Big Tales of Tiny Travellers

August means two things in Brisbane. One, the westerly winds are about to blow the Royal Queensland Show (loving known as the Ekka) into town; and two, its finally strawberry season! Our little man is absolutely obsessed with strawberries so we took advantage of our mid-week show holiday and went strawberry picking. Our destination, Rolin Farms.

Located 30km from Brisbane, Rolin Farms allows you to roam their field picking your own punnet of strawberries. The only rule, no eating whilst out in the field (easier said than done!).

Armed with a cute wicker basket we headed off to the field. Christian loved getting amongst the plants and picking his own strawberries.  Sure, the strawberries were a touch more than in your local supermarket but all in all it was a cheap day out in the sunshine.

Where: Rolin Farms at 24-190 Rutters Rd, Elimbah QLD 4516

When: Every day between 8:30am and 4:30pm

Cost: The farm charges for the strawberries by weight and the cost changes day to day. Our haul cost us $13.

 

Melbourne has a special place in my heart. What’s not to love? The coffee, the food, the people, the sporting events… did I mention the coffee? Even the demurral weather is kind of ‘fun’ for a Queenslander who doesn’t often get a chance to crack out her coat and scarf. When visiting Melbourne, Rob and I love nothing more than slowly eating our way through the city. Our days are spent strolling the streets and lane ways soaking in the city (coffee in hand) before finally taking up residence in the window of a quaint Italian restaurant where we pass the afternoon people watching. Ah, those were the days….

This holiday we had to look at Melbourne differently. Sure, we found time to enjoy a pizza (or three!) but to keep our little man entertained we had to think a bit outside the square and we were pleasantly surprised with what Melbourne had to offer. So what is there to do with kids in Melbourne?

Here’s a couple of our favourites:

Werribee Open Range Zoo

Wow! The Werribee Open Range Zoo was such an incredible place! No sad, concrete enclosures, the animals roamed in beautiful open fields. The highlight for us was the 40min safari bus tour. This tour was included in the ticket price allowed saw us travel through fields of giraffe and rhinos much to Christian’s amazement.

The Zoo is incredibly child friendly with plenty to see and do. There’s easy access to all areas by pram, parents rooms, drinking fountains and even a range of healthy, kid-friendly meals and snacks in their restaurant.

To book tickets for Werribee Zoo or find out more visit their website here.

 

Puffing Billy Railway

Winding through the picturesque Dandenong Ranges is a railway line that time forgot. Each day the Puffing Billy steams its way between Belgrave and Gembrook. We chose to do the complete three hour return journey (in hindsight probably a bit too long for a toddler) but you can also hop on at one of the other stations along the way for a shorter trip.

The trip really had something for everyone. The scenery is absolutely spectacular and the combination of noise and open carriages had Christian enthralled.

Our advice would be make sure you pack plenty of food and drinks for the journey as there isn’t much of a chance to get anything along the way. Also, don’t forget your scarf. Those open air carriages are chilly!

 

So we did it, we took our first flight with our little man!

Its funny, from the moment you fall pregnant, there’s no shortage of ‘helpful’ people willing to share their special brand of child-related doom and gloom with you.  And, if someone turned all of this advice into a book, no doubt there’d be a pretty thick chapter on flying with babies *Lord help us! Somebody think of their ears!*.

There is no doubt, flying with a toddler takes planning and plenty of it. But, we managed to get away fairly unscathed. Here’s how:

 

The Lounge

We arrived at the terminal with plenty of time so that we could relax in the Virgin Australia Lounge before our flight.  After a busy morning it was nice to unwind and I really think this helped keep Christian calm too.  There’s no doubt, airline lounges are geared to the business traveller but there’s plenty of facilities which can help Mums and Dad out too including high chairs, hot water, baby change facilities and plenty of meal options to suit fussy little people!

Pro tip: The Melbourne and Brisbane Lounges have a Priority Screening Channel which essentially allows you to skip the screening queue. In Melbourne this is a huge plus as the screening point doubles as an exit from the Lounge to your gate while in Brisbane the screening point is upon entry.

 

Keep your stroller!

If you take a single piece, compact stroller, the airlines are pretty cool with you keeping it all the way to the gate.  Being able to roll Christian all the way up to the gate made life a whole lot easier for us.  Once we arrived at the gate we just folded it down and gave it to the Ground Crew who made sure it got loaded onto our flight. Check out this blog post for more information about flying with a pram.

 

Time your flight

If possible, time your flight for ‘nap time’. Sure, sometimes its just not practical but this one worked really well for us.

In our case, we found flights after the morning peak were cheaper and leaving a little later also gave us a bit of extra time to prepare the morning of the flight.  Christian was fast asleep before we reached cruising altitude our of Brisbane.  After a quick nap in the car, we weren’t so lucky on our way home unfortunately!

 

Don’t forget your utility belt

My nappy bag is always full of all sorts of goodies but it was NEXT LEVEL for this trip!  Having just recovered from an ear infection the week before keeping Christian pain free was my main concern but I also knew 2.5hrs is a really long time to entertain a bored toddler. So, in addition to the usual nappies, creams, drink bottle, spare change of clothes etc, I packed:

• Dummy to encourage sucking (and clear ears) during take off and landing
• A rusk stick (can also be used instead of a dummy)
• Nurofen (which I dosed 2hrs prior to the flight to help reduce the pain during take off and landing)*
• A selection of little cars and toys that we could play with together
• Snacks. So many snacks.

 

Well with a nice easy 2.5hr flight done and dusted, we’re prepping for a big flight to the Maldives in a couple of weeks. I’ll definitely need to up my ‘inflight entertainment’ game!

 

 

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*Before giving your child Nurofen or any other medication, speak to your Pharmacist.

I’ve got to admit, I was baffled when I started researching the rules around flying domestically with a pram. Literally hundreds of babies fly around Australia every day but when I started looking for information about how to bring a pram on my upcoming flight, I discovered the airlines aren’t exactly going out of their way to share the information. I can’t say I blame them. Like most people I’ve sat on a plane grimacing listening to a screaming little person while their Mum desperately tries to calm them. It doesn’t exactly make for a great guest experience. Well, karma’s a bitch and that desperate Mum is soon to be me. So, here’s the low down on travelling with a pram…

Can I take a pram on a flight?

Yes, all domestic airlines in Australia allow you to bring along your pram (and other bits and pieces like portacots, car seats etc). However, whether it is counted within your baggage allowance varies and like most things in life, you get what you pay for.

 

Virgin Australia

When travelling with infants (under 2 yrs), you can bring all of their ‘equipment’ such as cots, car seats and prams free of charge. For children over two, adults can check two of these items for free. For more information about travelling with prams on Virgin Australia, check out this page.

Qantas

Qantas allows three free checked items for infants under 2 years and two items for children. Each item can weigh up to 32kg (thats a heavy pram!). For information check out this page.

 

Jetstar

You can bring a pram, portable highchair, portacot and car seat free of charge (regardless of your child’s age).  For more information about travelling with kids on Jetstar, check out this page.

 

Tiger Airways

Tiger allows children (including infants) under 6 years old to travel with one checked item (which can be a pram, cart seat, portable high chair or portacot). For more information on travelling with kids on Tiger Airways, check out this page.

 

Regardless of who you’re flying with, the good news is that in most mainline ports in Australia, you’ll be able to borrow a loan stroller to get you from check-in to your aircraft.  Just ask the Ground Crew at check in.

 

Can I Bring My Pram Onboard?

Maybe! It all depends on the size and weight of your pram.  Airlines are cool with you bringing your pram onboard if it fits within the traditional check bagged requirements. Be warned, they’re pretty small! We’ve got a tiny Recaro Easylife travel stroller which I love. It’s light, compact and folds down small enough to fit behind the drivers seat in my car. But, its still quite a bit larger than the carry on dimensions! If you’re looking for something that will fit in the overhead check out the GB Pockit Stroller and the BabyZen YoYo+.

 

Happy Travels! xo

 

 

 

 

Stifled was the only way to describe the way I felt after my son was born.  I’d gone from working a busy job all week and jamming my weekends full of lazy brunches and dinners with friends to carving an ever increasing groove in the lounge watching Netflix as I fed my little man for what felt like the hundredth time for the day.  I was so proud and excited to be a Mum but was also mourning the carefree life that I’d lost.

Then it happened. We decided to book a little getaway – just two nights on the coast when Christian was 6 weeks old.  I’d barely left the house until then. My colicky baby was fussy, vomit-y and even a trip to the local shopping centre seemed insurmountable. But we did it. We went on a holiday with a newborn.

I did a bit of research and bought a portacot which could later double as a playpen. I packed waaaaay too many pieces of clothing, blankets, swaddles, nappies filling half a suitcase with baby things. We overpacked to the point that we even had to put one of the seats down in our SUV just to fit everything in! But eventually we made it.

From the moment we arrived on the coast, I felt lighter. We’d escaped! Over the next two days, my soul was replenished. We took Christian to see the ocean for the first time, we went out for dinner while our baby slept (even through a mariachi band!) and we went out for brunch.

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.  On night two I had to breastfeed my suddenly wide awake and very hungry little man at the table midway through my $90 dinner in a ‘far to posh for me’ restaurant but, all in all Christian was on his best behaviour. Which got me thinking…  Maybe his newly found ‘chill’ was more about mine. Maybe his Mumma getting her groove back was just what we both needed.

My husband and I have always loved travelling.  It’s kind of our thing.  We’ve been all over the world together.  All of the little experiences we’ve collected upon the way are woven so deeply into who we are.  They hang on our walls, dance in our memories and shape the way we see the world.

I started this blog because I nearly wrote travelling off altogether as something people do before they have kids. I nearly lost such a deep part of who I am just because it all seemed way to hard.  Its really not. I promise.

This Blog is all about making travelling with kids easier.  It’s my personal mission to share all of the information I find; everything I learn along this crazy life journey to help other mummies like me travel.  And I promise you one more thing…  If you pack your little one(s) up and see the world, your soul will thank you for it.

– Kelly

Christian and I taking in the sun, salt and sand in Broadbeach.