The Family of Adventure - Escape the Daily

With school holidays fast approaching, we took the opportunity to chat to one of our favourite families of adventure - Escape the Daily! Keep reading to see their top tips for travelling with the little ones

INTRODUCE YOURSELVES - THE ESCAPE THE DAILY FAMILY

Hey legends, We’re Jessie and Lachlan from Escape The Daily We’ve just recently relocated from Adelaide over to Perth with our three girls Dalarah 8, Harlow 4 and Alaya 1 and are currently building our dream van that we plan to live in full time escaping the daily any chance we get.

WHERE ARE YOU GOING THIS SCHOOL HOLIDAYS?

This school holidays we have zero plans as usual because we are the most sporadic last-minute people you will ever meet; we have a habit of turning day trips into last minute weekend trips where everyone re wears their clothes two days in a row and eats servo takeaway or sandwiches for every meal. We’ve found these last-minute trips with no plans usually turn into the best most memorable adventures we have ever had and our kids have a total blast every second of it. We live by the saying “there is no better time than now” and not once have we ever regretted it.

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP TIPS FOR TRAVELING WITH KIDS?

We can definitely say we’re seasoned pros at travelling long distances with our kiddos and have done so from the first few weeks of their lives. There's no gatekeeping here so we're going to share our biggest ‘travelling with kids hack’ of them all… TRAVEL. AT. NIGHT! This has always been our saving grace when hitting the road for a long-distance trip as you can smash out bulk hours while the kiddos snooze silently like the peaceful little angels they are, no screaming, no fighting, no toilet stops every 30 minutes… no “are we there yet!” just blissful silence.

There are most definitely pros and cons to this method and you may miss stopping at some landmarks you may have had on your list but let's just be honest… it’s probably worth the sacrifice to get to your destination still mentally sane. Lachlan and I will swap out driving every two hours so that way we've had a bit of shut-eye in preparation for the next day, more so for Lachlan because well… his driving is scary.. and he can't stop talking.. his currently babbling away as I type this. We realised how much this method really does work when we had no choice but to drive during the day on our trip over to Perth from Adelaide and BOY was it an eye-opener!

Don’t let that scare you though we still have some magical parenting hacks for daylight hours too! Snacks… if you think you’ve packed enough you absolutely have not, pack more! If your child has a favourite treat now is the time to stock up, try and avoid chocolate or sticky items as they may just become projectiles during your drive…. I don’t know about you but I’d rather be smacked in the head with a bluey biscuit than a half-melted soggy fury tim-tam. If our drive is around 7 hours I will pre-plan stops that are at either playgrounds or the golden arches, pretty much anywhere you can safely release your children to run wild for at least 30 minutes while you try to gather yourself and the pantry full of snacks now scattered throughout your car.

If you have children under 2 chances are they absolutely hate long car rides but thankfully still nap so try your best to plan out the entire drive around their nap time so that way you can get some decent KMs done while they snooze, this 100% is the time to whip out the technology for your older children just to keep the noise to a minimum and maximise your chances of a successful long nap time. Now for the warriors out there that have older children that love nothing more than to fight with one another, pre-plan some family games everyone can play in the car, I promise you this is always a winner and the sillier the game the better! Even if your kiddos don’t act like it, they so badly want your time and attention so what better time to give them that than when you’re stuck in a car with one another for hours on end.

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP TIPS FOR GETTING READY TO LEAVE, STAYING ORGANISED ON THE ROAD, AND PACKING/CLEANING UP AT THE END?

Before every long trip, we pack each child a care package so to speak, this includes one of their favourite toys, a whiteboard with WASHABLE markers, a brand spanking new colouring-in book with more WASHABLE markers and their own technology with wireless headphones, this usually will buy you a few hours of entertainment before they start to get antsy and also keeps tabs on everyone's gear so theirs no fights over who’s is who’s. When it comes to the daunting task of packing for a trip away lists will always be your best friend, even if you think you’ve covered the list check it again… and probably once more just to be on the safe side. We pack all of our main bedding and clothing on the roof in our Rhino-Rack luggage bag and then have a bag in the car in an easy-to-reach spot packed with a spare set of clothes for each child, Panadol, wet wipes, toilet paper and vomit bags (even if they don’t get road sick.. better to be over prepared then pressure washing your car inside and out mid-road trip) we've been there and trust me… just pack the vomit bags.

WHAT’S BEEN SOME OF YOUR BEST MOMENTS/DESTINATIONS? CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT A TIME WHEN THINGS DIDN’T GO TO PLAN - BUT IT WAS AN ADVENTURE ANYWAY?

One of the times a trip didn't go to plan was when we visited the high country in snow season and were just about to head down the mountain for home when that dreaded "I need to pee" echoed from the back of the car. Lachlan was hesitant, "I can't pull over, Dalarah. We're on a snowy mountain!" Dalarah yelled, "PULL OVER, I'M GONNA PEEEEEE!" We saw a small little turn-off between some trees in the snow so we decided to pull over before having to clean up more than just snacks off the back seat. We got a few meters down this track and BAM! We became the most bogged we have ever been. After about an hour of digging, we finally got the Prado free just in time for the most incredible sunset over the snow I have ever seen. We learnt three very valuable lessons that day firstly snow is indeed very cold and hard to dig in secondly always make sure said child goes to the toilet before entering the car even if she swears black and blue she doesn't need to, thirdly MAXTRAX and the Rhino-Rack spade are worth every single cent.

WHAT RHINO-RACK GEAR DO YOU USE THAT YOU WOULDN’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT?

When heading away for a trip we would never leave without our Rhino rack spade and Rhino Rack luggage bag, when it comes to packing the 250L bag we've found the best method is to pack each person's clothes in their own individual bags and then pack those bags into the luggage bag once on the roof. This has made for the quickest and easiest packing and unpacking or if for some reason you need to bust into the bag mid-trip for a change of clothes you'll easily be able to locate who’s clothes you're after. We absolutely love this bag because it helps keep the inside of the car free from clutter which, with three kids can quickly become super overwhelming.

Follow Escape the Daily Adventures

Instagram: @escape.the.daily

Facebook: @escape.the.daily

TikTok: @escape.the.daily

YouTube: @escapethedaily