It’s a Long Drive to the Top End

Captain’s log: day 4. Yep, you heard that right. We’ve been driving for four days with two kids in tow, and made it up through NSW to south-eastern QLD. It’s been gorgeous driving the new campervan up the coast and sleeping by the beach every night, but all this time sitting down is starting to wear thin on masters 8 and 10 respectively, otherwise known as Luka and Heath. So Terry and I have decided to stop for a couple of nights near Brisbane.

We’re staying at Terry’s cousin’s awesome property, which has endless room for the boys to run around, but I think they’re craving some of the hustle and bustle of the city (growing up in Fitzroy will do that to you, I’m afraid). So we’re hunting down an inexpensive kids activity that doesn’t involve hiking, fishing, or watching cartoons on my tablet. We’ve hit on the idea of taking them to an indoor play centre in Brisbane.

Heath was skeptical at first, but after seeing some pictures of the place, he was totally into it. I suspect that his competitive streak might have kicked in after I suggested that he could run it like an obstacle course. Even with his younger brother, he can’t help but get fired up about a game. I’m forever having to remind the kid that sometimes playtime is really just playtime, and a kids’ playground isn’t the same thing as a professional football field.

Luka’s easily the less aggressive one. He’s very detail-oriented, and loves solving puzzles. He’s into any game that involves putting things in order, which means it’s almost too easy to trick him into helping out around the house. I’m always trying to think of the perfect activity to bring Luka’s affinity for puzzle games together with Heath’s competitive sports mindset. The best I’ve come up with is chess, but neither of them is interested.

They’ll come round, one of these days! For the time being, let’s see what the go is with indoor playgrounds in Queensland. Maybe they’ll give me some new ideas for activities the kids can do while on the road.