September School Holidays are a great time to get away, particularly the second week as everywhere is a little quieter. I first checked with my daughters mum that she didn’t have any existing plans. It is never a problem unless there is something already locked into her calendar. Whenever I plan a trip away I always get in early with plenty of notice. I have also locked out a long weekend in February (not my normal weekend) but because I plan ahead and have given plenty of notice it’s not a problem, I am also happy to reciprocate if requested.
These school holidays we have gone to Torquay in Victoria. Its on the west coast and known for its surfing, they hold the rip curl Easter surfing pro events at Bells Beach. I booked in advance the sea-view cabins at the Torquay foreshore caravan park. I booked online after seeing a friend’s Facebook posts that looked so good.
When I arrived I found there were premium positioned cabins and then the other cabins. I was allocated to the “other” cabins. Still in the same area but not absolute beach front which is what I was expecting. There was also the promise of BBQ’s provided on each cabin balcony (as per the online photos), however, there were no BBQ’s… I went to reception and queried this and they said they just took them off the balconies because of the rust and maintenance required?
They said we could use the communal BBQ’s? But there is a big difference in my mind between private and communal.
With all of this being a bit disappointing on our arrival, I chose to practice what I preach “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it” so I sucked it up and got onto having a good time – one on one with my daughter.
We brought our bicycles with us and rode along the beach track and into the main township. We also went for walks, lounged around watching TV and playing iPad Scrabble. I could not believe that my daughter was triple my word score until i caught her using the “best word” button 🙂
Found the best cafe located right on the back beach where each day we walked to get a latte and hot chocolate Mmmm.
The weather has been wild, I thought the roof was going to blow off from the high winds . On the first night, my daughter called out in the middle of the night to tell me she was scared (I don’t blame her, it was very loud). We have enjoyed the time together just stopping for a week and spending quality time without the pressures of work and busy schedule. Would recommend it to anyone.
When it’s time to redecorate a kid’s room the most important thing to keep in mind is their tastes. Let your kids lead too demonstrate that their ideas have value, make the experience more fun, teach decorating skills and increase their appreciation of the final product. That doesn’t mean you can’t guide them, don’t over rule every decision they make.
Travelling with my daughter to a destination such as Bali has been wonderful to relax and spend quality time together away from the stresses of every day life. Although Bali has beautiful hotels and resorts that cater specifically for people who want to sit by the pool or find a tranquil spot on a day bed under a plam tree. There is also some important learning’s we can bring back from Bali to help educate children on how lucky and well off we are.
I planned our whole trip online. We wanted to both relax but I also wanted to show my daughter a safe but different side of life so we visited an orphanage in Denpasar. At the orphanage the children were cared for well, it was clean and spacious.
The building is 3 storey’s high but at some stage must have been abandoned because the building looks unfinished. They have built rooms inside, and designated areas for meals, kitchen, music, schooling, dorm bedrooms for boys and girls and prayer. My daughter and I gathered up all her clothes that didn’t fit her any more and packed them into a large suitcase and carried them over to donate to the orphanage.
You get to sign your donation into the guest book. I went back a year later and donated more clothes and saw that many people visited and signed the book after me. Mostly donations of money. I recommend you visit this Orphanage with your kids and see for yourself the good they are doing for these children.
Anyone with young children will know that whilst holidays are a fantastic opportunity to ‘get away from it all’ and spend quality time together. Sometimes the stress of the journey to get there can make you question whether it’s worth all the effort!
Once you have decided on that once in a lifetime road trip across the country, there is little you can do other than dream about your perfect getaway. But before you get lost in the clouds, come back down to earth and plan your trip properly before you go. This is ensure fewer obstacles and more time spent enjoying your adventure. Follow this simple guide and make sure you don’t forget anything important when planning your next road trip.
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous words, “Life is a journey, not a destination,” still inspire today. The journey is the destination, or rather, it’s not the destination but the journey that matters most… For road trippers, the journey is just as remarkable as the destination, especially if you and your family are embarking on a summertime road trip in Australia.
There are so many reasons dads get tattoos, and probably the single biggest reason is to mark the birth of our children or as a tribute to them. If you’re considering a tattoo, have you thought about what design? Here are some tips to help you make the right choice.
In our busy world, meditation is becoming more and more popular as dads search for ways to relax, de-stress and enhance their quality of life.
Routines today play a huge part in our family, because our kids really don’t have any control over their day to day life, it can give them an opportunity to feel like they belong in the running of the household and provides a sense of order, control and predictability.
My family travel experience as a sole parent
We can now share memories and life experiences across a myriad of destinations.
Together we have travelled to Bali, Thailand, Fiji , Perth as well as many local destinations like Hamilton Island, Gold Coast and Angelsea on the west coast of Victoria.
All locations were great and offered something special in their own way. I felt Bali was like a small friendly community; Fiji was good if you just want to relax and hangout by the hotel pool and Thailand (Phuket) had better roads, infrastructure and amenities and the people were so warm and friendly.
If I had to choose one (1) destination for a single parent I would recommend Phuket in Thailand.
Our holiday in Phuket…
It was Christmas time and I’d planned for 6 months, I had been told that you may find it difficult to find accommodation if you dont book early.
First things was to find flights and accommodation, I used tripadvisor.com.au it was so easy, in fact the easiest part of the holiday. You can read reviews and make your own mind up on accommodation, restaurants and attractions within the area.
It definitely made meal times easier, I only had to convince her that it was clean and the food was within the ‘use by date’ 🙂
After dinner we would walk along the shopping strip, buy an ice cream, find a lantern seller on the beach and let our lantern go into the night sky while holding hands and making a wish.
We had a morning ritual of breakfast in the poolside restaurant then an hour or so by the pool before heading out and sightseeing around Thailand.
Hiring a banana lounge on the beach under a shady umbrella is around $2.50 AUD per day. Loving it so much we went back 3 days in a row!!!
There was a
market at the entrance of the beach selling fresh fruit and cold drinks, which made healthy snacking easy.
Time went quickly, we had 10 wonderful days together. Skype was set up on my phone and her mum’s so they could keep in touch each day.
The flight home was easy, we tried to sleep or relax the whole journey. I made sure we had the required things to keep her busy or relaxed for 9 hours, i.e pillow, Jetstar Video player, IPad, colouring book and pencils. The IPod with her favorite songs was a winner, she was able to stretch out across me and relax. I cant wait to continue our adventures this year, we have a local trip in Victoria planned for the next school holidays…..