For the past nine years, Lorraine and Ken Martin have ‘hit the road’ in their treasured caravan, leaving Sydney’s cold winter behind to make the annual journey north to the tropics and BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Cairns Coconut.
While they love their home in Sydney’s northern suburbs, Mr Martin says it’s great to escape the winter each year, and they’ve now virtually become a part of the local community in Cairns.
“Now that we’re retired, we like to get out of Sydney during the colder months. We think that Ingenia Holidays Cairns Coconut is the best holiday resort we’ve ever stayed in,” Mr Martin said.
“Weather-wise it’s perfect, and as far as the actual amenities go – they’re simply fantastic for kids of all ages.”
Staying at Ingenia Holidays Cairns Coconut in their caravan from June through to September, the Martins have joined the local library and enjoy going out dancing, but what makes this annual journey so special is the opportunity to spend quality one-on-one time with their two grandchildren – Hamish, 14 and Phillipa, 11 – who fly up from Sydney to join them during school holidays.
“Their parents put them on the plane to come up each year with us, and the first thing they say when they get back home is – ‘Can we go again next year?’,” Mr Martin laughed. “It’s a really nice break for their parents, too. Our daughter and her husband recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and they thought it was pretty cool that the kids were up here enjoying themselves and having a wonderful time, while they were able to go out and celebrate together.”
More importantly, Ken and Lorraine believe the opportunity to holiday with their grandkids allows them to share experiences and adventures that create memories for life.
“We think as they get older, they’ll have special childhood memories of coming up here and spending time with us,” Mrs Martin said.
Ken and Lorraine believe the opportunity to holiday with their grandkids allows them to share experiences and adventures that create memories for life. “Their parents think it’s really good for us all and it gives us an opportunity to have that extra bonding experience with the children – it’s a very special time, and we’ve got to know them even better.”
The Martins also enjoy a range of family-friendly events and traditions within the holiday resort, which have given them the opportunity to meet families from all over the world.
“We love how Ingenia Holidays does a ‘pancake morning’ within the park – that’s one tradition that we’ve always enjoyed and the kids have always enjoyed – every Thursday morning the staff put on a pancake breakfast for anyone in the park,” Mrs Martin said.
“Sometimes you get a few hundred people and they set out tables and chairs by one of the pools and we all sit there and have pancakes for breakfast – it’s a very nice way for people to meet each other.” Young Hamish and Phillipa – who’ve graduated from caravanning to their recent love of camping outside – enjoy the range of activities inside and outside of the park at BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Cairns Coconut.
“We can play in the pools, there’s mini-golf, and basketball,” Hamish said. “Grandma and Grandpa took us up to Kuranda and there’s the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary. We love the Skyrail and we’ve even gone out to the Great Barrier Reef together – it’s amazing.”
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