LORNE - AUSTRALIA
In 2022 my Dad started to plan a trip to celebrate my mum turning 70 and this is what he came up with..
GETTING THERE…
We set off from London Heathrow for an overnight flight into Kuala Lumpur and then onto Melbourne.
I packed lunch packs for each of the kids with some treats and snacks to keep them interested and entertained for a little while at least and for my 2 kids, we travelled with JETKIDS suitcases that transform into beds on the plane
4 of the 5 kids nailed the journey. They had some sleep, ate some food and got stuck into the onboard entertainment. Wilfred, the youngest struggled on the first leg. It was tough to be honest, but lessons were learnt.
TOP TIPS FOR TRAVELLING LONG HAUL WITH KIDS:
Pick a time of flight that best suits your family. What time do you want to arrive? Would a morning arrival work best and get the kids out and about or would you rather a quick transfer from airport to home.place you are staying and straight into bed? We went for a night flight as it allowed for a decent arrival time, morning, and then the kids got in the sea and we kept them up until a decent bed time and they were so tired that they zonked out and slept well.
Comfortable clothing and a change of clothes for the little kids.
Pack a water bottle to stay hydrated.
I have BUFF neck warmers at home. I packed these as they fold up small and I covered the aeroplane pillows with them so the kids had soft and familiar pillows to sleep on.
Pack some activities that will keep the kids entertained, once they are of the age to enjoy tv, the inflight entertainment works well (if you are screen friendly) but it is trickier if your kids are young and don’t like screens.
Healthy/fun snacks might be useful as plane food is not the best normally, but I always found it to be quite exciting when I was young! But a few sweet treats always keeps the masses happy. Not too many though as the little ones may start bouncing off the walls and you DEFINITELY don’t want that!
Smaller/younger kids benefit from a sleeping aid, like JETKIDS, I hated sliding all around my seat when I was little on planes. Stretching out was the ultimate luxury. Both of our kids sleep and slept for at least 5 hours in a stretch using their JETKIDS. I would highly recommend the investment, however pointless really once the kids are around 7 years and above as they are generally too big by then to scoot down and curl up.
My main tip tough is to go with the flow and be easy on yourself. The journey itself is an adventure, they are excited and want to soak it all in. This is a once in lifetime chance to watch 6 hours of tv in a row! If you are happy with that, then just let it happen. Let them snack, if you know that it doesn’t affect them too much. Sit back and enjoy a g&t or 2, you deserve it.
First things first…
As soon as we got there, we got out into the fresh air and we found activities for the kids and coffee for the adults!
We landed into Melbourne and we were collected by my Godparents who immediately whisked us off to Lorne, where they live most of the year and we set up camp there for the next week. My Dad had planned this purposeful, feeling that we would benefit from settling into sleep and routine in one place and not getting ahead of ourselves, he was correct!
Lorne is a magical place, come rain or shine and we were so thrilled to be just a stones throw from the ocean in an amazing house owned by my gorgeous Godparents, so we were very lucky.
The weather was not great when we first arrived, but this is not unusual for this time of year in the Southern parts of Australia, we knew this in advance and we were prepared. We all had appropriate footwear, swimwear and wet weather gear. So we got dressed up and headed out.
First call was coffee and then the ocean and then ice cream and then bubbles!
The days ahead were filled with laughter and rain and sunshine and coffee and games and general life. It was the perfect place in which to start our adventure and also the perfect agenda.
We celebrated a 4 year old birthday and an 8 year old birthday and we swam every single day.
Our magical view over the bay in Lorne
SURFTIME
Serafina surfed on her 8th birthday and then the kids continued on almost everyday. Rain or shine, down in the water. It was great!
TIME TO WARM UP
Warming up with a hot chocolate before they headed back into the sea.
We come back to Lorne, later on in our trip, this was the beginning of a great Australian adventure and it was the perfect start.
From here we headed inland and up in the hills/mountains to a place near where my brother taught in his year out before University. Timbertop is an outdoor education for children that attend Geelong Grammar School near Melbourne (this is where my parents taught), it is a unique and exceptional experience and close to the hearts of my brother and my parents.
My Dad had booked an old sheep shearing shed near Mansfield for us to spend the next few days and explore the area from. He also hired a minibus, so in we piled and off we went. Off on to the next chapter of our adventure..
