Australia has plenty of spectacular attractions, from Uluru to the Great Barrier Reef, but on a long holiday with young children, it might make sense to focus on simpler pleasures. A road trip along the coast, from Melbourne to Sydney, provides plenty of those, says David Whitley in The Times – and this 750-mile odyssey is pretty relaxing if you tackle it over the course of three weeks.
Among the more adventurous activities on offer are whale-watching tours, and hikes through forested national parks where you might see an emu “lolloping through the grass”. But more appealing still is the daily diet of beautiful beaches, pretty seaside towns and occasional kangaroo encounters – thrills that cost nothing and are “catnip to kids”.
It’s worth booking tickets in advance for the Phillip Island Penguin Parade, two hours’ drive south of Melbourne. It offers a chance to watch a colony of little penguins waddle and belly-flop to their nests. Next comes Wilsons Promontory, and Squeaky Beach – where the white sand is so fine that it squeaks underfoot.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
At Mallacoota, the pelicans fishing at the water’s edge are a sight to marvel at, and the town of Eden is “cetacean-spotting central”. Between August and November, you stand a very good chance of seeing humpbacks, but a Cat Balou cruise around Twofold Bay is fun even out of season.
The towns beyond Eden – Merimbula, Tathra, Bermagui, Narooma, Broulee – are particularly delightful. At the NRMA Murramarang holiday park, the kangaroos are so “good-humoured” they’ll even tolerate affectionate approaches from small children. Dolphin-watching cruises in Jervis Bay are captivating. And the final leg of the journey is littered with “hits” – from the Kiama Blowhole to the wonder that is the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Trailfinders (trailfinders.com) has a three-week itinerary from £2,569pp, including flights and car hire.
-
The Icelandic women’s strike 50 years onIn The Spotlight The nation is ‘still no paradise’ for women, say campaigners
-
Mall World: why are people dreaming about a shopping centre?Under The Radar Thousands of strangers are dreaming about the same thing and no one sure why
-
Why scientists are attempting nuclear fusionThe Explainer Harnessing the reaction that powers the stars could offer a potentially unlimited source of carbon-free energy, and the race is hotting up
-
Roasted squash and apple soup recipeThe Week Recommends Autumnal soup is full of warming and hearty flavours
-
6 well-crafted log homesFeature Featuring a floor-to-ceiling rock fireplace in Montana and a Tulikivi stove in New York
-
Film reviews: A House of Dynamite, After the Hunt, and It Was Just an AccidentFeature A nuclear missile bears down on a U.S. city, a sexual misconduct allegation rocks an elite university campus, and a victim of government terror pursues vengeance
-
Book reviews: ‘Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife’ and ‘Make Me Commissioner: I Know What’s Wrong With Baseball and How to Fix It’Feature Gertrude Stein’s untold story and Jane Leavy’s playbook on how to save baseball
-
Rachel Ruysch: Nature Into ArtFeature Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, through Dec. 7
-
Music reviews: Olivia Dean, Madi Diaz, and Hannah FrancesFeature “The Art of Loving,” “Fatal Optimist,” and “Nested in Tangles”
-
Gilbert King’s 6 favorite books about the search for justiceFeature The journalist recommends works by Bryan Stevenson, David Grann, and more
-
Ready for the apocalypseFeature As anxiety rises about the state of the world, the ranks of preppers are growing—and changing.
