Kate's kids on holidays
Our family drove from Adelaide to Brisbane, with only one spew (8 year old beside the Great Ocean Road) and one screaming row (between self and husband) outside a bakery. Apologies the good people of Berry, NSW.
This was the first big driving holiday our family has done, our first Christmas away from home and (aside from the barf and the barney) it was fab. And yes, we did it without the aid of on-board DVD or iDevices. The kids did have Nintendo DSs but the rule was no headphones and they could only be used after 3 hours driving. Motherhood, thy name is compromise.
These were the highlights:
Houseboat on the Murray River. If there’s a better family holiday, I’d like to know what it is. It was like camping but with air-conditioning and a flushing loo. It was about swimming, gum trees, yabbies, board games and sunsets.
Visiting family: I’m serious. I reckon the old-fashioned drop-in-on-cousins-you-haven’t-seen-in-years-and-sleep-on-their-rumpus-room-couch is a blast. It was for us anyway. I’m hoping our visitees feel similarly.
Motels: I love a country motel. I love an ugly bedspread and enjoy my toast being served in a white paper packet. The strip of paper diagonally across the toilet lid makes me feel nothing less than confident.
Audio books. It was either stories or test cricket on the radio. Hmmmm. Highly recommended for kids between 6 and 10 are the books by David Walliams (you might know him from Little Britain). The Boy In The Dress, Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy. Intelligent, touching, hilarious. Each book will take you 800km and wishing you had further to go. Okay, not quite, but they are seriously good.
Conversations. Normal life means Jim and I are like relay team members, except not athletic. We exchange bits of information like batons and keep running. A long drive gave us a chance to talk properly. We made some big decisions. Gulp. Perhaps we were inhaling fumes.
What did you get up to over your holidays?
Comments
74 Comments so far
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Loved this story, thank you. Our family (me, hubby and 3 kids 9 yrs, 7 yrs and 5 yrs) went on a two week road trip from Sydney thru to Victoria and back up the NSW south coast during these last school holidays. We camped every night staying 3 nights in each place to limit the pack up and setup time. We did a gaol tour, walked through caves, spotted koalas, kangaroos, rode bikes along the rail trail from Bright, rode our surf mat down rivers, boogy boarded at the beaches and whilst driving through Mt Hotham it snowed on us. It was the BEST family holiday we have ever had – the kids loved it! Sure there were moments where we could have left 1 or 2 of the kids on the side of he road, but overall the fun we had and the lifelong memories created were worth it. And all of it without technology to distract the kids. The simplicity of life was so relaxing. Highly recommend it and we are already planning the next one, trouble is there are too many places to visit. Do it!
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We actually cheated a bit on our driving holiday – we needed to save time so our car went ahead of us on a truck and we flew to Adelaide and drove home to Bris. It was a great way to do it. I think in Sept we’ll send the car ahead and meet it in Cairns. We are Queenslanders but have never seen the Great Barrier Reef! Our littlest is excited – we showed her the map and she said, ‘That’s good, because Cairns to Brisbane is all downhill’
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We live in Hawaii so last week I first went with mum to San Francisco for 4 days and then the day after I came back, I went with dad to the Big Island of Hawaii. In San Francisco, we went to Alcatraz, went to the museum of Modern Art, saw a wonderful play in Berkeley called ‘Ghost Light’, caught the BART transport and ate some great food. I’m going to do a gay travel tour next time I go to Frisco.
In Hawaii, we saw an active volcano and then went to the other side to Kona. Was great fun. Stayed at a hotel which had a big slide and dad (in his words) “cannon balled” into the water as he exited the slide! Ha.
I love road trips. One of my best memories of a road trip wasn’t a holiday…it was actually my grandfather’s funeral. We drove from Canberra to Nimbin and back for the funeral. Yes, Nimbin. He was well known in the community and there was a peace flag near his grave. We sang Janis Joplin and African American spirituals like Michael, Row the Boat Ashore. He was a total hippie, my grandad. On the way there and the way back we had some great family conversations and made mix cds. Grandad wouldv’e been very happy about that, I’m sure. It wasn’t a ‘holiday’ but we had a nice drive.
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Oh, we did a houseboat on the Murray when I was a kid! Awesome memories!
Is it bad that I mostly remember the things that went awry?
Like;
a) When we woke up in the middle of the night and realised we were no longer tethered to that tree and were floating in the wrong direction.
b) Mum and my oldest sister decided to see if mud really is great for your skin and splashed all over their bodies. the result was a head-to-toe rash for each of them
c) When some local hooligans decided to commandeer our boat for jumping-into-the-river purposes and my big sister chased them of with a broomstick.
Good times!
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I love the word, ‘Hooligans.’
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Brilliant and simple. This kind of family holiday is achievable for everyone.
We hired a catamaran in the Whitsundays a couple of years ago as my son was approaching his teens. We figured it would contain him in one place without an escape route.
It worked.
We spent a week lazing around the boat (caravan on water), talking reading, singing and laughing. Such lovely memories for everyone.
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I didn’t really have “holidays” – I had the week between Christmas and New Years off work, but was back in the office after that. I stayed in Sydney, but my brother came up for a week from Melbourne to visit, so it was nice to have family with me over the holiday season.
I can’t complain about not having holidays though – I went to America for a month in October, and am going to China for two and a half weeks in April/May! Boyfriend and I are contemplating SE Asia for this Christmas as well, taking advantage of the cheap AirAsia flights!
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Kate, I loved reading your piece.
I too am a sucker for a country motel – I especially love the ones that still have the little trap-door where they slide your breakfast through on a tray rather than knock on the door. So civilised!
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My first thought when I saw the photo of the young girl jumping into murky water? Who checked to ensure there were no dangers submerged under the water?? Maybe I am being obsessive, but I am speaking from firsthand experience. To me, the photo was not a good look…….
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The pic is of my daughter – she’s jumping off the back of the boat, which was moored. We’d checked the depth and the kids were under strict instructions to jump, never dive into the river.
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Can’t catch a break Kate.
Negligent parenting ahoy!
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Yeah, but at least she wasn’t at a LIBRARY.
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BWAHHHHHH!!!!
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I can’t believe you have to justify that. Kate, you have given your children a holiday that all children should have. Let kids be kids, swimming in the river climbing trees arguing with siblings in the car haha
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These holidays have to be the best in a long time for our family. Firstly, thanks to my motivated and driven 13 year old daughter, she landed herself some “work experience” with a wonderful team in Sydney (we are from Brisbane). So our first part of the holidays was a mother/daughter holiday in Sydney. I could not believe how much fun I had with my daughter. I learnt so much more about her and we already have a very close relationship. It was just so incredibly special having 10 days with her, sharing laughs, secrets, shopping, and enjoying her love of Sydney and all the historic buildings. We had to visit Queen Victoria Building over and over as she was mesmorised by the building, the Christmas Tree, the stain glass windows. I was in awe of her appreciation of all the older buildings in Sydney. Our highlight was going to the Taronga Zoo Roar ‘n’ Snore. This is by far one of the best events I have ever been to, worldwide. It surpassed all expectations. We came home and had the best Christmas Day in a long time – no arguing, no stress, no tempers – and all family was there. Then our family headed up to Coolum to our beach house – a fibro beach shack that was my husband’s grandmother’s family home – it is a step above camping but we love it and when friends come to visit they instantly relax. The TV does not go on (mainly because the reception is bad), no i-Anythings – we play backyard French cricket, tennis, hoola hoop races, walk to the beach, head up to Noosa to go out on the Putt-Putt boats, head down to the Maroochy River for afternoon swims – and we stick together as a family, enjoy each other’s company, laugh, eat, play – in the old fashioned way. My kids love it and do not miss TV, iTouch, Nintendos, etc in any way. We actually sit and do crossword puzzles and other word puzzles when we are just kicking back. We know we are so lucky to have this little house and we wouldn’t swap it for the world.
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Still on my cruise. Dock in Melbourne tomorrow morning, sigh. Has been a very relaxing holiday – manicure still in place due to no housework, ha ha
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I grow up doing yearly car trips with Mum Dad & the sisters and can honestly say they were awesome. We didn’t have electronics to save us from the summer of cricket, we use to count things & talk & watch the world blur by. Parents who put DVD players on cars are missing the best opportunity to spend time with their kids & seriously kids today r soft. Well done for this excellent holiday idea, see Australia first!!!!!
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I took my two girls (2 & 6) to Sabah in Malaysia for two weeks to meet up with my husband who has been stationed in the Middle East since early Sep. It was so relaxing for us all and gave me the boost I needed to make it through until his return home next month.
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I <3 conversations in the car – the Prince can't escape: he has to talk!!
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Love this piece – a good reminder of ‘the simple things…’
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Oh I just love those pics Kate! The baff and the barney made me laugh.
I spent most of my holidays at home – fixing up things around the house and just settling into my new flat. I’ve been here nearly 2 months now and love living by myself.
Other than that, I visited my best friend up in QLD for a few days and got to hold her little bub, Amelia-Rose, while we caught up on each other’s lives. It’s difficult living in different states – and now that she’s a mum and I’m not in a relationship we have different stories to tell each other that’s for sure
Here is a pic of the little cherub and me
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Gorgeous!
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Thanks Petal xx
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Spent 2 weeks on the Gold Coast. Sounds very mundane but my kids that have grown up in remote Central Queensland have never been there. Did all the theme parks and my Miss 7 is happy now because she finally got to go on a rollercoaster. It was amazing to see my country kids playing in the waves at the beach, and the smell of the ocean bought back childhood memories (I grew up on the NSW coast).
Big cheer for you Kate….. no DVD. We used ours on the 20 hours of driving that we did and I couldn’t have done without it. It was especially handy during the 2 hour detour we had to take when the Highway north was shut.
PS to all those with car sick kids, get some Kwells. 1/4 tablet is all they need, doesn’t make them drowsy but does stop the vomits, they just chew it like a lolly. Also take an old icecream container with a lid, (so it doesn’t matter if your on a windy mountain and just cant pull over), and a bottle of water to wash the vomit out (when you can finally stop), so you can use it the next time. Yes, I am speaking with plenty of experience.
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I remember taking a houseboat holiday on the Myall Lakes (northern NSW) with my family when I was about 12. It was The Best Time Ever. Mum took a few photos of our typical holiday: my younger sister digging in the sand and me sitting under a tree reading a book (nothing’s changed LOL).
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We did a 6 week long road trip around Australia when I was 9 and my brother was 11. It was by far the cheapest, easiest, most fun way of seeing our own country and enjoying a family holiday!
For those of you with Kids that get travel sick – try Qwells – you cna get them over the counter in any good chemist and they are a life saver!! I get terribly sick and I did not upchuck even once on that road trip
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Had a fabulous couple of weeks off, best part being a week in a rented house down at Mollymook on the south coast, a beautifull laid back holiday spot with fabulous beaches for the kids and not much else. If you feel like being spoilt there is rick steins at bannisters which also has a day spa. An hour foot massage and pedicure was divine. A really simple easy holiday and we even managed to get sunshine every day which was like a miracle.
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Many many many people don’t have the luxury of taking holidays just because it’s summer! Not one of my friends or fam ever takes more than a few days over Xmas.
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Same for our family. But still lovely to hear what everybody else has been up to! And remembering those long summer holidays of yonder…they used to go FOREVER!!
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Love this- so many great memories of our own road trips from Broome all over WA last year. Heat, dust, corrugations- but I reckon all those many hours in the car, talking and laughing and fighting and playing games really made us a family.
As for this year- two weeks in Qld, three at Sorrento (Vic) and one in Sydney. What can I say? We all love the beach. My fave holiday pic is not dissimilar to yours, Kate- my 9yo daughter Cam jumping off the pier at Portsea on Australia day (note temporary kangaroo tattoo on her arm).
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My daughter jumped off the Rye pier!
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That water looks like heaven!
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The water around the Mornington Peninsula is devine….
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It is! My parents live in Rye and so my girls are lucky enough to to swim in that water often. I had lots of swims with them over the January holidays.
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Aahh, jetty jumping! My 8 year old discovered this over summer and has not looked back – my heart in my mouth every time he does it!
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We had a wonderful 3 weeks away over Christmas to escape the potential shenangins with my family – my husband is English so it is my family here. We skipped to Bali for two weeks, used frequent fliers for the first time ever, stayed in a couple of lovely resorts, a week each in Seminyak and Nusa Lembongan. To come back down to earth we then visited good friends in Perth, where the 4 of us kicked their son out of his bedroom for the week! It was great too. Thank goodness we went and chased the sun, Sydney has been a bit wet and cool since we got back!
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Kate, I love your writing. Keep em coming!
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I had my sister’s children for a week just before Christmas. My kids love seeing their cousins, but I’m not sure our small town lifestyle was attractive to 11 year old nephew…
I did take my boys to Sydney for a weekend and we went to the Harry Potter exhibition at the Powerhouse – was awesome. And because I did the 10 hour drive without my husband, for the first time I allowed a DVD player in the car. It was sooooo worth it, but I’ll only save it for long trips when I don’t have my husband with us….
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Flew down to Melbourne with our then 11 month old boy and spent 8 days seeing the great ocean road in a hire car. It was fantastic. If you haven’t been you have to go.
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Ugh! I did this with 1 year old and 3 year old and it was one big long windy road of vomit. Not recommended if your kids get car sick.
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I was lucky my little man travelled well. We also never drove more than an hour at a time so he got lots of fresh air and sightseeing in. I can’t wait for our next trip, thinking NSW south coast.
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Love the NSW South Coast. Fave spot is Narooma (Mystery Bay is out usual haunt!)
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Oh, yeah, I hear ya. Would NEVER do the Great Ocean Road. I get terribly carsick, along with my daughter. Just looking at a mountain makes me feel queasy!
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I went to school with a girl called Leanne who vomited just looking at The Zipper ride at the Brisbane show.
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As a child I once vomited in a plane before take off
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Haven’t had it yet. Been vaguely planning something in February. Our daughter’s only 2, and another bub due in May, so we had a vague plan to take a holiday once school holiday season was over, and before I get too big.
A few hours ago, my husband rang – his work wants him at the Gold Coast for a few days in a few weeks time. So we’re extending it and making a weekend of it! That’s the flights and the timing of the holiday sorted out! It was a lovely surprise!
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Because we are retirees now, we take holidays outside the school holidays. For years we took our three grandchildren away for a week in January up to our coast house, now they are teenagers they have other interests. The holiday house is still used, but the parents take them at Easter. So my husband and I are heading up there this weekend for a lovely relaxing fortnight. It’s a sleepy seaside town and all the tourists will be back in working or school mode.
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Sounds perfect!
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Hubby and I did a trip around Australia last year. If anyone wants to read our blog it’s:
suncamper.blogspot.com.
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I loved the bit about the conversations. Exactly the words I have been trying to find to explain my current lack of being able to discuss things with my hubby. I cant even word that last sentence properly, i will just make him read it!
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We drove up to Chicago (I LOVE that we can do that!) which is only 2 hrs away from where we are now. Chicago is beautiful, there is lots for families/kids to do (even we did some of that!) and it is a very walkable city with good public transport, and even the in-city driving isn’t too bad.
We met our best Aussie friend there, he had never been to the US. It snowed decently on our second day, and was fairly warm after that (as in, not below freezing!) It was nice to see a familiar face (and hear a familiar accent!)
The rest of the holidays we pretty much did nothing.
No garden to work in, no house maintenance, no finance/work/insurance/general crap that needs doing to do. Missed my doggie though. 
I love spending holidays with her, and I hate that I only see her once a week on Skype!
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Ah, Chicago!! We were there for a few days 3 years ago, with our daughter (then 18 months old) and a first trimester baby-in-the-making for me! I loved it, and I couldn’t believe how wonderful it was to be a pedestrian! In the middle of the city the traffic stops on all sides of the intersection, and pedestrians appear to have right of way! Apart from that we had a grand time exploring as much as a toddler can cope with!!
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I’ve been sailing for about 6 years now and so headed up to Yeppoon for sailing nationals over new year’s. I didn’t actually sail this year because I am lazy and disorganised – instead, I spent gorgeous sunny days in the middle of the ocean on a rescue boat, watching the races and jumping off for the odd swim when it got too hot.
There was a huge group of us and we hired out an entire motel across the road from the beach. So much fun. Surprisingly, I really liked Yeppoon as a holiday destination – not a whole lot to do there but it was lovely and quiet, reasonably easy to get to and the locals were super lovely.
Also went to Bali for 7 days – my second time in Bali and I loved it. Did Legian, Ubud and Nusa Dua. I held a snake, rode a motorcycle, went parasailing and jetskiing and drank a lot of cocktails
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What class of boat is that?? I sail as well and headed to Albany for my first world champs last summer. Oh.My.Gosh. SOOOOO MUCH FUN – basically taking over the town with other sailors all keen to sail and enjoy being outdoors and with good company all the time
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Cherubs
so much fun!
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They don’t have those at my yacht club, but I’ve sailed 420s cos I wanted to learn how to trapeeze and srsly, I love it so much! Cherubs also look great!
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Noosa how I love thee! We returned for our third fabulous, family holiday and the love affair continues. We will be back. There is something for everyone in Noosa. Shopping, great cafes & restaurants, outdoor activities aplenty. We love it. Plus we found a reasonably priced holiday apartment on the river. Bliss.
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Had a wonderful month away in Tasmania…in lws = free accomodation. Had a lovely 10 hour drive from Sydney to Melbourne (the bakery in Holbrook is to die for) then a wonderful 12 hour overnight trip on the Spirit of Tasmania. Basically hung around the NW Coast (in laws live 20 min south of Devonport) popped into Burnie, back to Ulverstone for some fish and chips…and scallops…at Pedro’s. We took a drive to George Town then Scottsdale via Bridstowe Lavender Farm in Nabowla, made our way down to St Helens via Ledgerwood and Derby, then back up through St Marys, Perth and Westbury. Learnt how to make jam and biscuits off friends of the in laws. Had fresh caught wild rainbow trout, never having farmed again sorry local fishmonger. On the way back home visited my parents in country NSW. Now aiming toward moving down to Tassie once I finish uni.
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Our house caught fire on the 23rd, we spent the following week in a motel, then the rest of the school holidays dealing with the insurance company and replacing as much stuff as we can. We’re still doing that, actually.
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I’m sorry to hear that happened. I hope everything can come back together for you guys.
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Thanks:) We’re getting there slowly:)
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Sharon, your fire brought back memories of when my daughter’s house caught fire one year just before Christmas. How dreadful for your family, it’s an awful time dealing with insurance companies. My daughter, hubby and one year old daughter moved in with us for the duration. Then she found out she was pregnant again, later to be diagnosed as a multiple pregnancy. Not a good time to be trying to pick kitchens and wall colours etc, when she shoud have been resting. It took took months for them to move back into their home.
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Oh, that sounds like a tough situation!
We’re very lucky in that part of our house is ‘liveable’, we just had to wait for cleanup.
But yes, you’re right, the trickiest part was waiting for shops to open again (was ok on the 24th, but after that, a nightmare) and insurance companies and other workers to get back to work
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What an awful thing to happen, Sharon. I hope you can get life back on track soon.
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Thanks:) School just started this week, with my 5 year old son joining my 11 year old sister. So that’s creating a bit of routine and distraction from all this.
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we went camping I. Warrnambool where I used to live and my sister still does. We had a lovely Christmas at her house and he baby was born the next day and I got to watch( much more exciting then actually doing it.)
slight hiccup when my dad who was supplying the tent forgot the fly- but hey it didn’t rain and after a few days we decided to buy a whopping big tent. Only problem is it broke and we slept is a semi falling down tent.
great place for a family holiday with heaps of entertainment and out door activities.
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All of the major decisions in our family’s life are made in the front seat of the car while driving long distances. It is the only time 1. the kids are corralled 2. husband forced to stay in one spot and is not staring at a computer screen 3. i am relaxed enough to finish a stream of thought that is not work related and 4. there is no washing to be done, dinner to be made, homework to be sorted, kitchen to be cleaned and 5. husband and I take the time to listen to what each other is saying. If we didn’t do driving holidays we would not have 1. bought and sold houses 2. moved states 3. had a second child 4. decided to work together 5. decided to stop working together 6. invented products and finally 7. stayed together. Holiday Roads rule!
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I worked the entire summer, including Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. BUT, I’ve quit my soul-sucking, stressful, longer-than-long hours job! Start my new, better-paid, 9-5 job in March and cannot wait.
And am also very much looking forward to my two weeks off inbetween. I haven’t had annual leave since June and I am wound up so tightly you wouldn’t believe. Planning lots of quality time with the Kindle!
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I’m still getting over a massive drive like that done with no DVD assistance. I applaud you. I’ve always wanted to do a house boat holiday! Oh and audio books…great idea, thanks.
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Kate, I’ve always wanted to hire a houseboat! Was it easy to drive?
I didn’t have a summer holiday (husband and I both working) but we did take a long weekend for Australia Day down in Dunsborough (south-west WA).
Where I re-discovered the beach. And got my husband to love it too.
There’s nothing more relaxing or instantly calming than just dropping on to your bum and letting the waves crash over you. I would’ve gone out deeper but for the stingers.
Now that we’re back home, I’m trying to convince my husband to go to the beach this weekend, but getting sand in the car and having to drive at least 20 minutes (rather than just being able to walk over the road) doesn’t appeal so much.
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I rented a houseboat with friends after we all graduated from university and it was one of the most relaxing holidays I’ve ever had.
You can’t do anything really but play cards, have a spa, go swimming, read and eat and drink lots. We had such an amazing time the whole week and I went home so relaxed and happy, I would recommend it to anyone.
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Hi Bunny, after growing up with a boating father I have a pathological fear of the whole anchoring thing. But on the Murray, it couldn’t have been easier. The river (especially now its full of water) is wide and deep and the banks are lined with gum trees – just find a pair and tie up for the evening. Bliss. Driving the boat was like driving your lounge room. Not exactly zippy but very easy.
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As long as you have a current drivers licence, you can take out a houseboat.
Totally, hands down, by far, the best holiday ever. Drinking, sun, campfire on the bank, fishing from a lounge chair – it’s just fabulous. And most of the boats now have spa’s and ensuites, so you can swim, then spa, then shower to your heart’s content.