These last weeks have been a special time for The Man and I in that we have been keeping company with one of our Grandkids on a one-on-one Grandparent holiday. We have had the practice for many years, having a number of Grandies, to run away with our Grandkids individually when they reach the age of 12-13 years. As we are full time travellers it is a special pleasure and an occasion when we fly our Grandchild in to where ever we may be, spend precious time with them taking into account their interests and build those tenuous links, which all goes towards making the relationship something special.
This time around we bought one of our Grandsons down south to experience the snow. As he comes from FNQ snow has always a novelty and intrigue and so it was we decided to spend a few days in Sydney, a few in Canberra and a few in Jindabyne and Perisher, all within the mobility of The Turtle, our caravan and home. What a ball we have had!
It has been an adventure on a wonderful scale sharing life in the caravan with a precious Grandson. One of the features of these family times is that the kids must look after themselves. Meaning that they carry their own gear, they buy their own lunches and snacks (except when someone else shouts) and they have chores and responsibilities they need to attend to as an independent person.
These holidays tend to change the kids and to see the transformation is a delightful thing. They go from being dependant children to somewhat responsible youth before our eyes in what really is only a short time and personally I love to witness the transformation. They also go home with a swagger of that independence and although it soon fades, it is something precious that they have learnt about themselves.
We are blessed with several grandkids and each now plans and eagerly awaits their time away with us, their Grandparents. They plan and discuss the possibilities as the time nears and when it is a time passed, they negotiate spending a few days away with Grampie and Grandma where ever we are, as visiting family… yes we often help fly them in too for those few days. This is our version of a nuclear family.
It is also something that we love as we to learn new things, things that we would perhaps never have ventured towards. This time around we jumped into the world of virtual reality, at the Australian Museum with our Grandson. Something of an adventurous artist we decided that it was time to explore the medium with him in Sydney, this before we headed south towards the wonders and treats to be found in the National Capital, Canberra.
Canberra is always a delight, and first up was a tour of Parliament House, followed by a visit to the National War Memorial… tanks was his agenda but he soon discovered planes and so much more. 
Another stop was The Australian Mint where we met with the magical dancing robot Titan who works hard at lifting huge weights made up of the coin blanks when he isn’t entertaining the youngsters.
Questacon is a must for kids and a full day, a real pleasure for adults and youngsters alike. Here you can meet real robots, explore science with hands on experiences and delve into the world of invention.
We finished off our trip to Canberra with a great visit to the National Dinosaur Museum and given that Aus has some truly unique dinosaurs like no where else on earth… then it was really a special visit.
Our visit it Kosciuszko National Park though was the highlight of the trip and even though it is spring in Aus’ the snow was still on the fields. 
Experiencing snow for the first time is a wonder… and a wonderful day it was too. We also ticked off the bucket list one of the places we wanted to stay and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. You can read all about it in the RV-Daily magazine that is freely available on the net.
Time with the Grandkids and family is truly a special time and although you travel, it doesn’t mean that you have given up these precious times. You just learn to be inventive.
Travel well
Jan Hawkins Author 