Back when we were the original Big Lappers in 2005 there was no name for doing the loop. It was not cool for young people to travel in Australia, and we wanted to go to  Europe. If you found yourself in an old van travelling Australia in your 20s instead of backpacking Thailand or the Greek Islands or working in an underpaid job doing something or other in London then something, somewhere along the way had gone horribly wrong.

On the road this year we met loads of Australian’s who call themselves ‘Big Lappers’ and we were, frankly, fascinated. Most had never camped before and here they were with a large and expensive caravan, a 4WD with swags, a few little kids and often a baby. I mean, hats off to them! We have one child and had been camping solidly for the past 15 years before she came along.

Get up and boogie

I spoke to Adele from Caravanning with Kids (caravanningwithkids.com.au), the go-to place for everything camping with kids related and asked her about the phenomenon I’d recently discovered and how it came about that doing a lap of Australia is now in vogue for young families across Australia.

“Technology has helped families get out for extended periods of time;” she said. “They can now work from the road.

“Families are seeing online that it is possible to turn their dreams into reality. Society has evolved over the last two decades. The ‘norm’ has changed, and it is more acceptable to create your own lifestyle.

“Rewind 20 years; if you told your family you were going to quit your job and sell your home to travel full time, they would say you were crazy.”

Following the leader

BRINGING THE KIDS ALONG

So, what do the kids think about big lapping? The seven and 10-yearold girls we met with 18 months under their belt hated making new friends and then having to say goodbye. They loved going for hikes. Meanwhile, their parent’s hated home schooling saying: “We’re just not teachers!”

Another family who’d sold their house to fund their 12-month trip with a six-month-old baby and three-year-old twins said they’d spent the first three months living in their van in her parent’s driveway due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The house had sold and then COVID happened. With only five weeks on the road behind them, I asked the dad what was the hardest thing. He answered after a long  think: “Probably listening to my three-year-old’s chat non-stop all day.”

I didn’t even ask the mum, who I passed on the way to the showers, who was with a six-month-old and toddler while doing load after load of washing at 9pm.

For us, the hardest thing was travelling with an only child and desperately going to great lengths for her to have even a short play with another child.

But after all is said and done, another trip we’ll never forget, golden memories made, and some beautiful people met along the way.

PRE-SCHOOLER TRAVEL TIPS

Buying souvenirs: I’m not sure about other kids but mine always wants us to buy stuff. It doesn’t matter what shop we are in, “Can you buy me this?” just never ends. I decided to say yes, if it was a post card.

They cost about $1 and then she’s happy, she got something. 

She can choose the picture and decide if she wants to draw a picture on the back and send it to a friend or keep it to put it up on her bedroom wall at home. Either way, pretty good value in my books!

Scrapbook: This one’s from our awesome kinder teacher. Collect the free tourist information brochures and flyers from places you visit and have a pair of kid’s scissors, glue  stick and scrap book so they can make a story of where they’ve been and where they are going.

Even better if they are old enough to write a diary alongside — we transcribed Layla’s verbal diary as she’s too little to write herself.

We stick in all manner of things we find, from tree bark, to butterfly wings, post cards. What a great souvenir in years to come.

Chalk: Keep a pack of chalk in your van. They can draw with you, alone or invite other kids to join in. Plus, you can get them chalking outside your van, so you are able to keep an eye on what’s going on and laugh to yourself while eavesdropping on secret kid’s business conversations.

Take the bike: This one’s a no brainer. Take their scooter/skateboard/bike. They can use it to join in with other kids at campgrounds plus you can go to the cafe or pub which would have been that little bit too far for them to happily walk to. And let’s face it, when do they really happily walk anywhere?

Reusable straws: Buy metal or bamboo re-usable straws and keep in your bag so you don’t have to keep taking plastic straws for milkshakes, juice in the pub etc. Come to think of it, this should just be an every-day tip not just  a travel one! We always buy Layla the drink of her choice when going out for dinner/to the pub. We were pleasantly surprised to find Layla enjoys tomato juice. She thinks she’s getting a juice but is really having a few serves of veggies.

Animal book: We bought a kid’s  book a month into our trip detailing the Australian animals. This was super exciting (even for me) to recognise the animal from the book, know its name and be able to look it up and read about it again later.

Backpack: Take a kid’s backpack. Use it like their own handbag which they can take with them whenever you go for a walk down the beach, cafe or playground. Ours had in it a small sunscreen tube, sun hat, sunglasses, snack, hand sanitiser, favourite stuffed toy, a little pack of tissues and loads of other things she insisted on taking.

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Written: Fri 01 Jan 2021
Printed: January, 2021
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