I think I'll do a whole separate post on the challenges of flying, driving, holidaying with a 2 year old. Hopefully some of my experiences will help you to avoid some of the pitfalls we have discovered. For today let's just talk about the fun and boy oh boy was there a lot of fun.
Just waiting at the airport to board our departing flight was the start of the fun for Noah. He loved watching the planes taking off and landing and all the excitement on the tarmac as the tow vehicles zoomed about and the luggage crates were loaded on the planes. It's the little things that count.
The flight was challenging with a tired toddler but we were lucky enough to score an extra seat and after some coaxing Noah slept for about half the flight.
First stop was my husband's Aunty Les who hosted us for 3 days while we traipsed around the city of Melbourne. Of course a trip to the zoo to see the baby elephant was mandatory. We are 'Friends of Perth Zoo' which gives us the bonus of free entry to other zoos around Oz.
We had lots of fun times with family and friends and everyone marvelled at what a little man Noah has become. Noah loved all the attention and kept everyone very entertained.
On day 4 we picked up our hire car and made the 5 hour drive to Omeo where we caught the bus to Mt Hotham. We do a fair amount of car travel down south of WA so Noah is pretty awesome in the car. He moooo'd at cows and baaaa'd at sheep and napped and when he got grizzly a bit of playtime on his Ipod touch got us through the final legs of the trip.
On the bus trip we had a very brief stop at Dinner Plain to wait so the bus would arrive on schedule at Mt Hotham (apparently there are so many vehicles in and out they are not allowed to be early) We took the chance to get Noah out for the first chance to see the snow. He was just thrilled not to be in a vehicle for 5 minutes but also loved the snow. We were lucky enough to see the husky dogs and there was a snow-covered playground with all the usual swings and slides. Luckily we had all changed into snow pants, jackets and boots in Omeo so we were ready to play but still stay nice and warm and dry.
We arrived at the top of the mountain by about 5.30pm so it was straight to our accommodation and time to catch up with all our friends we were spending the next couple of days with. The chalet was great with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms plus a lovely big lounge/dining area. We were sharing with our friends Glenn & Rach and their 6 month old son Taylor plus 3 single guys and Rach's mum so it was quite a big group and a big mix of 'holiday styles' but we all got along great and had loads of fun and laughs.
We did get Noah on skis and once he got over all the hassle of multiple layers of clothes, gloves, hats, goggles, ski boots etc he actually had a lot of fun. Obviously he didn't ski alone - Rob held him under the arms between his legs and they cruised down a couple of different runs. I did ski very briefly (and badly) the first day but decided a non-skiing support person was the key to successful time on the slopes with Noah. His favourite part (and the most terrifying for Mama) was the chairlift. It was good to give him a bit of a taste but I think next year will be when he really gets into it - plus he'll be old enough for ski school so that will give us a chance to do our own thing a bit too.
In the end the best fun for Noah really was the very simple thrill of tobogganing ($5 hire per day), building snowmen and throwing snowballs at Mummy and Daddy.
I think that's enough for one post - I'll be back with Part 2 which was our driving holiday from Omeo to Lakes Entrance, Wilson's Prom and back to Melbourne.
P.S. Happy Weekending to you and yours - hope it's full of family fun.
