How to survive a road trip with an infant

Matthew Savides reveals what he learnt after taking his first holiday with his baby daughter, Alice

Remember that really cute advert in which the kid talks to his dog while chomping a biscuit? He twists it, licks it, dunks it and as he takes a bite says to his beloved hound: ''Mom says chocolate isn't good for dogs, but you can have the rest of my milk."

My recent weekend in Clarens was a version of this advert. It didn't involve a dog, a chocolate- flavoured biscuit or milk - but it did involve finding a cunning way to work around things that weren't particularly good for us. Let me explain.

In December my wife and I welcomed our little girl, Alice, into the world.

Although we're first-time parents, we're pretty chilled about things - we've got no issue with other people holding her, we let our two dogs lick and play with her, we take her into loud, busy places. She has, largely, fitted into our lifestyle.

So, when the opportunity came for me to spend a long weekend in Clarens on a Land Rover 4x4 weekend it was a no-brainer that Megan and Alice would come along. But it wasn't long before the reality of travelling with a three-and-a-half-month-old set in.

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It's tough.

Firstly, they have so much stuff. Without the Discovery lent to us for the weekend we'd never have had enough space for everything: a feeding ring, a bag for clothes, a day bag, multiple spare blankets (Clarens can get really cold), a few toys, her pram, a car seat and a portable bed that we had to take to make sure she had somewhere comfortable to sleep.

For something so small, she really does take up a lot of room.

And then there's the sheer logistics of travelling with an infant. The drive took six hours with a child that eats every 45 minutes or so. Six. Hours. With. An. Infant.

It's long, even in the supreme comfort of our Landy with several stops along the way to preserve some level of sanity.

Megan worked out a way to feed her while I drove. Just know that it involves expert levels of coordination and body contortion.

Then there's the dust.

We were hosted at the Rebellie Game Farm, a simple, rustic spot on the outskirts of the picturesque Free State town.

It's a 30-minute drive, all of it on dirt, from the main road to the farm with a howling wind pumping most of the weekend. There was dust everywhere.

But then on a chilly Sunday morning a beanie-clad Alice and I walked out of our room and onto the grass in front of our lodge.

It was spectacular.

The yellow morning light hit the Maluti mountains that surrounded us, the silence broken only by the wind rustling through the trees and whipping through the grass.

The long drive, the loaded vehicle, the bumpy route - they didn't matter anymore.

And the evening ended even more dramatically as the three of us decided it was time to go chasing the sunset. We'd heard good things, plus our Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat accounts needed to get some content.

As we parked on the side of the road in the Golden Gate National Park, the orange glow of the day's end was magnificent.

This time in her mom's arms, Alice looked around attentively. It was the first time we'd taken her to see a sunset and sheseemed to realise that something cool was happening in front of her. Or maybe she was just humouring her dad. Either way I'm claiming it.

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Travelling with a baby is tough. We learned that it's possible to breastfeed a baby in a moving car, that you'll need lots of space for the 500million things babies require, that regular stops are crucial, that three-month-olds probably shouldn't go to dusty game farms, that car baby seats are especially vital off-road, and that babies need to be wrapped up tight when heading into the Free State in autumn.

But we also learned that travelling with your child, especially in a place as beautiful as Clarens, is worth all the difficulties.

If that biscuit advert were shot by new parents, the closing line might be something like this: ''Mom says a long, dusty road trip isn't good for babies, but we're going to do it anyway."

NEED TO KNOW

Eat: Even though it's better-suited for adults, taking your child to 278 for dinner is a good idea. Delicious pastas top a diverse menu. 78 Main St, Clarens, 082-556-5208.

Drink: Clarens Brewery, the first artisanal brewery in the Free State, offers excellent home-brewed beers and a range of ciders and great pub grub. Rosemary Centre, 326 Main Street, Clarens 058-256-1193.

Get out: Clarens Xtreme offers white-water rafting, quad biking, zipline, abseiling and lots more. You'll have to leave the baby behind though. 531 Sias Oosthuizen Street, 058- 256-1260.

Go in: Get an Art Route map, available from most galleries in town, and browse around more than 20 galleries in town.

• To follow Matthew and Alice's antics, search for ''The Good, The Bad and The Daddy" on Facebook.

• The Savides family drove a Land Rover Discovery sponsored by Land Rover Hillcrest. Their accommodation was sponsored by Rebellie Game Farm.

• This article was originally published in The Times.