Category: National parks

How to survive a day at Death Valley

Reading Time: 15 minutes
Death Valley, California, USA (May 2017)
Death Valley (May 2017)

Having driven past the signs for Death Valley several times on our way to Las Vegas, this is a destination we have always wanted to visit but were discouraged due to the extreme heat. According to the nps website it can reach 120F (49C) on a summer’s day and others claim this to be the ‘hottest place on earth’.

When we were planning 3 nights in Las Vegas for May 2017 and considering new places to experience during the day, I wondered if being Spring, this might be an ok time of year to visit Death Valley? We only had one free day due to other attractions we wanted to see around Vegas, so I started researching to see if a day trip would be possible. I was pleased to learn it was a manageable 2 hours drive from Las Vegas to Death Valley Junction and that you can visit quite a few of the ‘must see’ popular spots in one day. Although I also discovered that even though we would be going in early May, it could still be quite hot… low 100’s!

We decided to go for it, and thanks to research and careful planning, this turned out to be a successful trip. However, I will say straight up, while it is possible to visit as a day trip from Las Vegas, there is a lot to see in Death Valley and if you truly want to appreciate this national park and intend to do some hiking, you should consider an overnight stay or two.

Fortunately, it all worked out and turned out to be a very enjoyable, although long, day. We made it to all but one of our planned stops.

This was our route plan: Continue reading “How to survive a day at Death Valley”

Our weekend in the Blue Mountains

Reading Time: 9 minutes
Blue Mountains and Jenolan Caves, NSW Australia (July 2016)
Jenolan Caves (July 2016)

This was a short trip, much closer to home on the outskirts of Sydney.

During the winter school holidays in July 2016 I took a Friday off work so our family could take a long weekend break away from Sydney. Together with hubby, Steve, and the two children (then aged 12 and 8) we drove up to the Blue Mountains and Jenolan Caves. The weekend was balanced perfectly with activities, site-seeing and quiet down-time.

The Blue Mountains is about a 90 minute drive west of Sydney (2 hours if you are coming from the northern beaches like us). Its breathtaking landscape and scenery spans approximately 11,400 km² and offers an array of attractions, including bushwalking trails, waterfalls and ancient limestone caves.  Aside from its world heritage listing, its many towns and villages also offer a delightful experience with their guesthouses, galleries and gardens and there are plenty of dining options from fine dining restaurants, to cafes, coffee shops and tea houses.

As a family we have been to the Blue Mountains a couple of times, but usually just for a day trip.  However Steve and the children hadn’t been to Jenolan Caves before and I hadn’t been since I was a small child, so we were looking forward to discovering this part of the mountains.

This was how our weekend went: Continue reading “Our weekend in the Blue Mountains”

Family road trip to Grand Canyon

Reading Time: 11 minutes
The Grand Canyon’s South Rim, Arizona, USA (July 2015)
The Grand Canyon (July 2015)

Ok, so when someone says they visited the “The Grand Canyon” you need to ask them to clarify which part – it is absolutely enormous! Unfortunately, we could only squeeze 2 nights into our itinerary for our visit, so after doing my research I decided we would visit the South Rim. On most accounts that I read during my research, this was the most spectacular – the real Grand Canyon. Not to detract from the other parts, but we couldn’t see it all…. So South Rim it was.   As it turned out, 2 nights (one full day) really wasn’t enough time to spend there either; there was so much more we could have done and seen, although from the children’s perspective, that was probably the extent their attention span could manage.

This was another trip that turned out to be a success, with all the planning working out well.  Here are my tips and our experience of our road trip and visit to The Grand Canyon: Continue reading “Family road trip to Grand Canyon”

Las Vegas with the family

Reading Time: 6 minutes
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (July 2015)
Las Vegas, Nevada (July 2015)

In July 2015, the whole family – my husband, two children (11 and 7 at the time) and I – took a two & half week holiday to the USA. I planned and researched our itinerary for months in advance as I wanted this to be the trip that the kids would remember for a lifetime.   We started in L.A. for a few days then rented a car and drove to Vegas, then did the Grand Canyon, stopped over in Phoenix on the way to San Diego and finally ended up in Palm Springs.

This post is dedicated to our Vegas segment (I will post about the others later).

Let me start by saying: I love Vegas! Though I haven’t always felt that way. I’d been there with the hubby three times before this trip. The first visit in 1994 I was overwhelmed with the intensity of the place, the constant noise and lights of the machines, lack of exit signage (got lost several times in different casinos), and was happy to leave after a one night stay. But we did return, warmed to the place, so much so that we chose Red Rock Canyon as our destination to get married at, on our third visit. I’m not into the gambling, not for any moral reasons but simply because it bores me after 5 minutes and I can think of much better things to spend money on (shoes for instance). However, I love the bright neon lights on the Strip, the extravagance, the opulent themed buildings, the food and entertainment, all surrounded by colourful desert and mountainous scenery.

As this was our first time to Vegas with the children we weren’t too sure how this would go. We need not have worried – we all had a great time and one of us even conquered some fears (read on)!

Here are my tips:

Continue reading “Las Vegas with the family”