Let The Planning Begin

With a little more than eight months to go, it is time to get serious with our planning.  We would hate to travel around Australia and miss something that is a 'must do'.  We are also fully aware that we will not be able to get to see and everything we want.  We also don't want to fill up our days with such a busy agenda that we feel like we are on a tour, with every moment planned.  If a camp is perfect - well, why don't we stay an extra night or two.  The weather perhaps will be our biggest influence on the direction our travelling will be, but we do want to hit all the most important bits on our trip.

And travelling with school age kids means we will also have to devote some time to schooling whilst we are on the road.  I will come back to schooling as we get closer to departure, because that is another story in itself!

As a young man I was given a fantastic road atlas, that has served me remarkably well over the years.  It traversed much of this big wide land with me in what was then a relatively new Ford Falcon, covering every state, with the exception of Tasmania and the Northern Territory.  My travelling plans were relatively simple in those days, with a rough idea of the destination in mind, I would fill up with fuel and point the bonnet in the rough direction.  Perhaps my longest road trip was a three week drive from Cairns to Perth, via the Nullarbor.  Iconic - Yes.  Would I do it again - Yes - but perhaps taking a little longer to admire the view!

It may be time to upgrade the Road Atlas too!

So now it is time to start planning a different trip.  This time it will be with a family, in a 4WD and an offroad Camper Trailer.  We hope to make it a defining trip in our kids lives - as our own.  And now I have recently acquired a good size road map for each state in the country (thank you NRMA) which I hope will allow us to plot on the map what things we really must see and do in each state, so we can then plan a rough route to encompass them all.

Righto - let the planning begin!

But before I share all the places we want to go, I am really interested in finding out what you consider to be the best places to go in Australia.

I put this question to some friends of mine, and the list of their suggestions is starting to build.

Must do things in Australia:

• Uluru and Kata Tjuta
• Kakadu rock art galleries
• Snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef
• Snorkelling on Ningaloo Reef
• Camel Rides at Broome on Cable Beach
• Wave Rock (although I must admit I find Hippo's Yawn a real treat)
• The Twelve Apostles and Great Ocean Road (Cape Otway Lighthouse will be a must do too!)
• Gibb River Road
• Devils Marbles
• Three Sisters
• Wittenoom - strictly a drive through!
• Port Arthur
• Karijini National Park
• Climb a fire tree at Pemberton

The list will grow I am sure - but please - share with me what you think we should put on our "must do list' for 2014.

Thank you!