Entries about questions

"Let's go to Tassie!"
"Righto, cool!... When? How long for? Self drive or public transport with tours? What's there to see and do? You wanna pay for it!?... Ok, can we afford it?"

And so the idea was formed...

But hang on...

"What about the kids? Are we crazy?!"
"Nah, it won't be that bad. No worse than going round the world with Sonia when she was 9 - 12 months old."
"But there's 2 of them now! And they'll be 10months and 2.5yrs old!"
"That's fine, just plan accordingly!"

And so the planning began...

However, if you've ever tried to research a winter trip to Tasmania, with 2 toddlers, you'll understand the frustration that occurs from lack of information readily available. We had a fairly long list of questions, with no quick easy answers.

Ie.

• Campervan with toddlers in winter… good or bad idea?

• What’s the weather like for ‘shorter’ hikes/walks that time of the year?

• Many walks available to do with a stroller?

• How best to keep toddlers warm and dry during hikes?

• Free camping with campervan?

• Accessibility of camps, hikes, and other things during winter?

• If booking into accommodation… do you need to book much in advance?

• Are many things or areas closed during the winter season?

• Recommendations on things to definitely do/not do with toddlers?

After reading a few other travelers’ blogs, putting questions out on various different forums, and numerous phone calls, I’d answered quite a few of our queries, but still wasn’t a hundred percent sure on others. Figured we’d just have to go and enjoy the adventure, learning along the way! Hey, we’d previously survived a three month round the world trip (July – October 2011) with one toddler and basically no research… how much worse could this be?! Maybe that’s why I was now trying to do a lot more research prior to this trip!

And so that brings me to this blog… trying to carry out this research got me thinking that if I’m having difficulty finding information and answers, maybe others could be going through a similar situation. Hence the idea of writing this, hoping our experiences would be able to help others in similar situations. Here’s to hoping it does!

Campervan with toddlers in winter… good or bad idea?
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• Won’t know till we get there

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• Everyone’s different regarding what they enjoy or can put up with!

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• Perfect example… me Vs my husband!! I enjoy camping, he doesn’t!

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• Will see how we go for space and general comfort as well!

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• If taking toddlers in a campervan though, make sure it can take the car seats you need, and that the beds are toddler safe before you book

What’s the weather like for ‘shorter’ hikes/walks that time of the year?
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• Most likely cold and wet

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• As to how cold and wet… who really knows till we actually get there!

Many walks available to do with a stroller?
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• There are a few

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• I’m guessing those that are labeled wheelchair accessible should be no problem for a stroller

How best to keep toddlers warm and dry during hikes?
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• We’re thinking of using an Ergo baby carrier for our then 10month old, and whoever’s carrying him, wrapping their larger size raincoat around him as well. ?? smaller umbrella as well if it’s really heavy rain to reduce water running down between adult and child. This worked well for us before in New Zealand.

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• For longer hikes, we’re thinking we’d also take a Kathmandu child carrier backpack for our then 2.5yr old. Wearing our own raincoat, and putting a poncho over her and the backpack. Have yet to test this method!

Free camping with campervan?
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• Apparently there are quite a few sites available

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• We’ll see what we end up doing when we get there

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• Also depends on if we end up deciding if we want to pay for power so we can have a heater going overnight, or if we want showers and toilets or not

Accessibility of camps, hikes, and other things during winter?
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• Can sometimes be inaccessible due to snow

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• Won’t really know till we get there

If booking into accommodation… do you need to book much in advance?
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• Not such an issue in winter unless there’s something happening maybe

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• Like possibly in Latrobe during the Chocolate Winterfest in July, but we fly into Launceston the night before so decided to stay in Launceston instead and just do a day trip.

Are many things or areas closed during the winter season?
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• A few are yes!!

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• Not many (?? 2 or 3 of the things we would’ve liked to have done), but definitely worth checking before you go.

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• Tarkine Forest Adventures – Slide into the Tarkine: Shut during winter season

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• Eagles Eyrie – Maydena: Can shut depending on weather. Refund/Reschedule will be offered if this occurs they said

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• Westcoast Wilderness Railway: Shut due to financial issues. ?? re-opening for 2013/14 summer season

Recommendations on things to definitely do/not do with toddlers?
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• Depends on what your toddlers enjoy

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• We’ve received quite a few excellent suggestions, so will have to see what happens and how the kids enjoy them when we get there

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• For kids needing a baby seat, it pays to check that tour companies are able to cater for them. We’ve found several companies that wouldn’t be able to take our 10-11month old as their vehicles didn’t have an anchor point for his seat.

Now that the trip has been well and truly completed, lets go back through some of the original questions we had...

• Campervan with toddlers in winter

Clancy:
Silly idea.

Renee:
Generally, it wasn't too bad.
Good that we had the availability to pretty much be able to camp anywhere.
Had some great experiences and created some great memories.

Recommendations:
For a comprehensive overview, see my entry titled 'The Campervan...'

• Weather and walks

Clancy:
Miserable weather, bring a raincoat.
Walks were fine.

Renee:
Totally changeable.
We were lucky, and I think for us, the worst weather during a walk was the day Sonia and I trekked in to see Montezuma Falls.

Recommendations:
Be prepared for all seasons (maybe excluding summer!), and be flexible in case a change of plans is needed.

• Stroller and walks

Clancy:
Some walks available.

Renee:
Yes, quite a few available.
Including some that probably aren't meant to be utilised that way!

Recommendations:
If it looks like you'll be able to use it, go for it, as it usually makes the walk a fair bit easier and faster.
Just be prepared to take it back to your vehicle, or hide it on the side of the track for your return trip if it becomes too difficult to use.

• Keeping toddlers warm and dry during hikes

Clancy:
What my wife says!

Renee:
Pram with good cover if available.
Raincoats and umbrellas if walking.
Child carriers - Raincoat for self, Poncho for child, Umbrella if heavy rain and not too much wind.

Recommendations:
As listed above, plus numerous layers. We were surprised to find their outer layers got rather wet, while their inner layers stayed quite dry nearly every time.

• Free camping

Clancy:
If you want to do it the hard way.

Renee:
Plenty of places available if you have your own amenities (toilet/shower).
Still quite a few even if you don't.
I didn't mind it, but have to admit I enjoyed my hot showers!

Recommendations:
It all basically comes down to how much comfort you want.
There's plenty of sites available if you want them.

• Accessibility

Clancy:
Plan ahead and use your brain.
You'll be fine.

Renee:
It all depends on the weather and timing of what, when, where, and how you're wanting to access something.
We'd done our research so didn't come across anything much that ended up causing great disappointment. (See entry 'Some Answers to Questions So Far')
We were also really lucky and missed most of the road closures. For example, access to Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake was limited while we were at Latrobe, but was fine for when we wanted to go there later.

Recommendations:
Do your research to make sure places are open during winter.
Listen to ABC Local radio, and contact the local shires or tourist information centres for information on road closures or other warnings.

• Booking accommodation

Clancy:
Yes, the earlier, the better.

Renee:
If you know definite dates, then yes, it is definitely recommended to do in advance.
If not, you can ring up the day before, or earlier that morning.
Remember that many places shut by 4pm during winter.

Recommendations:
See above comments.
Will definitely require early booking for the summer months!!

• Things closed during winter

Clancy:
Yes

Renee:
Yes, some areas are closed during winter.
See 'Accessibility' above, and the blog entry 'Some Answers to Questions So Far'

Recommendations:
See above comments.

• Definitely do/not do with toddlers

Clancy:
If you enjoy your sanity, don't take kids!

Renee:
With some research and planning, everything was generally pretty good.
Nothing obvious that I'd recommend not to do.

Recommendations:
Even a little research and planning helps to make the whole trip go a lot smoother.

• Highlights

Clancy:
Snow
Being cold!
Chocolate places (not so much the Cadbury Chocolate Factory though. No tour.)
Cherry Shed
Raspberry Farm
Platypus House
Seahorse World
Waterfalls
Greenery - Not a desert like WA!

Renee:
Everything!!
I thought it was all pretty good, and find it rather difficult to pin point specific highlights.

• Final Comments

I've generally enjoyed this whole process. Planning the trip, exploring Tasmania, and now finishing this blog. I have to admit that yes, sometimes I did get rather frustrated and annoyed at various things, but over all... it was pretty good. Undertaking new exploits and creating many fun memories in the process. And from what I can gather, I think Clancy (despite his occasional pessimistic outlook on things) and the kids enjoyed it too. So now, I hope this has been helpful in some way to others, and all the best with your planning and exploration. Enjoy the new experiences and creation of many new memories!