Tuesday 3 October 2017

Exploring: On the road with four kids


A lot has changed in my life ever since the birth of the twins, life revolves around them a lot. As a mom of four kids who are at different age gaps, my biggest challenge is finding activities that suits and interest the whole family. My first born who is 15 years of age does not enjoy tagging along to kids friendly restaurant or to the zoo anymore. My princess who is 8 years of age wants me to spend girl’s time with her most of the time. Last but not least the 17 months old energetic twins are exploring and very much dependent on me to keep them safe, yet allowing them to run free and wild. I am always being pulled to different direction by the demands of being a parent and also a professional.  I love travelling and I believe that everyone has a drug of choice and travelling is my drug of choice. It is very import for my kids to grow up knowing that travelling is a lifestyle, they must explore our beautiful country.  Ever since the birth of the twins, my biggest fear has always been if I will be able to cope with going on holyday with four kids?
Figure 1 the children’s pool area
Planning and bookings………………. After years of looking and wishing, I am glad that I have finally found a travel company that caters for my travel needs. I am able to call them and they have a list of reputable resorts that they are able to present to me and I am able to make a quick decision. They booked me into a Tsogo Sun resort named Umhlanga Sands Resort, in Umhlanga Rocks in KZN. I must say knowing that the resort is part of Tsogo Sun, sort of put my mind at ease. I did not even bother to do much research about it. I knew the basics about the resort, all the rooms in the resort overlooked the sea, I will have access to the beach from the resort and it’s a five minutes’ drive to Gateway mall. Let me confess this was my second trip in less than three months in a Tsogo Sun resort. So the basic information I had was good enough for me. I needed the break, the whole family needed to break away from the familiar everyday routine. School during the week, a play date for the sister on weekends and a walk in the park for the twins, Sunday church and its Monday again, back to school, homework, projects and yes watching the twins 24 seven, so that they don’t kill each other. Yes I said it. I spend most of my time pulling them apart and trying to figure out who started the fight this time around.

Our booking was for the 23 – 26 September, for a 3 nights and 4 days stay. I spent most of my Friday buying necessities for the trip, swimming nappies for the twins and swimming costumes, I wanted to make sure that they fully enjoyed their time playing in the sand and splashing in water this time around. It is never easy walking around with toddlers in unfamiliar places, it takes less than a minute to lose a child, so I unashamedly bought safety harness backpacks. I always have to be extra careful when travelling with the twins. Twin pram does not work for me as it just fills up the boot, and besides the twins have figured a way of freeing themselves from the pram even though I buckle them up, I always find myself chasing one twin while I try in the same breath keep on an eye on the other twin who is also trying to unbuckle himself. The night before I made sure that everyone packs their bags, I packed the necessary food, drinks and snacks that we will need for the road.
 
The road trip………… I set my alarm for 3 o’clock just before I go to sleep, my plan was to make sure that everybody showers and we should be on the road by 3:30 am. Unfortunately I did not hear the alarm go of, and we only ended up starting the 580 Km road journey at only 4:00 am, not so bad I thought. Thanks God that I always fill the tank, check the oil and tyre pressure a day before my trips. The first mistake I made was not to check the weather focus, I would soon discover. There road was quite, no heavy traffic as I expected because of the long weekend. The road was covered by mist and it was not very visible, making it impossible to see the road ahead.  What I like about travelling long distance with the twins is that they turn to sleep for long hours which makes my life easier, but if they ever get restless I always have a nursery rhymes app waiting and that has proven to be a sure winner so far. I try my best to enjoy the drive, than just concentrate on getting to the destination, so I always incorporate a few stops in the garages where I relax and let the boys run around, needless to say a 6 hours trip ended up being an 8 hours long trip.
Figure 2 A view from our room
The resort and facilities: I must say only when I arrived at the resort and while queuing to check in I started worrying about questions that I should have asked or at least googled about the resort. The friendly efficient check in process quickly put me at ease I must say. The second thing that put me at ease was my eldest kid’s facial expression, he sure was glad to be there and he was curious and ready to explore. We were booked on the 8th floor, in a 4 sleeper, with a full bathroom and a kitchenette and yes, the most important part for me, with a view to die for. What I love the most is that despite the temperamental weather the sea facing room where made for any kind of weather, you can sit and meditate while listening to the crashing of the waves. The view from the resort is just picturesque, something out of pages of a travel magazine. Just what I needed. My older kids went downstairs and discovered the treasure hidden in this resort. The resort has an entertainment area for kids, an extensive entertainment program and a kid’s swimming pool.
Figure 3 Toddler's play area
The excitement in my children’ s face was a dream come true, it is every parent’s dream to put something together  that caters for the whole family. My 1st born was quick to come up so that he can take the twins to explore the access controlled play area. The play area is separated into age appropriate groups. They had a colorful indoor play area with soft toys. I would go there and just sit for hours with a book while the twins play. They also have a swimming people that catered for toddlers and the twins enjoyed splashing in the water. My son and I enjoyed the easy access to the beach promenade for walks, He enjoyed PlayStation tournaments that they would have every night, the soccer tournaments, I never had to worry about him and his where about. My daughter loves, loves swimming, she would spend most of her time in the swimming people, playing in the water slides and participating in the different games that they would play in the stage in front of the swimming people.  The resort also had movie nights and they also organized a “bring and braai” on Heritage day. It really felt like home away from home. 
 
Figure 4 the twins relaxing at the pool
 
What to do around Umhlanga Resort…….. On Sunday we drove 20km to Durban north beach to browse around the flea market, I heard you can get so good bargains there. Unfortunately what I learned quickly is that it is not a conducive place to take toddlers, they wanted to run around and also just take whatever caught their eyes. My focus quickly changed from shopping for bargains to running after the twins.  We also managed to spend a few minutes at the Victoria Market down town Durban, but as I said never a good idea when you have toddlers, so it’s on my to do list next time I visit KZN. The best option for me was to go back to the resort and use their facilities. I have decided that I will be visiting here annually and hopefully next time I will go scuba diving, visit the Moses Mabhida’s stadium and also visit the Ushaka Marine.  There is a still a lot for me to explore in KZN. To be continued ………………………………