Travelling Soul Sister

School holidays.

A time of year that can spark moments of sheer panic and terror in parents. Logistics, trying to keep kids entertained, going through money like it’s burning a hole in your pocket and the best part, siblings annoying each other over the most ridiculous things (I once heard mine arguing over a rubber band, I mean really, they have enough lego to build an entire life size house and they were arguing over a single rubber band).

Overall I really enjoy school holidays. Call me crazy but I love the break from the early morning school routine, making school lunches that I hope will get eaten and having to negotiate on a daily basis with my 7 year old that socks are essential with school shoes.

These past holidays my eldest son asked if we could go away. That it’s been soooo long since he has been on a holiday. It got me thinking, could I? Should I? I thought long and hard for a total of two minutes and replied with a ………. sure thing! We can go to Sydney! It will be great, they have lots to see and do, aquariums, zoos, boat trips, a big impressive bridge, it’s going to be awesome! Oh, but by the way………. we have to drive (flights are ridiculously expensive during holidays).

Personally I think it’s good for kids to experience the joy (read, boredom) of a road trip to somewhere far away. I did Sydney and Queensland when I was young. My brother and I had a deal, we would take in turns with the Vanilla Ice cassette tape in our walkmans. These days it seems every kid has an iPad packed full of games and music and will never know the pain of rewinding Ice Ice Baby over and over. (I had a major crush on Robert Van Winkle). Click here to listen to the 90’s gem. Please, no judging ;).

I also happen to love driving, so this road trip was going to be a piece of cake!

I made each of my boys a road trip pack, including things like colouring books, lollies, an eye mask for sleeping, some novelty toys and lots of snacks. This was mostly for my own sanity so I didn’t have to hear that someone was hungry and bored every 20 minutes. I also packed healthy items too before you think I went a little crazy on the lollies. The packs were a great idea, I highly recommend for a road trip!

Bribery bag ummmmm I mean goodie bags for the kids 

We started the journey early, we planned on leaving at 6.30am but in true kid fashion, it was more like 7.30am.

Off we set! Sydney bound.

My youngest suffers from motion sickness so I use pressure point bands that him (and I) wear on our wrists. Maybe it’s all in our heads but it definitely works for us. Unfortunately I forgot the wrist bands only work when you actually remember to wear them, so just as we got out of the city, literally 30 minutes into our trip, my son saw his breakfast again, and so did the back of my seat. OK, lets try this again, this time with the wrist bands. Good one mum!

Road trip snacks

I made the decision to drive the entire way to Sydney in the one day, but planned to take lots of short breaks as I was the only one driving. We stopped in Snake Gully which is just outside the town of Gundagai, New South Wales and home to the famous Australian icon ‘Dog on the Tuckerbox’ historical monument.  The cafe claims to have the best burger on the highway (according to Nev the truckie) and I have to say, it was pretty bloody delicious!! (No photo of the burger, we were too hungry for photos).

Thanks for the tip Nev! 

We got the touristy photo in front of the Dog on the Tuckerbox and the giant koala, bought a token souvenir from the gift shop,  stretched our legs, and we were back on the road. It was a fun place to visit, and I recommend it as a pit stop to break up the long drive and take in some Australian history.

The Dog on the Tuckerbox monument was erected in 1932. 

Cute and cuddly Australian wildlife

It’s a really cruisey drive to Sydney, 110km the majority of the way on the Hume Hwy but I have to say it can get a little on the monotonous side, so it’s important to have things to stay alert. Mine was coffee, Allens strawberry and cream lollies and most importantly, loud dance music (with a little bit of AC/DC thrown in, Thunderstruck kept my energy levels high!).

Lucky for me my kids share my (awesome) taste in music so everyone was happy.

Coffee. My road trip bestie.

There are lots of petrol stations, service centres and food options on the journey, which came in handy as naturally, having kids, we probably stopped about 372 times for the toilet.

My eldest son is really observant and was keeping a keen eye on my GPS, giving me an update every 15kms or so. My youngest son just asked how long there was to go every 30 minutes. I don’t know what was worse! Neither slept, which was probably a result of the sugar fest that was included in their goodie bags. Either way, my kids were amazing and I was so proud of them and the way they handled their first 10 hour long road trip.

Sydney was now in our sight, we had made it! Getting through the city was eventful, I’m sure the locals driving behind me were looking at my Victorian number plates shaking their head saying, ‘bloody tourist’ as I navigated my way to the hotel. All I can say is, thank goodness for built in GPS!

Our Sydney adventure was just beginning and I couldn’t wait to explore the City with my awesome little travelling buddies. ♥