From Shanghai to Melbourne: Long-Haul Travel, Teenagers and the Start of Our Australian Adventure

Eat Clean, Health and Dream | Summer Adventure with the Boys

After surviving our 14.5-hour Shanghai layover, and discovering that an airport hotel can be an absolute game changer, we were finally ready for the final flight to Australia.

And this was the bit I'd been wondering about for the last few weeks.

How would the boys actually cope with all the flying?

Because this wasn't just a quick holiday flight.

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We'd started in North Devon, driven up to Worthing, caught the train to Gatwick and then boarded our first long-haul flight to Shanghai.

Then came the 14.5-hour layover.

Then another long-haul flight from Shanghai to Melbourne.

It was a long day.

Or, depending on how you looked at it, a couple of very long days!

The boys had travelled before. We'd done Florida return, plus trips to Fuerteventura and Cyprus in more recent years, so they weren't exactly strangers to flying.

But this was different.

This was proper long-haul travel.

And I wasn't entirely sure how two teenage boys would feel about spending that many hours travelling.

As it turned out?

They did brilliantly.

The first long-haul flight

From Gatwick to Shanghai, they were still very much in the "wow, we're actually doing this" phase.

There was a certain amount of amazement about being on a long-haul flight, especially the Dreamliner.

Even in economy, there are plenty of little luxuries compared with the short-haul flights they're more used to.

Screens.

Entertainment and the boys definitely made most of recent films- Alb’s watched Michael movie a couple of times.

Proper meals.

Pillows and blankets.

And, of course, the novelty of being on a plane for that long.

They ate.

They slept.

They played.

And generally, it went remarkably well.

I'd expected a bit of boredom, a few complaints and possibly the inevitable "how much longer?"

But there wasn't too much of that, actually none of it to be honest.

Perhaps they were just excited enough about where we were going.

Or perhaps teenagers are actually considerably better at long-haul travel than we give them credit for!

Then came Shanghai

As I mentioned in my previous post, the Shanghai layover could have been the part that really tested us.

Instead, booking the Aerotel at Shanghai Pudong Airport changed everything.

Rather than spending 14.5 hours trying to keep ourselves entertained in an airport, we had somewhere to sleep, shower and reset.

By the time we headed for our final sector, we were all feeling considerably more human.

And that was important because our next flight was the night flight from Shanghai to Melbourne.

Night flights and the inevitable turbulence

The flight itself went really smoothly.

Well… apart from the usual bit of turbulence.

It definitely wasn't the worst turbulence I've experienced, but it was enough to freak both boys out a little.

And I completely understand why.

When you're not used to long-haul flying, being on a plane at night, looking out into complete darkness and then suddenly feeling the aircraft move around can feel pretty unsettling.

We talked about it, stayed calm and reminded ourselves that turbulence is a normal part of flying.

Then we got back to the important stuff.

Food and sleep.

Although I have to admit, getting to sleep on a night flight is never quite as easy as it sounds.

The unexpected hake story

One of the funniest little moments of the trip actually involved food.

Albie had developed a taste for hake following a trip to Spain with his dad.

Both Craig and I had told him:

"You won't get hake on the flight."

Well…

Never say never.

On the first sector, his meal arrived.

Hake, rice and vegetables.

The look on his face was priceless.

He was very happy with that.

And thankfully, my gluten-free meal also came through without any problems on both sectors.

That's not something I ever take for granted when travelling.

China Eastern's crew were brilliant as usual. I've found them particularly good at dealing with dietary requirements, with the cabin crew checking the allergen information and making sure everything is understood between the crew, cabin and passenger meal lists.

This time, thankfully, it all went through smoothly.

So food-wise, we were sorted.

My long-haul flight food hack

I don't generally find eating on a night flight particularly easy.

Sometimes I'd rather not eat a full meal late at night when my body is already trying to work out what time zone we're actually in.

My go-to?

Green tea or peppermint tea.

And I've discovered a really simple little travel hack that works well for me.

I pack a few of my own tea bags.

Things like:

• Lemon and ginger

• Turmeric

• Peppermint

• Other caffeine-free herbal teas

You don't need anything fancy.

Just ask for hot water from the cabin crew.

It means you've got something warm and comforting without adding caffeine late at night, and it can be a useful way of keeping fluids going while travelling.

For me, it's one of those tiny things that makes a surprisingly big difference.

Long-haul travel doesn't need to be about completely disrupting every routine you normally have.

Sometimes it's about taking a few familiar things with you.

Melbourne!

Eventually, we arrived.

Melbourne.

The boys were tired.

I was tired.

But after sitting on planes and in airports for so long, we all had the same feeling.

We needed to move.

Thankfully, the arrival experience at Melbourne was wonderfully straightforward.

Customs was smooth.

Our luggage appeared without any drama.

And then it was time for the next part of the adventure.

The hire car.

A last-minute car hire gamble

I'd actually booked the car while we were at Shanghai.

Yes, really.

Last minute.

I'd been checking prices beforehand, of course, but I hadn't committed until we were at PVG.

I'd used Skyscanner to compare the pricing and then ended up booking through Auto Europe, which gave us a lower deposit option.

Then we headed off to Europcar.

And this is where we definitely lucked in.

I'd booked a compact SUV.

What we actually got was an upgraded Hyundai Kona automatic.

And thank goodness.

Because this wasn't going to be a little drive around Melbourne.

We had a mammoth road trip ahead of us.

Melbourne to Brisbane.

With two teenage boys.

Luggage.

Backpacks.

And everything else we'd somehow managed to squeeze into the car.

The Kona gave us plenty of space and, importantly, a decent-sized boot.

After all those flights, having our own wheels suddenly made the trip feel real.

We weren't just travelling through Australia anymore.

We were about to road trip through it.

From long-haul flights to the open road

And this is where the whole holiday started to change.

The flights had been the necessary part.

The airport hotel had been the clever part.

But now?

Now came the adventure.

We had the car.

We had the boys.

We had a rough plan.

And we had a huge stretch of Australia's east coast ahead of us.

From Melbourne, we'd start heading north.

Beaches.

Wildlife.

Surf.

National parks.

Waterfalls.

Roadside stops.

Food.

A few unexpected detours.

And plenty of moments where we'd probably ask ourselves why we thought driving that far with teenagers was a good idea!

But that's what travel is about for me.

It's not necessarily about making every moment perfect.

It's about creating memories, experiencing somewhere properly and giving your children stories they'll hopefully remember long after the holiday is over.

And this was only the beginning.

Next stop: the Australian east coast and the road from Melbourne towards Brisbane.

And after that?

A jump across the Tasman to Aotearoa New Zealand.

So stay tuned for the next instalment of our summer adventure with the boys.

And a huge thank you to China Eastern for getting us safely through those long-haul sectors and to Europcar for getting us on the road in our upgraded Kona.

The road trip starts here.