Happy campers

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This was published 15 years ago

Happy campers

Hitting the road with the brood doesn't mean an end to adventure, writes Michael Gebicki.

By Michael Gebicki, James Shrimpton and Gary LaPersonne
Masai warriors in Kenya are happy to share customs with these boys on a Peregrine Family Adventures Worldwide trip.

Masai warriors in Kenya are happy to share customs with these boys on a Peregrine Family Adventures Worldwide trip.

The organised adventure holiday, which was once the exclusive province of fit and frisky adults, has now expanded to embrace family groups.

These days, you're likely to find families on organised adventure tours pedalling through Puglia, riding camels past the pyramids and sauntering through the supermarkets of Vietnam. The demand comes largely from parents who still nurture fond memories of their own adventurous wanderings in the era of cheap and easy travel, tramping the trails of Nepal or kipping down with the chickens in hill-tribe villages, and who want to pass on the experience to their own children.

As well as adventure tour operators with off-the-shelf family packages, there are several operators who provide the essential ingredients for a do-it-yourself family adventure holiday such as four-wheel-drive campervans or bare-boat charter yachts. Here are some good reasons to hit the road with the family on the discovery trail.

FOUR-WHEEL-DRIVE CAMPING

A driving holiday can test family life. Even if you give in to their every whim musical selection, choice of fast-food outlets etc, the mere fact that you are in the same vehicle for extended periods is enough to cause friction.

However, make it a four-wheel-driving holiday, and the journey assumes a whole new dimension and the four-wheel-drive version of the campervan is the adventuring family's best friend.

In one convenient, cost-effective, fold-up package you get wheels, beds, a kitchen and the freedom to venture well beyond the realms of motels and McDonald's.

Britz (www.britz.com) has two versions of four-wheel-drive campervans, the LandCruiser-based bush camper and the Adventurer, which offers rugged dependability plus the ability to sleep up to four with a fair degree of comfort.

Among the likely backdrops for a roving four-wheel-drive tour are some of Australia's most spectacular natural treasures, for example, Kakadu National Park, Cape York, the Flinders Ranges and the region west of Alice Springs, including Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

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Britz also offers the convenience of one-way hires, which opens some tantalising possibilities, such as Adelaide to Alice Springs via the Flinders Ranges, Coober Pedy, Uluru and Kings Canyon.

New Zealand is another prime candidate for a family campervan holiday, although it's cost rather than the adventurous possibilities of off-road camping that provides the motivation. In the South Island, every second tour vehicle appears to be a motorhome.

BOATS

Boats dissolve the age barriers. Especially when it's the do-it-yourself variety, boating provides a pleasing mix of activity and slothful behaviour that makes it ideal for just about any age.

The scattered, knobbly Whitsunday Islands are tailor-made for a boating holiday and there are many charter specialists with craft to suit just about any budget and level of nautical know-how.

For anyone with some sailing experience, a bare-boat yacht charter is the way to go. Despite the name, a bare-boat generally comes with a barbecue, stereo system, hot showers, a well-equipped kitchen and complete safety gear.

If there are younger children in the picture, another great option is a houseboat on the Murray River. The industry is concentrated in South Australia and houseboats come in all possible configurations, from simple scows to floating palaces complete with spas.

Up north, the Hawkesbury River in NSW is great.

In the realm of the truly exotic. Southern Sea Ventures (www.southernseaventures.com) is a Sydney-based sea kayak specialist operator.

Among the tantalising options in the company's catalogue, Fiji's Yasawa Islands are ideal for a family trip. Although the minimum age limit is 14 for a group trip, the company can arrange expeditions to suit family groups if younger children are involved.

At the top end of the boating tree, there's canal barging in Britain or the ooh-la-la version in France, where you can impress the family as you insouciantly navigate the lock systems of Burgundy or Provence.

Although there's no hands-on component, a journey by rice barge through Thailand or a houseboat journey through the backwaters of the Indian state of Kerala rate high and are perfect for families.

HIKING

A walk in the wild welds families together especially if you remember to bring the chocolate along. And there's nothing quite like a multi-day walk through some heartening bit of terra firma.

While there are a few families who might be prepared to schlep their tent, sleeping bags, cooking pots and food along on the trail, they're about as plentiful as Tassie tigers.

On a guided walk, however, you trek with only a day pack, someone else does the cooking and each evening you arrive at a well-prepared campsite with heart-stopping views.

Several adventure operators offer special hiking packages for families in imaginative places such as Nepal or the Swiss Alps.

Take them for a walk along the broad stone staircases of the Annapurna Trail, through terraced fields of millet and yellowing rice stalks with some of the world's highest peaks rising in saw-toothed splendour in the background, and life doesn't get much sweeter. Contact Peregrine Adventures (www.peregrineadventures.com), World Expeditions (www.worldexpeditions.com.au) or Intrepid Travel (www.intrepidtravel.com).

Alpine New Zealand is another sparkling spot or walk. As well as guided walks on its major trekking routes, New Zealand has more than 1000 Department of Conservation huts scattered throughout the country's national parks and they provide an excellent choice for the family that doesn't mind roughing it a little (www.doc.govt.nz/index.html).

Huts are graded from "basic" to "great walk" and they cost between nothing and $NZ35 ($A32.76) per night.

For culturally intrepid families, the Auvergne region of southern France has an intriguing possibility, a non-guided hike among wild hills and extinct volcanoes along the Robert Louis Stevenson Trail. Gear is toted on board a donkey, in imitation of the journey made by the famous Scottish writer in 1879.

Accommodation is in village inns and the trail is easy to follow, but you will need aplomb as well as stout legs to carry it off.

Based between Jindabyne and Thredbo, Kosciuszko Alpine Guided Walks (www.novotellakecrackenback.com.au) operate one- and two-night guided hikes that are just perfect for families who want their wilderness with a high level of creature comforts.

Arrive at your camp site and you will find bedding laid out in your tent, chairs arranged to admire the sunset and a meal prepared by a chef.

The walk begins and ends at the Lake Crackenback Resort, which looks like a plush lumberjack camp, clustered around the lake shore at the foot of rearing peaks.

Closer to home for kids who love water - that's most of them - organise a learn to surf (aged eight years and over) in western Victoria or beginner abseiling (aged five and over) adventure. Grampians Adventure Services (www.g-adventures.com.au) offer a host of beginner adventures where outdoor pursuits include rock climbing, abseiling, surfing, canoeing, kayaking, mountain biking, night spotlight walks, environmental walks, overnight walks and combination activity days.

THIRD WORLD ADVENTURES

Introducing your teenage children to the world of chopsticks and chanting monks is a mind-expanding opportunity. Do it right and they will learn valuable lessons about life and happiness.

However, you will need to feel comfortable yourself in this situation. If squat toilets, funny smells and cockroaches at inappropriate moments during meal times cause you anxiety, leave this one alone.

Anywhere with a gecko on the wall at night qualifies, although a resort at Bali's Nusa Dua is not exactly grasping the bull by the horns.

Several adventure tour specialists now offer Third World programs tailored specifically for children and while the daily agenda might be a little softer than the adults' version, they lack nothing in the way of excitement.

World Expeditions, Peregrine Adventures and Intrepid Travel operate family adventures in Thailand, India, Egypt, Nepal, China and southern Africa.

Teen cruising

In days gone by, many cruise ships were uncool for teenagers. Who, after all, wanted to be stuck at sea with Mum and Dad as they played deck quoits or bingo or sat at the bar?

Cruising writer Arline Bleecker of The Orlando Sentinel in Florida sums up: "It could be a teen's worst nightmare: stuck on a cruise ship with Mum and Dad for an entire week. Or it could be a dream come true."

On major international cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival and P&O Cruises, teens now claim space in "adult-free" zones.

Depending on the ship, they can enjoy teen discos and coffee bars, sports activities, bungee trampolines and, on Royal Caribbean, rock-climbing, ice-skating and in-line skating.

P&O Cruises' newest acquisition, Pacific Star, has what the company says is the first dedicated teen centre at sea, on a cruise ship based in Australia.

Teenagers on the (3,1751-tonne) Star, now sailing out of Brisbane, have their own area and programs, including swimming pool, games and a disco with DJ booth, installed as part of the ship's $20million refit. It's one of four areas on the ship set out for youngsters aged between three and 16.

P&O Cruises Australia's Pacific Sun, sailing from Sydney, also has an extensive kids' program and features a two-storey winding waterslide.

According to teen votes cast on cruisemates.com, the "raddest" nightclub is Fuel on Royal Caribbean's Mariner and Navigator of the Seas; in second place is Optix on sister ship, Adventure of the Seas, with third through to seventh places claimed by discos on Carnival's Conquest, Miracle, Legend, Spirit and Paradise.

Carnival recently teamed with Coca-Cola to create Club O2, a 15-17 teen program that will be operational fleet-wide on the "Fun Ship" company's 21 vessels by year's end.

The O2 refers to oxygen, which, according to the line, represents energy and renewal. Club O2 includes a dance floor with a DJ and a large-screen plasma TV displaying movies and music videos.

Select Carnival teen clubs will also feature a library with popular teen books and magazines, video games, a 16-monitor video wall, and listening stations, where teens plug in to hear favorite idols, from Kelly Clarkson and Alicia Keys to Fabolous.

Teens can enjoy karaoke, nightly themed parties, late-night movies, video-game contests and sporting events. And in a nod to the reality-show craze, they can play daily games based on Survivor and Fear Factor.

Carnival (carnival.com) also offers teens shore excursions including cave-tubing, horse-riding and swimming with stingrays in the Caribbean, with fares starting from $399 for a seven-day Caribbean cruise.

Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America boasts a gyroscope, an open-air sphere (originally developed for NASA to train astronauts in weightlessness) and a bungee trampoline.

Fleet-wide, from June to August, teens on NCL sailings can participate in an annual Junior Star Seeker talent competition.

NCL also has a passport program in which, for $US34.50 ($A46), teens get a booklet of 20 coupons for non-alcoholic drinks and entree to afternoon dance parties with a DJ and pizza.

On the Pacific Star and Sun, with cabins able to accommodate four people, families can get a good-value holiday, especially considering kids' clubs and all main meals are inclusive in the fare. Specific fares are difficult because there are many deals and discount offers in the marketplace, but there are offers from $111 per person per night. Visit pocruises.com.au and globenettravel.com.au and click on cruises.

- James Shrimpton, Gary LaPersonne

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