The best fun on four wheels

With planning and patience, a family road trip can be the best fun on four wheels.

When I told people we were making the most of my husband's long-service leave by taking our three small kids on a driving holiday, they thought I must be mad.

Had I not heard of cheap airlines? Could I not remember driving holidays from my own childhood that involved a lot of slapping (back seat to back seat, followed by front seat to back seat) and whining? Couldn't I remember stopping in the middle of nowhere to see some bizarre big thing or to buy vanilla slice from a small-town bakery?

But it was precisely these memories that made me want to take my children on the open road.

Invariably, my critics started to tell me their own stories of the trials and joys of family driving holidays. Four kids and a dog in a Valiant, the roadside toilet stop when they were stared down by a bull, off-key car sing-alongs and talking with their dad at sunrise when everyone else was asleep.

OK, I admit five years ago our plans for long-service leave involved a villa in Tuscany but three kids, a mortgage and a world financial crisis later, a house by the sea in Tasmania was sounding more realistic. I had always wanted to travel the Great Ocean Road and my eldest son was obsessed with the idea of a sea crossing, so we had ourselves the beginnings of a road trip.

We also let our plan be shaped by people we wanted to visit: a work friend in Adelaide, old school friends in Melbourne and family in West Wyalong. Although, you should remember the old adage that fish and visitors start to smell after three days, sooner if you have children.

I also allowed for a bit of spontaneity. In the week before we left, three people mentioned how great Broken Hill was to visit. We had already planned to go through Mildura on our way to Adelaide, so it was only another half day's drive away. We also left the trip home from Port Melbourne to Sydney totally unplanned. I feared that after six weeks on the road, we might just want to drive home the quickest route possible. In the end, we were seduced by the glossy tourist brochures and spent time on the Mornington Peninsula and took the scenic coastal route through Lakes Entrance and then up the South Coast of NSW.

My three boys, Edwin, 6, Hal, 3, and Alfie, 6 months, are all mad transport enthusiasts, so discussion of modes of transport was a great way to get the kids involved in the planning process. The idea of a caravan was popular initially but needed more time, fuel and money.

We planned to travel for six to eight weeks, whereas most people travelling around Australia in a caravan seem to commit to at least six to eight months. But we did stay in cabins at caravan parks, which was just as exciting. The birth of our third child had forced us into buying a larger car and with the trip in mind, we purchased a popular model of family station wagon. It's a robust car you can get parts for easily, even if you break down somewhere remote.

The first leg of our trip took us across the Hay plain to Mildura and on to Broken Hill. The land was flat and dry all the way to the horizon. I tried to explain to the children that they should be taking in this classic Australian landscape. They were plugged into the iPod and ignoring me but they were still soaking in the view, just as I did as a child.

These kinds of road trips have connected generations of Australians with the outback, which is still a popular part of our national identity. But what will the next generation think of outback Australia? Will growing up catching planes from A to B give them different perspectives on the landscape? After all, it really was a very long, dull drive.

I had planned lots of in-car games and activities to keep the children busy while driving but after only a few days on the road, they settled into the rhythm of long drives. Moments of boredom were filled easily with quick games of ISpy and "I went on a holiday and I packed ..."

We had invested in a portable DVD player before we left but we really only used it when we got caught in city traffic at the end of a long day on the road. The children preferred the iPod loaded with children's songs and stories.

Baby Alfie reminded us to stop at least every three hours for a break and feed and we planned the stops each day so we always had a short-term destination. Edwin quickly learnt to read the green distance signs and tell us how many kilometres to our next stop. Frequent stops meant we saw many small towns most people drive past. We became connoisseurs of local bakeries and playgrounds. Critique of these playgrounds also kept us busy in the car. I am pleased to announce the best playgrounds of the trip to be Ulverstone, Tasmania, and Victor Harbour, SA.

We also stopped at Big Things whenever we had the chance, such as the Big Rocking Horse, the Big Lobster and the Big Penguin.

There were also places where we stopped longer and visited the attractions. Broken Hill was as interesting and unique as everyone had promised. The landscape is spectacular and the town has maintained its historic character without feeling like it has been scrubbed too clean for the tourists.

We drove out to the Living Desert Reserve where you can see a view over the town and the surrounding landscape. In 1993 a group of artists carved sculptures for the hill. The children enjoyed running around the sculptures and choosing a favourite. They also enjoyed the sculptures and art works at Pro Hart's Gallery. They related to the insect themes, having first-hand experience of the large ants and flies of Broken Hill. They were also impressed by his home-made paint gun and are still hassling me for one of their own.

Other attempts to visit art galleries were less successful and sometimes outright embarrassing. You need to choose the gallery carefully.

We all loved the national parks in Tasmania. I had initially had doubts about visiting national parks with young children who are not good walkers. Edwin complains that the 10-minute walk to the shops is too far. Hal, like most three-year-olds, has energy to burn but no sense.

The helpful staff at national park information centres encouraged us to get out and try the easy walks. Both Freycinet and Cradle Mountain parks have added walks for less-mobile visitors, which are great for young children. Some are even accessible to strollers. The children loved the sense of adventure and discovery and didn't notice that we walked for more than an hour.

One of the highlights of our trip was our visit to Tahune State Forest, south of Hobart. A fantastic walkway is suspended through the treetops and a bushwalk crosses the Huon River via suspension bridges (just like in Shrek but without the red-hot lava below). Outdoor activities are great when you are on a road trip. We also visited open gardens in Tasmania and Victoria, where I indulged my gardening fantasies and the children ran crazy. We had some wonderful picnics in beautiful gardens where I played hide and seek with the boys while my husband read the paper and nursed a sleeping baby.

Strawberry-picking at Beerenburg Farm, at Hahndorf in South Australia, was another popular morning activity that involved lots of running through open fields, not to mention the joy of eating the fruits of our labour.

We didn't spend all of our time in the car and every night in a different town. The children, and my husband, found the constant moving upset their routine. We took two substantial breaks from travelling: in Adelaide for 10 days and a fortnight in Bicheno, on Tasmania's east coast.

This time gave everyone the chance to rest and settle back into regular sleep patterns. They were also chances to settle in and become a bit of a local rather than a tourist. This was the part of the trip that felt like a holiday, where we could put our feet up and relax.

Seven thousand kilometres and seven weeks later, we had learnt some key travel skills and some life skills, too. Always keep a bag in the boot with everyone's hats and rain jackets and a bottle of sunscreen. Kids can survive very happily without toys (Edwin and Hal had endless imaginative games using only their drink bottles).

Caravan parks and apartments are more family-friendly because they come with kitchens and laundries and sometimes playgrounds and pools. Always know where you are sleeping that night and what is for dinner. Everything else is just icing.

Read Sascha's tips on how you can save money on your road trip.

Discuss this topic in the Family Travel Forum.