Holiday Destinations

We’ve slipped into September with the realisation that there’s only 4 more weeks until the October school holidays are upon us. This will mark 2 years since our last major family holiday away together when we went to Airlie Beach and had a wonderful time. That’s too long to go without a holiday.

There’s not really enough time to organise a holiday for October but there are definitely some stirrings to make some plans sooner rather than later, possibly during the April holidays. So we’ve got a few options that we have already tossed around for consideration with more, I’m sure, to come before the end of the year.

The Gold Coast holiday has been done to death by our family and even though it’s jam-packed with things for the kids to do such as Movie World, Dream World, Wet ‘n’ Wild, Sea World and the beach we’re looking elsewhere for out holiday choice.

Top of our list at this point is Cairns. With options into the Great Barrier Reef on one side and trips out into the Daintree Forest on the other there’s a lot to like about the area. It’s one of the parts of the country that you tend to hear a lot about and looks as though it provides plenty to see and do. I’m not too sure about the kid-friendliness of the place, although I’m sure that as with all tourist destinations they will be well provided for.

Another place I have never been to but am keen to visit is Darwin. Australia’s Top End is holding an increasing allure to me and I’d like to get the chance to get up there and experience the true Australian Outback. With the possibility of touring Kakadu and Arnhem Land I would love to spend a week experiencing a part of the country that is unlike anything I’m used to. The Darwin / Northern Territory holiday strikes me as more of a strenuous, adventure type holiday and one that you would take with older children. So perhaps a holiday to Darwin will have to be saved for another 3 or 4 years.

The final idea we’ve had is a trip to New Zealand’s south island. Every bit of footage I have seen of the south island landscape has been absolutely stunning, so in terms of breathtaking scenery we would be set. It would be the kid’s first trip outside of Australia, so it would be a good learning experience for them. It’s also close enough so that travelling won’t be especially tiring.

I don’t really know a great deal about New Zealand’s south island so I will be doing some study to learn about places to stay, things to do and sights to see.