- 11 June 2012
- 7:53pm
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Travels with my son: entrusting your life to your child
George AtkinLonely Planet author
Overlooking Cradle Mountain. Photograph by Ed Atkin (used with permission)
Last year, we published Jane Atkin’s blog post about a trip with her mum – and the unexpected benefits of travelling with a parent. Her dad felt a little jealous. Here’s his take on the benefits of travelling with a child.
It was with more than a little trepidation that in early 2008 I agreed to the suggestion of my one of my sons that we embark on a six-day hike on the Overland Track in Tasmania.
For a start, there was my own life-long deficit in physical aptitude. I had never been good at ball games or other athletic pursuits, nor much inclined to outdoor activities in general. Then there was his impetuousness and lack of organisational skills, encapsulated by his family nickname: ‘Bloody Ed’. Despite these reservations, my confidence grew when I saw Ed’s systematic packing for six days and five nights on the track (no allowance to carry even one can of beer!)
On day one of the trek (heading to Waterfall Hut), we made an easy start, uphill but on well-made pathway. I was disconcerted to realise that I was alone with my son, not in an organised group as anticipated.
And it wasn’t long before I realised my first mistake. I had forgotten my high-tech, collapsible walking-stick when unpacking from the car, now some hours and kilometres behind. My expertly fitted trekking boots began to pinch and chafe my feet into blisters. The first lesson of the trip was that walking equipment is only useful if you remember to bring it with you, and that breaking equipment in is an important part of preparing for a trek.
Luckily the second day brought a distinctly more positive lesson, that I could trust my son’s resourcefulness. He attended to my blisters and decided on swapping boots, his narrower feet being a better fit for my new boots. The journey ahead was demanding, but thankfully not so arduous as the evening before. By the time we reached camp, I was beginning to feel I might just make it through to day six alive.
My self-confidence grew to the point where I could trek alone, while Ed made diversions to scale forbidding peaks. By day five, we had established a comfortable trekking balance, each with an appreciation of our own – and of the other’s – strengths and limitations. And with our packs now several kilos lighter, it was plain sailing from there.
A moment of solitude at one of the many water holes and inland lakes along the track. Photo by Ed Atkin (used with permission)
The final day naturally carried a strong sense of arrival. We had made it! After boarding a ferry across Lake St Clair, we celebrated with a well-earned Cascade lager to quench our thirst. As luck would have it, the cafe at Lake St Clair had suffered a blackout, so the beers weren’t as frosty as we would have liked, but they still went down a treat.
It was pretty good, at the age of 61, to be able to claim that I had learned something new. I concluded, unsurprisingly, that trekking was unlikely to become an abiding passion of my older age. But it was hugely good for my self-confidence to be tested well beyond my comfort zone. Most importantly, it gave me insights into my then 24-year-old son’s adult capacity for organisation and self discipline. We had experienced and proven a relationship of mutual confidence between adults.
And what did my son learn? Ed says, ‘I learned that people can achieve a lot and exceed their expectations when they remove themselves from a comfortable environment and allow themselves to be challenged. After a period of ill-health, the reason behind the trek was to show Dad what he was still capable of doing, so it was with an extreme sense of satisfaction that we completed this challenge.’
Tell us about the highs and lows of travelling with family in the comments!
Last year I travelled to the Middle East with my father and it was a great trip. We visited Turkey, Jordan and Israel. At first, with the news and all the situation in Egypt and Syria, I think he was kind of afraid for I was going by myself and that was the main reason for him joining in. But then he really enjoyed it and we have a lot of fun. This year, we have already talked about visiting the Transmongolian Railway together.
I travelled a lot with my two daughters back in the 90′s. They were still teenagers and they made best travel companions. We still share great memories of our trips that were unorganised and at that time quite challenging: China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cuba, Costa Rica, before those places became popular backpacking destination.
Sadly, their boyfriends/husband don’t share similar interest in travel and as it seems they’ve made their best trips so far with their dad.
Travelling together with your kids is a great way of strenghtening your relationship and giving it a new dimension.
In 2002, at the age of 25, I travelled with my dad for ten days in northern Thailand. In 2005 he met up with me and my boyfriend in Vietnam while we were backpacking in SEA. This summer he will be teaming up with us once again (+granddaughter) for a week in Hungary. Sure one gets on ones nerves (me more than him probably) but it is also nice to share common memories, especially since we both love travelling. I my self hope that me and my daughter, once she gets older, will travel to India together since her father is not interrested in going there. My aspriation is that my children will enjoy exploring the world and travel just like me and their granddad.
I’ve travelled several times with my dad and no matter which places we visited, it have been some of the best trips I’ve ever made. The atmosphere is different than travelling with friends or my boyfriend, as of course it is still my dad, but the relationship reaches a new depth and develops more towards just friendship.
Still nowadays in my mid twenties every now and again I hit the road with my dad, not as long as we used to, but still now I love those moments.
My solo trek to places like this led my daughter to also appreciate the what this is all about. When she, in her teen years, saw the photos I took (not really the kind pros do), blurted out- “why are you not taking me to see these places dad?” I admit, I was caught off-guard.
From then on, she has also became a user of the outdoors. Now, a mountaineering club where she is member, designated her as an organizer for a climb. I only just kept reminding her to leave no traces and keep the environment as is wherever she goes to places as these…
And it is never too late to travel with parents….my husband and I took a trip to Italy with his father when he was 95 and a half. He was a great sport — even when he got pneumonia in Rome!! And it was a wonderful opportunity for the new GF to get to know him better. Of course, one of the reasons he enjoyed his life up until just a few days short of his 100th B’day was because he was so open to new experiences and making new friends….
I have just returned from Chile and Argentina, where I travelled with my daughter. I (woman)am 57, she is 27. We went around with buses, and we also went to “the end of the world”. It was really great, and I am grateful, that we could travel together. She speaks spanish, I do not, so she was the guide. So to others, just do it, but talk about your expectations, before you go.
Me (28 years old) and my brother (38 years old) decided to take my parents (both 58 years old) for their first out of the country trip. We are from Quebec, Canada. We took them to Indonesia (haha, 27 hours flight). It was probably the best thing that happened to my family. Travelled in Bemo’s on Florès, got scared to death on Merpati airplane, did hindu ceremony in Bali, snorkelled with them for first time……….if you have good parents i strongly suggest travelling with them. It’s great !!!
I took my parents over the last 15 years on several “Adventure Trips”, to the US, China, South East Asia and this year we traveled by car from Germany to Albania and back (4500km) and we had the time of our lives. My parents now 75 years old went together with us on their first ever rafting trip and they were so proud of themselves what you can accomplish at this age.
Travelling with your parents gives you a complete new Perspective because they add their own view of life and livelong experience to it. Especially my father who cannot speak any foreign language has no problem chatting up some locals in Laos or showing street workers in Shanghai how work is done in Germany. I would always recommend to try at least once to travel with your parents it can be very rewarding – or you can take some sweet revenge on the long trips you had to take with them as child ;-)
This is such a great site with so many interesting Blog this and nice photographs… :)
I remember my trip to Mussoorie, a hill station in Uttrakhand(India). Although I had been to this place innumerable times, going with my mum was altogether a different experience – it was a sweet mother-daughter trip, where I gave my mom job of photography, yes, she was obedient and patient – she clicked my pictures the way I instructed her. Both of us walked a lot! It was quite taxing for her to walk so much and she used to be out of breath and complain, but she never lost the spirit of a traveler.