articles|interviewsination: Western Australia | Suitcases & Strollers

Profile: Travel Doctor Dr June Tan

Profile of International Medical Clinic Singapore’s Dr June Tan. As a family doctor based in Singapore, Dr June Tan sees a lot of families with medical questions relating to travel with kids. As a mother of two kids herself – Jade (2) and Pierce (8 months) – she has also experienced a bit herself. In the past June lived in Berlin and took advantage of that time to travel around Hungary, the Czech Republic and Latvia. She’s also visited places like Nepal, Egypt, China and Taiwan. These days she does 2 to 3 long family holidays with the kids and jokes that despite having been to multiple parts of Europe and the US, she is still yet to see much in her own backyard of Southeast Asia. She shares her family travel experiences with suitcases&strollers.

Family Adventure Holidays: Christmas Island With Kids

Travel guide to Christmas Island for families. With a name like “Christmas Island”, this Australian protectorate has all the makings of a memorable family holiday destination. If your kids love the great outdoors and active family holidays, here you can get very close to rare wildlife, explore the reefs and cliff edges and just run wild and free. There are no manufactured tourist attractions or resorts (just loads of nature to discover) which means you will feel like you are the only visitors on the island – and that is a very rare experience indeed. Here are the suitcases&strollers travel tips to Christmas Island with kids.

Family Friendly Holidays: Perth Insider

Perth with kids is a pretty perfect city. Beaches, blue skies, parks, brilliant weather and that charming Aussie laid back vibe – what’s not to love? suitcases&strollers chatted to blogger Amanda Kendle of I’m Not A Ballerina – I’m A Traveller and a Thinker and mama to a four-year-old son about Australia’s west coast and her insider tips for the best things to do in Perth with kids. Here is the suitcases&strollers Perth city guide.

Holiday Destinations Australia: Top 10 in Australia’s South West

Australia’s South West named in the Top 10 Family Friendly Destinations by Lonely Planet. Travelling to Western Australia with kids is renowned for its big blue skies, mild weather, stunning natural scenery and friendly local folk. But did you know that it is specifically the south west of the state that is a favourite for visitors from all over the globe? From the biggest free playground in the southern hemisphere to its glorious beaches, here are the top 10 reasons why Australia’s South West is a must visit family holiday destination in Western Australia for kids.

Winter Family Holidays: Western Australia With Kids

Looking for a winter family vacation? Then you should definitely be thinking about Western Australia. While you get to enjoy winter holiday activities such as sitting by log fires, eating hearty meals overlooking the green hills and warm cups of tea on misty mornings, the weather is still temperate enough that there are plenty of reasons to go outdoors too. In the south west of the state, the scenery is picture perfect and (some would say) at its most beautiful during the cooler months. If you’re looking for winter family vacations that are a break from the tropical heat and involve fresh air, sunshine and beautiful natural scenery (whale watching anyone?) then it’s time to head to Western Australia with kids.

Western Australia’s Gourmet Trail with Kids

A family holiday in Western Australia is often about wineries, small food producers and big blue skies. And for parents traveling with kids, there are also plenty of unique ways to get the children involved and excited about the gourmet experiences just as much as the adults. While there are plenty of wineries with large open spaces for kids to run while parents sip and sample, there’s no reason why the children can’t join in the tastings too. (Don’t miss The Cidery, for instance, where there are some fantastic non alcoholic options for children to try.) Here are some other interesting ideas for family-friendly activities on the gourmet trail in Western Australia with kids.

Farm Stays for Kids in Western Australia

If you need to escape the pollution and pace of big city living, farm stays with kids are a good option. In South West Western Australia this can mean not only do the children get to experience hands-on interaction with baby animals and seeing a live farm in operation, parents can enjoy some of the best food and wine in the country without having to sit in a stuffy, expensive restaurant. For a family holiday activity that will be unusual and memorable for the kids, but oh so easy for the parents, farm stays are it.

Whale Watching in Western Australia

Animal lovers rejoice – it’s whale watching season again in Australia’s South West. In other parts of the world whale watching with kids can be a tedious experience with very little reward – you could go several hours and only see a spurt of water in the far distance – but in Western Australia whale spotting with kids is a life-changing event. Here you can get right up close to the massive sea mammals – all without even needing to get wet.

The Ultimate Barbie Experiences

If your little girls can’t get enough of the blonde bombshell that is Barbie, perhaps it’s time to embrace their love of hot pink and seek out these fantasy-like experiences. Whether it’s just an afternoon in a mall to dedicating an entire island holiday to Barbie, here are some of the most memorable kids holiday ideas for Barbie fans.

Bringing Food Into Australia

Australian quarantine laws seem bizarre and confusing to the rest of the world. They are extremely strict about bringing food into the country – including snacks, purees and milks for babies and kids. As laughable as these laws sound, the Aussies take them pretty seriously. Here are the suitcases&strollers travel tips for foods you can (and cannot) bring into Australia.

The Permanent Travellers, Part 4

For some people, traveling with kids is not a family holiday; it is a way of life. In 2000 Pampa Zapp’s parents (Herman and Candelaria) started out on their dream to travel permanently around the globe. Pampa was born on their long journey between Argentina and Alaska. He is now 11 years old and has 3 younger siblings including his brother Tehue (8), born in Argentina. The family has traversed the world almost non-stop in their vintage Graham-Paige 1928 car from New Zealand to Asia, all over Australia and now in Zimbabwe, Africa on their way to Mozambique. Pampa and Tehue tell suitcases&strollers the best places to travel round the globe…from a kid’s perspective.

The Permanent Travellers, Part 3

Herman Zapp and his wife Candelaria are fulfilling their lifelong dream to explore the world and have been travelling since 2000. Apart from a few months here and there, they have been on the road in their 7-seater Graham-Paige 1928 from Alaska to Argentina, all around Australia and around 13 countries in Asia. Their four children are truly global citizens and were born in the course of their parents’ travels – Pampa (11 in the USA), Tehue (8 in Argentina), Paloma (6 in Canada) and Wallaby (4 in Australia). Herman (currently in Zimbabwe) tells suitcases&strollers about the joys of permanently traveling with kids and why their life is so much more than just an extended family holiday.

Thank You From Christmas Island

Last year suitcases&strollers put out a call for help for the many families incarcerated on Christmas Island as asylum seekers by asking you to donate to not-for-profit organisation Books For New Arrivals. Your generous support was converted into quantities of English language books and dictionaries for the families – including women and children – detained on Christmas Island in Australia indefinitely waiting to be official approved (or not) as refugees. The books arrived…to overwhelming response.

Helping Asylum Seekers

For some people, traveling with kids is not a family holiday. It is a dangerous and uncertain bid to seek a new life in a country far away from home that oftentimes leads to a terrible outcome – incarceration. This has been the fate of many families also known as “boat people” who are caught illegally trying to enter Australian waters seeking refugee status. This Christmas will not be a happy time for these asylum seekers (many of whom are children) who will spend their time waiting for their cases to be processed on Christmas Island. But you can help.

Profile: Australian Rules Footballer Anthony Koutoufides

The former Carlton hero sports a different career since he retired from the AFL. Anthony Koutoufides has been a ballroom dancer on Dancing With The Stars, cook on Celebrity Come Dine With Me Australia and runs health clinics at Kouta Fit Club. His multi-varied career means he travels all over Australia and the globe and a few times a year he takes his kids Jamie (10), Monique (9) and Lukas (3) with him on family holiday. He tells suitcases&strollers why travelling with children (sometimes) makes them smile.

Profile: Journalist Tracey Spicer

Her face is most recognisable as a news anchor who has been in our lounge rooms on television screens in Australia, but Tracey Spicer has also been a travel writer for the past 7 years. The Sydney Morning Herald’s Mama Holiday is also mother to Grace (7) and Taj (8) whom she takes on vacation, both locally an internationally, about twice a month. She tells suitcases&strollers about her favourite family holidays and why she thinks it’s important to travel with kids.

Profile: Jungle Girl Bindi Irwin

She has been on our television screens for 12 years so it’s hard to believe she is still only 15 years old. Indeed, since her crocodile-loving father, Steve Irwin, made her famous at the age of 3, Bindi Irwin has been travelling the globe educating kids about conservation and wildlife all over the world. She tells suitcases&strollers about her favourites of the 26 countries she’s visited and why travel has been her defining life experience.

Profile: Dayen Zheng From Hi-5

If you’ve only been watching the DVDs, then you may not have seen Dayen Zheng, but the bubbly Aussie has been a member of children’s group Hi-5 for nearly two years. She tells suitcases&strollers about her favourite places to tour, her life-changing travel moments and how she unwitting became an English language teacher in Indonesia.

Best Family Holidays in Australia: Perth With Kids

For many travellers, visiting Perth is all about a stopover to a different destination: Margaret River, Ningaloo Reef, Broome…But this world-class city is quietly moving from a being a nice place to live to a family holiday destination in its own right. As a quintessentially Australian city there is the sun, sand and surf in the mix with top class restaurants, wonderful, chilled-out cafés and multitudes of beautiful parks. Perth with kids really is all about easy living, so get ready for a relaxing break (with a little culture and good food on the side).

Profile: MasterChef Australia Finalist Audra Morrice

The audience favourite of Masterchef Australia series 4 not only embraces multiple cultures in the kitchen – she travels with her kids Alex (10) and Andre (8) regularly and tries to take them on an overseas holiday at least once a year. Audra Morrice chats to suitcases&strollers about her favourite family holidays and shares some tips on introducing foreign foods to kids who are fussy little eaters.

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