Just wondering who has done the drive from south to north and then back again with kids on board!
I've been passenger on the drive twice, but I was young and don't remember the details.
We're planning to drive it over three days. Wondering if anyone has done this - where did you stop to sleep along the way? Any recommendations or places to avoid? We'd be literally stopping to eat and sleep. We're going to be taking the inland route.
We'll be towing our camper, but aren't planning to set it up for our one night sleepovers, so looking more for budget accommodation that's clean.
We did it last year but took 5 days, we had our camper and set up just one section without the annex but if you follow the big4 caravan parks up they have great accommodation. We had a special bag of toys and books for the kids, the magnetic drawing boards were great and the DVD player came in handy too. We went inland and most places were great expect one park which was a tiny residential one outside of Newcastle we drove further than planned on the way home and mistimed the drive.
We have done Brissy to Melb a couple of times, most recently last Christmas. It is definitely do-able but I would look at taking longer to do the trip and stopping more often. This time around we did 2 half days and then two longer days of driving which worked well. The two half days included stopping at places with lots to do and letting the kids have lots of activity (Coffs Harbour for one). With younger kids I'd probably avoid a full day of driving and take longer. There are so many nice places to stop and the trip can be part of the holiday instead of just a way of getting there.
Last edited by MantaRay; October 5th, 2012 at 05:08 PM.
DD1 travels really well, always has. We've done the Melb-Adelaide trip twice and her happiness in the car amazes us! DD2 tends to sleep in the car (and not anywhere else during the day ATM lol) but naturally we'll assess how she travels closer to the trip. We have limited time as far as how long DH can take off (self employed) too.
My best advice - things to have on hand for emergencies... a change of clothes or 2, plastic bags for any clothes that get thrown up on/etc, lots of food (lollipops can keep them amused for ages if you do them), wipes , toys, books, pencils & water.
I stop probably every 2 - 3 hours to let the kids out for a run around & I eat m&m's to keep me going, lol. I found the chocolate peps me up more than caffeine & they last a while eating them one at a time (I've done alot of long trips!)
Move car seats around if you need to, to make sure both kids are easily accessable. I've always had the baby in the middle so no matter which seat I'm sitting in I can hold hands/stroke/comfort.
Can't help with accomidation. Only trip I've done that was more than a day was NSW to WA. I stayed with family near Dubbo & at a little motel in Hay. The only 2 places I imagine you'd go near that I've stopped in. Lived in the Dubbo & Coffs area's, so stay with family.
Our family does always stay at one specific motel 60k North of Dubbo that I could recommend, but where you stop depends on how you plan your trip.
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Driving from Melb to Gold Coast with munchkins
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