because then you have to sit next to the driver for the whole long trip and serve as their full-time butler/underling/waterboy/incorrect-turnoff scapegoat.

We went on a very long road trip and my beloved got to be the driver because it was a long bendy road and she said if she wasn't the driver she'd get carsick and vom all over the inside-windscreen — and our old crappy car doesn't have those fancy inner-windscreen vom-wipers like all the new cars have got.

More Roadside Facilities for WA Travellers

Most caravanners like to travel at about 85km per hour for four or five hours before stopping for a break. That means there needs to be roadside rest stops and facilities every 300 - 350km. Tourism WA is working on a plan to make this a reality on WA roads.
The plan will identify gaps in the road system where extra facilities such as water, toilets, showers and waste disposal need to be available. With sooooo many kms to travel between many (mostly northern) towns in WA, it is vital that there are safe and convenient road stops to have a break or stay the night. While good caravan park facilities are essential when you get to your destination, the journey is just as important!

'It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the end.'

- Ursula K. LeGuin

Discover Australia Kids 'n' All

Thank you to everyone who has purchased a copy of Discover Australia Kids 'n' All over the last year. I hope that it's been an enjoyable read and useful for planning your trip. I love getting feedback so please drop me an email with any comments you have.

admin@familyroadtripaustralia.com.au


Thank you to Nicole who just sent me this email:

Hi Jacqui

I purchased your book a few months ago....and could not put it down....we are in the early stages of planning our family road trip, planning to depart about April next year. The information you have provided is fantastic, I am both excited and overwhelmed at the same time as I read & research anything about the trip, unfortunately the day to day stuff gets in the way too much and my thought processes get lost, weeks may go by before I get to re-focus on this exciting trip.

thanks again for sharing your experiences

Nicole

You Need a Holiday!

Tourism Australia reckons you need a holiday. Of course there are economic reasons why they'd like you to pack your bags for the great Aussie adventure but there are many more health reasons!
A recent study estimated that Australians have 123 million days of annual leave accrued to full time employees. Apparently one in four workers stockpile their holiday leave resulting in over-worked, unmotivated and exhausted employees!
A British study suggests even planning a future holiday increases happiness and well-being and once you actually hit the road your mood improves, tension decreases, your energy levels increase and you're generally much happier with family, your economic situation and health!
I can definitely vouch for these findings. In my experience every aspect of our lives improved once we hit the road. We even quit smoking on our trip, which is much easier when changing your daily routine and social habits (and when you have to be tighter with the dollars). I can even say we avoided the post holiday blues by travelling until we were sick of it and ready to come home; although it took nearly two years!
You are entitled to holidays and leave, and you will be far more productive if you take regular breaks. If you have saved up quite a bit of leave or your ready for long service then you are in the perfect position to go on an extended road trip!
We sometimes forget that health, happiness and family should be our greatest priority. It's true that slaving your guts out in the quest for money is usually at the detriment of these important things!

Hit the road Jack :)

Facebook and Blogs help family and friends share the adventure!

Apologies for being a bit slack with the posts these last few weeks. We had a fab road trip to the beautiful south west of WA, brewery lunches, gorgeous beaches, amazing forest drives.. Love it!

My brother Kai and his girlfirend Amber have recently taken off from Perth on their big trek around Australia. I'm so very jealous as I check out their pictures on Facebook. How lucky to be able to travel around Australia in your early twenties, no kids, no time limit, just a troopy and a tent!

I love that I can watch their progress on Facebook (and pinch their pics). FB started to become popular not long after we returned from our big journey so we missed out on being able to use this awesome medium to keep our friends and families informed of our adventures. Of course many travellers prefer to set up their own blog which does give you more options in terms of content, add ons and presentation. This website is made through Google's free Blogger and I have others designed in Wordpress.

It's worth teaching yourself how it all works, your journey can be recorded like a journal and everyone can share the adventure with you!
If you have a travel blog you would like me to add to my blogroll please post a comment with the address.

Nullabor Links: Longest Golf Course in the World

If you're a keen golfer you may be excited about the opportunity to try out Australia's many different beautiful golf courses whilst road tripping around the country. There are hundreds of courses from the perfectly manicured world class greens to the scrubby small town course. However if you are indeed serious about golf course experiences then you can't drive across our vast Nullabor Plain without taking on the WORLDS LONGEST GOLF COURSE!

If you want to play 18 holes on this course you will need to set aside at least 4 days! Spread across two states and two time zones, the 18-hole, par 72 course spans a mind-boggling 1,365kn along the Eyre Highway from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia to Ceduna in South Australia. There is a hole in each town or roadhouse along the way.

Seven of the holes are on existing golf courses and 11 have been purpose built into the existing scrub. You may need to negotiate ball stealing crows, ferocious head winds and the odd snake but it's all part of the challenge!

Nullabor Golf Links costs $60 a round and golf clubs are available for hire for $5 at each hole so no you don't need to find room for the clubs in your rig when space is at a premium!
For more information visit www.nullarborlinks.com

100 Things to do in Australia before you Die

Australian Traveller Magazine has published a list of the top 100 things to do in Australia before you die! It's a fantastic list of exciting experiences. I personally spent 20 months travelling around Australia and can only cross 34 things off the list! I better get back on the road I think....

Find the article HERE

Tips for Travelling with your Family

The annual Perth Caravan & Camping Show was held last weekend. Perth couple Kristy and Matthew Williams held a seminar at the show on Travelling with Children. They spent 17 months on the road travelling around Australia with their kids Jack 5 and Ashlee 3. Matthew states that he has "lived breathed and worked in the camping and caravanning industry for more than 15 years" and he is now running Perth's Getaway Outdoors stores.

Here are a few of the William Familes' tips for travelling with kids as written in the Perth Caravanning & Camping Show liftout.

• Plan and prepare well. Get the kids in a routine before you go, especially if they aren't good car travellers.
• Do at least one practise trip. It's a great way to work out what you really need before you go.
• Travel in the off season. There are fewer vans around and it's less stressful and much cheaper.
• Talk to other travellers. You will meet heaps of like-minded people travelling with kids and it is the best way to share advice.
• Prepare to be flexible with the itinerary. Anything can happen with kids.
• Look to join the major tourist club parks such as Aspen, Big 4 and Top Tourist.
• Make frequent stops. Let the kids out of the car to run about in communal parks in towns.
• Keep a diary or blog of your trip.
• Under-pack the toys. A bike, bucket and spade, favourite toys (such as lego) and a teddy are all that is needed.
• Get the kids their own camera. It's a great way to involve them in the trip and it allows them to express themselves.
• Give the kids a list of their own responsibilities such as emptying the bin or setting up the table.
• Re-use and recycle. Cereal boxes and plastic containers make great items for the kids to re-use in art class if you are home-schooling.
• When in the car, use audio books. This is especially good if kids suffer from car sickness when reading.
• Pack a copy of the Camps Australia Wide 6 Book. This traveller's bible is a great publication for planning itineraries around cheap and free accommodation.

Discover Australia Kids 'n' All is packed full of information for the family travelling around Australia or planning to. For a comprehensive guide and lots more tips like these please grab your copy here!

Our Love of Water - a social history

Water and its Historic Social

Connections with Holidaying

By Jacqui Barnsley
©Copyright 

Australian Beach Pattern

1940, Charles Meere

Water, the element of life; universally revered for its sacredness, beauty, power, necessity and versatility. In many of its forms, water is a global magnet for tourists, holiday-makers, recreationalists, leisure seekers, artists, spiritualists and sportspersons, to name a few. This essay examines the human fascination with water in regards to tourism and recreational use, exploring both the origin of the ‘holiday’ and specifically its historical connection with water. The social history is a 2050-year epic tale of beliefs, values, trends, delight, danger and manipulation. While the reasons why holidaymakers have been attracted to areas of water may have evolved, the attraction itself has continued to grow, changing the very way we live, work and play.

We cannot stray far from water. On a basic level we rely on water to drink, grow food and wash - it is essential to our survival. The necessity and usefulness of water has led to almost every populated area on the planet establishing itself close to a body of water (Waterstone, 1992). If possible, when there is no natural water source the land is manipulated to produce one; dams, canals, estuaries, pools, and man-made lakes dot the landscape that lacks a river, stream, spring, natural lake or ocean. Populated areas without a clean water source generally experience economical and health poverty (Corvalan, Hales & McMichael, 2005). Not surprisingly, water has become not only a symbol of status – at least in terms of real estate - but a major source of recreational activity, lifestyle, social expression and cultural identity (White, 2005).

Ten top Aussie destinations you've never heard of ...

Just when you thought you'd seen it all, Lee Atkinson shares her discovery of 10 places, from Tasmania to the Torres Strait and well beyond Bourke, that are worth getting back on the road for.

1. Poruma Island, Torres Strait

Mention the Torres Strait and most people think of Thursday Island but it's the outer islands that really give you a sense of what islander culture is all about - islands such as Poruma. Formerly known as Coconut Island, the tiny coral cay lives up to that name; it's covered in coconut trees and the beaches are littered with fallen coconuts. When you're not fishing or swimming in the crystal-clear, bath-warm water, sit out the heat of the day in the shade sipping coconut milk straight from the shell while chatting to local women weaving baskets and decorations from coconut leaves. Most of the baskets are used in cooking; filled with rice and lowered into simmering coconut milk, and will probably be served later that night. Community owned and operated, Poruma Island Resort has just two bungalows for visitors but what it lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in style. Set on the beach, open to the breeze at the front and complete with indoor plunge pool, this is serious luxury accommodation in a place where you least expect it. But it's the welcome of the locals that really makes this place special.

Where to stay: Poruma Island Resort. http://www.poruma.com/.

Pull Up Some Grass

If you think you've spotted a camper van covered in lush green grass on your travels around Australia you may think you've been smoking a little too much! But it is entirely possible that you have seen such a sight as Perth girl Kate Beese and her partner are indeed currently driving around Oz in a van completely covered in artificial turf!
"It always makes people smile and brightens up their day," Kate told the West Australian.
Given the heat absorbtion of synthetic grass I wonder if they have turned their van into a little oven? If anyone comes across Kate please ask her for me.

This pic was taken by someone who spotted it in Esperance WA in Feb 2011

Happy Travels

Road reports important for travellers

With cyclones and flooding rains affecting roads and towns in many different parts of Australia it is important for travellers to check road conditions before setting off. Many towns are cut off completely during heavy rain and some roads become inaccessible. Failure to check road conditions in advance may result in you travelling hundreds of kilometers only to find part of the road closed leaving you stranded and having to turn back.

Exploroz.com provide the road travel community with up to date road status reports across the country. The reports are based on Main Roads Dept, Council and National Park reports and also information from locals and other travellers. You can find the reports for every Australian state at the link below.

http://www.exploroz.com/Roads/Default.aspx

To Our International Friends

I know from looking at the statistics for Family Road Trip Australia that many of the visitors to this site are from countries other than Australia. Although I do write for an Australian audience (I often refer to Australia as 'home' and appeal to our patriotism for instance) I am also very passionate about inspiring travellers and families from around the world to come and experience this spectacular land!

I hope the recent fanfare around Oprah's trip Down Under has encouraged those in the States and other countries to come and see Australia for themselves. Don't let the recent floods and cyclones put you off, just think how lush and green the land is and how full the rivers and water holes are!
Yes parts of Australia have suffered greatly so far this year, but part of being Australian is our ability to pull together and bounce back stronger than before! We have a remarkable history of challenges, adversity and astounding fortitude - as do many other spirited countries. Anyway I digress...
The point being that Australia is like no other place on Earth. We have an amazing variety of landscapes, climates, wildlife, plant life, culture, architecture, landmarks and events.
As I say in my book, Discover Australia Kids 'n' All, "If your dream is to see Australia, the time is now. If you have kids, well they're just going to have to come!"
Better still if you don't have kids, do it before you do or if they have grown up then get over here and start spending their inheritance!

Go See Australia!

Happy Australia Day!

I love a sunburnt country,

A land of sweeping plains,

Of ragged mountain ranges,

Of droughts and flooding rains.

I love her far horizons,

I love her jewel-sea,

Her beauty and her terror

The wide brown land for me!

 

Ok so maybe the flooding rains and terror we can do without this Australia Day but this time of hardship has given Australians the opportunity to show to each other and the world how tough, how generous, and how supportive of each other we can be.

 

As I watch the massive clean up effort and listen to the stories of strangers helping each other it brings a tear to my eye. I do love Australia and our people! It's a shame that these days it takes a tragedy to unite people and recreate our community spirit in many places but perhaps that is what the divine plan is all about.

 

This is certainly a special Australia Day that many will not forget. Have a good one.

 

P.S. Our already struggling tourism industry has taken a beating in the hundreds of millions of lost dollars due the the floods. Please help our economy and those affected by the floods by spending your tourist dollars at home.

Charge!

Travellers can now ensure their electronic gadgets never run out of power with Targus' new laptop and mobile charger.

The light and compact charger can power two devices simultaneously from your car. It comes prepackaged with nine laptop tips, one tip for iPad/iPod/iPhone and another mini-USB tip and retails for $99.95.

Check it out at http://www.targus.com.au/

Crying a Flood of Tears

I bawled my eyes out this morning reading the stories about those who have survived the floods and those who haven't. Sitting over here in hot, dry Perth it all seems a bit surreal, like watching the terrible aftermath of a natural disaster in Thailand or New Orleans or Haiti....always somewhere else. The difference is I have travelled around this beautiful country and I have visited many of the affected towns in Victoria, NSW and Qld and Carnarvon in WA. This is Australia, my country and my people, and the sadness and helplessness I feel keeps literally reducing me to tears.

I would offer my home and my clean up hands if I could but it seems in WA I am restricted to making a donation and watching the images unfold on my TV with one hand over my mouth.

My heart goes out to all those who have lost loved ones, homes, pets, businesses, crops, cars...

and also to all the travellers in those areas who thought they were just passing through...

New - Travelling Friends & Holiday Record

This new, self published book by June Foote is a great idea!

This book is a 'Must Have' for travelling retirees, families and holiday-makers.

It keeps all those names, addresses and other little bits of information gathered along the way in one compact record.

Travelling Friends becomes a lifetime memento of places visited and will recall treasured memories of your journeys on the open road.


It also records the various expenses incurred whilst touring around.

Travelling Friends can be purchased for $23.95 from
http://www.noboundaries.com.au/book%20shoppe.htm