Two Tony’s and a Maria – sounds like something out of West Side Story! Just as tragically, these entries reminded the realholidays team about some of their own terrible road trips – though none as awful as poor Merryl and her family who visited a total of 8 chemists and 4 medical facilities in a 21 day trek from Queensland to Tasmania! It seems they kept the cough drop companies in business over the duration of their road trip.
And who hasn’t had a camping trip rained out? Poor Tony’s visions of outdoor cooking, nature walks and family fun degenerated into walks to the laundry dryer and McDonald’s meals. The icing on the cake was the car alarm that wouldn’t cease due to rain seeping into it – hardly serenity!
Victorian Tony almost managed to become NSW Tony as he repeatedly ignored his son’s pleas to go back the other way on their trip. Somehow he’d managed to miss the sign “To Sydney” on the way back from Merimbula to Melbourne. With 450km to go to Sydney, it seems in this case father doesn’t know best!
And finally it appears our friend Maria became the object of some truckie’s desires and the brunt of her boyfriend’s joke whilst travelling across the intensely hot Nullarbor Plain. Having decided to go topless to cool off she wasn’t aware that the truck drivers were peering down at her from their cabs and passing on the ‘site’ to others on their radios! I bet that’s one road trip none of them will forget!
All of our lucky winners get to take another road trip now – hopefully not as tragic as the last one! They each receive 4 day’s car hire in a gorgeous Audi A6 thanks to oodles.com.
]]>No more saving, no more waiting, a road trip sounded exhilarating. We looked at maps, we asked advice, which holiday would suit our price. For four of us, which trip looked best? Perth sounded great. We headed west!
]]> Adventures soon were in the making, comforts of home we were forsaking. We hit the highway, the Nullabor, where hours of saltbush were in store. Didn't matter - time was our own, though once or twice we wished we'd flown.Striking views from every window, the kids preferring to play Nintendo. To stop and sleep, we made a rule, the site must have a swimming pool. We travelled on for three long days, till all at once a Perth-ish haze.
Once there such fun for three weeks straight, before returning to our state. "Twas a holiday we all hold dear, thanks indeed to our old Camira!
Marilyn SA
]]>The "Aussie Tank" Ford Fairlane we had borrowed from my folks became possessed in cruise control mode as 5 highly inexperienced drivers (at the time) began climbing towards the Peachester Range near QLD's Sunshine Coast.
]]> An electrical fault caused the cruise control to remain on when the brake was applied, causing the "Aussie Tank" to turn what could only be desribed as "Possessed" as we began to climb a scenic range.As we flew into corners, what was at first bloody hilarious to a bunch of 17 year old boys turned into absolute terror as the "Aussie Tank" through itself round the narrow incline at 100 kms an hour!
I eventually turned the key to "off" and our possessed car ride in the form of a rollercoaster came to a grinding halt.
The 5 boys lived to tell the tale and eventually made their way to the surf of the Sunshine Coast with the help of RACQ, but we will never again use Cruise Control!
Ryan QLD
]]>We were happy to relax knowing that there were 40ish degree days coming up! ...That is until the car's entire heated leather seats decided they wouldn’t actually switch off! So with the 60 degree heated seats that were so hot u needed a towel or a bag of ice to sit properly.
]]> We continued our road trip even though it pretty much killed our stress free holiday, but we still managed to have the best fun as a family!As for the return trip driving home... I couldn’t bear it so I flew home!!
Luke VIC
]]>We had only travelled a short distance before I made a wrong turn simply because I ignored the "turn left" road sign.
Stubbornly, I was convinced that I was heading the correct direction but my 11 year old son, sitting behind me and watching every move soon made the remark, " Hey dad! This is a nice road to Sydney"
]]> I chose to ignore him.Hey Dad, you are going the wrong way."
"No J...., I had to make a right hand turn to head to Melbourne".
Soon afterwards, "Dad" said a nagging but urgent voice, "You are going the wrong way, I'm getting upset now".
"Look J.... I know we are going the correct way" was my dismissive response.
Not long after another distance sign appeared on the left side of the road. Sydney 450km.
My Son or also known as my sat nav was correct again.
Tony, VIC
]]>We were being pulled by dad in the Landcruiser and half way along the crossing he couldn't get through and washed up in the sand... my car was stuck in the middle of a flooding river.
]]> As I sat in the driver’s seat I watched water seeping in until it reached my belly. The tape deck of my 1980 Honda prelude was also soaked, the bonnet was almost under, and my back end was starting to slide downstream!Eventually after much pushing and thinking, Dad went and got the tractor and pulled me through.
To our amazement the car started! We managed to get some big dog food bags to protect our already soggy bums and were on our way to BDO!
Thanks for getting us through dad! Best trip ever!
Gemma, WA
]]>The vehicle was running late and was the last in the convoy from Adelaide to Perth. It had 3 lions and some entertainers on board.
]]> We were about 400kms from anywhere remotely able to repair the truck, and the tow/recovery mobiles were in Perth. That was still 1100kms away.We decided to set up camp on the side of the road with the crew and truck and let them use our water and they supplied the food. We had a juggler, a magician and an acrobat put on a show that night for us, us alone, and it was just sensational.
It is a trip that we will remember forever. What a great time!
Shaun NSW
]]>Between our group of friends, we had three cars equipped with 2-way radios and the game was to name things from A-Z that you can see around you.
]]> All three cars were stuck on the letter Q until we heard Queenslanders! Another car had joined in the game!We kept the game going with 4 cars and then decided that we should meet the mysterious Queenslanders.
We all stopped over at the Big Banana for a meet and greet and chocolate covered frozen bananas!
Elli NSW
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]]> Road Kill played out like this, I was wombats and my sister was kangaroo. Every time we saw dead Kangaroo, my sister would cop a punch in the arm and every time we saw a wombat I would cop a punch.
This game when on for 6 hours and the bruises lasted weeks. I don't know why my family had to go down to Melbourne, but I do remember the road trip.
Peter NSW
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The kids would talk about it for weeks after and how the direction their brother or sister picked had us ending up in tows or scenic places or even weird or interesting spots.
Every now and then (now the kids have grown up) my wife and I do the same thing, just to see where it leads us, we still did and do the normal, but what’s life if you don't add the unknown now and then?
The Broomhalls VIC
]]>We left with one child a bit crook and literally used an entire box of tissues in the first 24 hours - and it all went south from there!
]]> 2nd child developed a rash so we visited Katoomba hospital. Prognosis - German measles! Chemist stop; calamine and more tissues and cough drops for the others.Next night Sydney, 3rd child taken to late night medical centre. Prognosis - severe chest infection and conjunctivitis. Chemist stop; antibiotics, eye ointment, tissues and cough drops.
Arrived in Tassy and went up Cradle Mountain. Husband cried out from pain in his ears on descent. Medical Centre in Launceston: Prognosis - ear infection. Chemist stop; antibiotics, tissues, cough drops.
Leaving Launceston wife hits her head badly on an overhanging shelf. She spent the day vomiting from the concussion. Chemist stop; anti-emetics, tissues and cough drops!
We visited about 8 chemists and 4 medical facilities in our 21 days away (which really turned out to be a medical tour) yet despite it all, we had a fantastic time and saw some really amazing sights!
Merryl Qld
]]>After much persuading, I had a go at the enormous slippery dip… being tricky I missed the sliding section and flew all the way to the base of the slide - breaking my coxcyx!
]]> Meanwhile hubby is blowing up like a balloon (the bee) and his eyes are rapidly closing shut!Needless to say, the drive to the emergency department at Barmera hospital was like something out of a Monty Python sketch - me writhing in agony reclining on the front seat on my belly and passing out frequently and hubby squinting through the slits that used to be his eyes attempting to drive at break-neck speed through the Riverland.
Emergency staff grabbed hubby and swung into action thinking he was the emergency and thinking I was just relaxing on the front seat - having a bit of a kip!
AND it was hubby's birthday. True Story!
Ruth QLD
]]>It was very hot, dry and dusty and we stood and read the information about the coastline, the plants and the fish that could be caught in the area. After 10 minutes in the buzzing searing heat, my partner and I got back into the front seats and having heard the back door close I took off and drove down the dirt road.
]]> You can imagine my surprise when I glanced into the rear vision mirror to find my 4 year old son about 100 metres behind running frantically behind us in his green undies - everything else had been stripped off to keep him cool.Seems he'd opened the rear door and then decided to sit on the other side, closed the door and then watched as his overheated mother drove off.
12 years later my son and I still laugh at the memory of me thinking he was in the car and him watching in disbelief as the car left him behind (temporarily...)
Jo VIC
]]>He tossed his head and looked as if to say thankyou.
Michelle NT
]]>PASSENGERS: Four girls in hatchback.
PURPOSE: The Big Banana.
]]> Over the New Year, friends and I wanted to do was see the Big Banana. Never-mind that we were possibly in the smallest car invented and couldn’t see out the back window, because we took too many pairs of shoes and hair straightener - we were going to get a glimpse of that yellow fruit if it was the last thing we ever did.On our way, we passed the Big Potato and the Big Rock, but it didn’t satisfy us like the sweet scent of a banana milkshake. We passed Wollongong, Seal Rocks and Coffs Harbour. But we still hadn’t seen that perfectly yellow banana yet and finally our time had come.
As we rounded the corner on the Pacific Highway, the fruit appeared in front of us like a huge Tsunami. Okay, so that’s a massive over-statement. The Big Banana is more like catching an old boot, when all you wanted was that elusive snapper. But we all took photos and thought about what other big things we could visit. Next year our destination is the Big Wine Cask.
Louise VIC
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