A relaxing family road trip in Australia

Australia has plenty of spectacular attractions, from Uluru to the Great Barrier Reef, but on a long holiday with young children, it might make sense to focus on simpler pleasures. A road trip along the coast, from Melbourne to Sydney, provides plenty of those, says David Whitley in The Times – and this 750-mile odyssey is pretty relaxing if you tackle it over the course of three weeks.

Among the more adventurous activities on offer are whale-watching tours, and hikes through forested national parks where you might see an emu “lolloping through the grass”. But more appealing still is the daily diet of beautiful beaches, pretty seaside towns and occasional kangaroo encounters – thrills that cost nothing and are “catnip to kids”.

It’s worth booking tickets in advance for the Phillip Island Penguin Parade, two hours’ drive south of Melbourne. It offers a chance to watch a colony of little penguins waddle and belly-flop to their nests. Next comes Wilsons Promontory, and Squeaky Beach – where the white sand is so fine that it squeaks underfoot.

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At Mallacoota, the pelicans fishing at the water’s edge are a sight to marvel at, and the town of Eden is “cetacean-spotting central”. Between August and November, you stand a very good chance of seeing humpbacks, but a Cat Balou cruise around Twofold Bay is fun even out of season.

The towns beyond Eden – Merimbula, Tathra, Bermagui, Narooma, Broulee – are particularly delightful. At the NRMA Murramarang holiday park, the kangaroos are so “good-humoured” they’ll even tolerate affectionate approaches from small children. Dolphin-watching cruises in Jervis Bay are captivating. And the final leg of the journey is littered with “hits” – from the Kiama Blowhole to the wonder that is the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Trailfinders (trailfinders.com) has a three-week itinerary from £2,569pp, including flights and car hire.