Aussie Bloggers

Pile mum, dad, the kids and the dog (if you have one) into the car along with a boot full of gear and you have a classic Australian way of holidaying - the Road Trip.

My husband and I are rather partial to taking Road Trips. There’s a certain feeling of freedom and hope as the car pulls out of the drive and the whole trip lays spread before you like a tantalizing buffet of fun and frivolity.

I’m not sure why I like them so much. I remember as a child the cramped conditions in the back of the car when my younger brother insisted that he needed to take up half of our back seat, irrespective of the fact that there were 3 of us sitting back there. The ongoing fights over where the “line” on the seat should be and who got to have their stuff on which part of the floor. Dad yelling at everyone to be quiet as he couldn’t hear the car engine if something would go wrong.

There is nothing like six people crammed into a car on a 47 degree day with no air conditioning. Stopping at every town to let the overheated engine cool off. Drinking luke warm water because that’s all we had. Eating soggy cucumber sandwiches with crusts that had dried out where the glad wrap didn’t quite overlap.

The fighting and squabbles, the “when are we going to get there’s” and mum singing loudly and very out of tune in an effort to keep everybody from killing one another.

And as the only girl in the family, having to “squat” behind bushes when toiletry needs came up because dad wasn’t stopping in the town where everyone would start asking for ice creams and cold drinks.

Now, weren’t those the days?

Of course, road trips as a parent are so different aren’t they?

We have the luxury of an air conditioned car along with a plug in fridge that keeps drinks cool. My husband is kind enough to stop at facilities when I need them so no more squatting behind a bush wondering if I’m visible from the road.

Instead I have everything AND the kitchen sink crowded at my feet just in case someone needs it. Tissues, towels, paper towel, drinks, books, stickers, food…. you name it and it can generally be found somewhere around my feet. No idea where my feet are… but everything else is here.

A constant crick in my neck and cramp in my side from contortioning myself into the strangest of positions to reach back to the children behind me as they ask for this, that and the other. Mopping up spilled drinks, trying to get a half chewed minty out of someone’s hair and hoping the mice don’t decide to have a feast on the mixture of twisties, apple cores and bread crusts dropped on the back floor.

Adjudacating arguments, answering a plethora of questions about how much further and drawing short straws to see who gets the reprieve of driving (because we all know the front seat passenger job is SO much harder than the drivers).

Perhaps it was no surprise that we were met with many a raised eyebrow upon people discovering our plans to drive the 3000km from our home to Darwin with a 4 year old and an 18 month old in the backseat.

“They say it’s just as cheap to fly you know”

“Have you looked into flying?”

“Do you know how FAR it is to Darwin?”

Were just some of the helpful suggestions we were given.

C’mon people’s, where is your sense of adventure?

There’s no fun in flying.

We wanted to SEE the parts of Australia we were to travel through, not simply fly over the top.

“But the Centre of Australia is SO BORING” people warned us.

Not to us it wasn’t. I think the amazing diversity of this great country of ours is fascinating. And I don’t want to miss any of it.

On this day 6 years ago we visited Ayers Rock on our way up to Darwin.

* image courtesy of http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Uluru-wikipedia.jpg

The experience was nothing short of mindblowing.

To be driving along and come around a bend and be met by this mammoth monolith rising up out of the ground and seemingly reaching the sky was an experience neither of us will forget. And experience we would not have had if we’d flown directly to Darwin. In fact, our days were filled with reminders of why we were taking a Road Trip.

Sure, there are times when everyone gets frustrated with one another and the tediousness of getting to where we want to go. But we always view our trips as starting when we pull out of the driveway and not starting when we reach our destination.

It’s hard to believe it’s been 6 years since our last Road Trip. No wonder I’m getting itchy feet to get out on the road again.

What about you? Are you a fan of the road trip? Or do you prefer to avoid them at all costs?