Friday, Sep 02, 2016 at 12:10
Hi Glenn,
I'm in the preparation phase as
well for LSL next year and planning a big trip.
Some points to consider:
1. Don't believe half of what's been said about limiting your days drive with kids to less than 600km days. Kids are great at adapting and learning new behaviours. I have and 8 and a 10 yr old and it's amazing how far you can drive in a day with the right preparation. Try North of Pt
Augusta to
Melbourne in a day. Crescent head to
Melbourne in a day or
Alice springs to
Melbourne in 2.5 days. Done it all and the kids nailed it. Pack some books, cards, comics, food, water and as a last resort movies on an Ipad or similar. My boys get 1 movie every day no more. Don't try this every day though.
2. When you stop for fuel, lunch etc try and find a park and get super active with the kids, play tiggy or anything that gets them moving and burns some energy.
3. Avoid the sugary food and drinks in the car, it sends them hyper and when their strapped into a
seat it results in trouble.
4. You can generally get around and
check out most
places during school holiday trips anywhere south of Alice. (within reason) So why not take this opportunity to head further north. (Personally were going flat out to north of Alice then taking our time from there. The
Kimberley and Pilbarra are the furthest distance from
Melbourne and hence the hardest to get back too so that's our main area to
check out.
5. The cruiser is a great towing rig so
well done, take the opportunity to put a bulbar, lights and winch on it. Long range tanks are pretty handy too.
Practice using the winch. Sounds like you guys are going solo so whilst you may not be super remote, self recovery is always good.
6. Get that caravan/expanda ASAP and use it to work out if it has any issues or things you would like to change. I remember getting my first C.T and leaving the next day to head to Fraser island only to discover the mattress was too thin and I couldn't sleep. Took 10 days to find a decent mattress. Got it
home and completely changed the kitchen too.
7. Keep it flexible, don't get caught by an agenda of having to be
places at certain dates, It's a holiday. if you like a place stay there, if the place isn't what you were hoping for then move on.
8. Get fit. I've never met you, your whole family might be marathon runners for all I know, but the point is most of the really cool
places require a walk in and sometimes even a bit of scrambling to get to. Some of the walks up north are 8 plus Km loops. Don't miss out on seeing some great spots.
9. Back to kids. Give them responsibilities around
camp, Collecting firewood and water, lighting the fire in the morning so you and the wife can sleep in while they
cook their own toast anything and everything that helps you, and makes them feel like part of the team. Grab some board games to fill in the downtime, teach them how to play chess, for your own sanity keep away from Monopoly at all costs!!!!!
10. Make up a serious
first aid kit and learn how to use it. Don't throw in some band aids and Panadol and think its all good. Get online and
check what's in an expedition
first aid kit. Google equip and look at their stuff. The pro 3 is what we use plus and minus a few things. Pack a Sam splint. Talk to your Doc before you go and explain where your going and get some basic drugs like a general antibiotic and a codeine based pain killer. Epipens cost $100 and are a great investment (Assuming your family has no allergies to this) I know I'm going to get slayed by users here for that last bit but when I'm in the middle of nowhere and have a tooth abcess or an infected cut on my foot then I'm taking those drugs and heading to hospital.
Anyway have a blast, The kids will talk about this trip for the rest of their lives.
AnswerID:
604052
Follow Up By: GlennH - Friday, Sep 02, 2016 at 12:18
Friday, Sep 02, 2016 at 12:18
Thanks a lot for your detailed response - very helpful!
FollowupID:
873722