Friday, Nov 15, 2013 at 14:40
G'day Ado84,
First up - good on you for getting out while the kids are
young! Our kids are a bit older now (girl 6 and boy 3 1/2) but I can really relate to your situation. Only difference perhaps is that we spent a lot of time travelling/camping in remote areas pre-kids so I'll try and take your "new-ness" and your wife's concern about critters into account in any suggestions I make. :)
We did one 2.5 month trip 2 years ago with kids just the same age and stage as yours and had a fantastic time. It really cemented their friendship as he was just getting big enough to join in with her in playing and exploring. They are best mates now and we reckon that 10 weeks
on the road together was a big contributing factor.
Lot's of different things for you to consider. The 2 main things to take into account I reckon are:
1. When you look back on this trip you'll recognise it was as much about the family experience as it was about the destinations, so plan to experience things you will enjoy as a family (swimming, walking, campfires, seeing animals, exploring the bush, etc) as well as checking out the great destinations
Australia has to offer. eg. Our kids weren't "amazed" by
Wilpena Pound but they loved following the baby emus along the track and "rock climbing" while we had lunch (our 4 year old walked 6.5 of the 7km!).
2. As others have recommended there is definitely a "best" time to visit most
places, so you should either lock in your time before choosing a route, or choose your route then go at the right time. For example, there's a big difference between leaving in early June for 3 months, or leaving in late June for 4 months if you want to get down south for a while.
My initial thought would be (3 months from early June) stay north and check out the
top end,
Kimberley and home via the centre (maybe back across the Plenty Hwy to Fraser Is and home up the coast). Or ideally, for 4 months from the end of June - Top of NT, down through the centre, explore SA (the hidden gem of
Australia I reckon - Flinders,
Eyre Peninsula,
Yorke Peninsula,
Kangaroo Island) and home via Great Ocean Rd,
Vic High Country and up the coast.
I'd better get some work done now, but feel free to ask any questions. There's definitely some good tricks to travelling with
young kids (we don't have dvd's in the car!) and you will find your own rhythm, but happy to let you know what works for us.
Good luck,
Richard.
rehillhouse (at) yahoo.com.au
P.S. We're currently thinking about a trip to
the Kimberley (from NSW) at the same time so we may cross paths.
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