Illawarra Fly and Zip Line Tour

Illawarra Fly is in the Southern Highlands, just outside the small village of Robertson. It’s roughly an hour and a half drive from Sydney either along the coast via Wollongong or straight down the Hume Highway. The facility to easy to find with plenty of parking. There is a small café and gift shop on site and the toilets are in the main building.  There are picnic tables available and many families had packed their own lunch.

The Zip Line experience includes entry to the Tree Top Walk. Zip-Line participants are required to sign a waiver, they must be over 4 years old and 105cm tall (their height will be checked before they enter the safety briefing). Riders between 105-120cms are required to ride tandem with an adult. The combined weight limit for each ride (tandem or single) is 120kg, although the waiver you sign states this as 110kg. Additionally, you are not allowed to ride if you are beyond the first trimester of pregnancy and you are required to have a reasonable degree of physical ability.

 

Zip Lines tours run every 30 minutes. Our ride had 7 participants including 2 couples, my 6-year-old who was riding solo and my 4-year-old who was riding tandem with me.

Next to the entrance is a small building where you are taken for your safety briefing. There is a short video that explains a few simple rules and gives you a taste of what is to come.  The rules included, no touching the trees, no bouncing on the platforms (known as cloud stations), and of course, have fun.

Then we are asked to perform a few simple movements to prove that we are physically able to complete the course. The movements are basic things like squatting to prove you could get onto a cloud station safely.

Then it is time to get suited up. Children were guided into their harnesses by a staff member while adults were instructed on how to put them on ourselves, each harness was tightened and checked by the staff and helmets completed the ensemble.

Once you are all suited up, you follow the path down the hill carrying your gear. The walk is not long but children may need help carrying the heavy clip that attaches you to the zip line. Family and friends who are not riding are able to accompany you to the first platform and after you launch can continue down to the tree top walk where they have a great view of the zip line riders overhead.

Riding is great fun, you are high in the tree canopy and there are gorgeous views all around. There is a staff member to guide you on and off at every cloud station, you simply sit down on the wide part of your harness and lift your feet up to launch. Once you reach a platform you point your toes into a net and stand up – simple. If you are riding tandem however, remember that you will have the extra weight of someone on your lap to lift as you land.

The staff members are all really fantastic, helpful and encouraging. My 6-year-old went before me and they made sure to take good care of him when he reached the platforms as well as giving great guidance and being very knowledgeable about the area.

I am not afraid of heights, and, I knew that we were all securely attached the pulley system, but still- that moment, when you had to let go of the guide railings to move around a tree 35m in the air, made you feel alive.

 

Now, I knew we were going to be zip lining but the rope bridges came as a surprise (they do tell you about them in the briefing). From the first cloud station to the second and then on to the third you walk over 2 rope bridges. If you walk carefully and step in the middle of the rungs the bridges are quite steady (although you are free to bounce if you wish).

It was a proud parenting moment seeing my 6-year-old step bravely out onto the first bridge. Then it was my turn. My 4 year old did so well, especially since the steps were about as wide apart as her maximum stride. We struggled a little on the first bridge as I was trying to hold her hand to give her support. On the second bridge, we managed to get her hands holding on to the hand rails which was much easier.

My two kids handled the experience well- the heights didn’t faze them. The guide was telling me that they frequently have to head out on the bridges and coax across people who get stuck. This is not an experience for the faint of heart, those afraid of heights or if you get particularly anxious. The staff, and fellow riders were very supportive and I would encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and try it.

The remainder of the experience was 2 more zip line rides, a super long one and then another final ride where the guides encouraged us to try some tricks – just letting go and flapping like a bird was enough for some but another member of our group even tried flipping upside down. The zip line finishes right near the start of the treetop walk. A perfect spot to meet other members of your party and take in the views from the elevated platforms.

The tree top walk is 500m of elevated platforms on the escarpment overlooking the Illawarra region, 710m above sea level. Even on a cloudy day there are beautiful views out to the ocean and up and down the coast.

The walkways are very safe with high fencing so kids can explore. However, you are still standing suspended over the tree tops and can feel the two cantilevered ends sway in the wind so it can be an unnerving experience.

In the middle of the walkway is Knights Tower than rises 106 steps above the platform, so you are standing 45m above the forest floor. The climb is worth the effort, you get an amazing view and kids will get a kick out of being so high.

The entire experience, zip lining, exploring the tree top walk and wandering back to the shop will take about 2.5 hours. The surrounding bush itself is just beautiful and there are displays along to way to learn about the flora and fauna of the area.

Illawarra Fly is a fantastic experience, a chance for kids to get out and appreciate the natural beauty of our country and the new Zip Lining experience is a great way to inject some adrenalin into a beautiful day out.

Top Tips

Take warm clothes – it can be rather cool in the southern highlands, even in summer and especially when standing on the escarpment or high up in the trees.

Make a day trip of your visit to the area. Stop for pies in Robertson or to visit some cute shops in Bowral or Moss Vale. Let the kids run wild in the nearby National parks, visit Carrington Falls (the lookout is currently closed for renovation), take a walk-through Minnamurra Rainforest, or enjoy a scenic drive along Jamberoo Mountain Road or Macquarie Pass and back along the Sea Cliff bridge.

No loose items are allowed on the zip lines. If you wish to take a camera / phone with you it will need to be attached to you with a lanyard or in a pouch. Suitable pouches are available to purchase at the ticket office. Lockers are available to store your belongings while you ride.

You can take a Go Pro with you – if it is secured properly. If you are riding tandem however the Go Pro footage will be obscured by the rider in front.

Tickets are cheaper if you buy online before you go, with a 10% discount available.

If you are visiting during peak time ring and book your spot on the Zip Line tour as they can fill up quickly especially during the middle of the day.

Be aware of the limitations of members of your group. For some people the height of the zip line and Tree Top walk will just make them uncomfortable.

The tickets for this event were provided by ellaslist and this review originally appeared on their website.

Summer Of Fun

I have a dear friend whose kids are several years older than mine.  For years she has inspired me with her enthusiasm for school holidays.   While so many parents are out their bemoaning the arrival of summer she is out their planning to have fun and enjoy her kids.  Yes, kids are hard work.  Yes, sometimes I would do anything for a break.  Yes, I just want a clean house for 2 seconds. Yes, the summer holidays are long.

But I chose to be a Mum, my kids are pretty darn awesome, and hard as it is to see sometimes they will only be young for such a short period of time, and I want to make these breaks a time of joy that they will always remember.

So rather than face the next six weeks with dread, I am going to take a leaf from my friends book.  I am looking forward to this time with my family.  I am going to enjoy spending time with the kids (especially the Boy who I have missed since he started big-school).  We are going to have a Summer to remember – a Summer Of Fun.

Yesterday was the last day of school for the year.  When we got home I got the kids started making lists of the things they wanted to do in the holidays.  We don’t have lots of money to spend and we aren’t going anywhere exotic, but we can still make plans and do fun things together – and that is the thing that counts/

I wish I had of been more prepared with some supplies to make a fancy list of our adventures.  And I wish I had put some thought into how I will make this all work but I am excited with how our plans have started.

The Boy’s amazingly dedicated Kindy teacher sent home a few notes on things that he can do to keep up his progress over the summer break – practise keeping his writing evenly sized and neat, working on his reading comprehension and revising maths concepts.  So part of each day will be 20 minutes of quiet reading and then 20 minutes working on some of these ideas (in whatever ways we come up with).

I have included the start of our list below.  I encourage you to enjoy this summer, look on this time as a blessing not a burden.  Sit down and watch a movie, then get up and go explore.  Even if you have to work most of the holidays you can still make it a time to remember – host a dinner party on a weekend, try a new food or meet your family at the door with water pistols. I would love to hear from you if you have any plans for the break.  And feel free to join us for any of our adventures.

The Summer of Fun List

• rehearse and put on a show for daddy
• watch a movie under the stars
• go to a drive in movie
• set up a waterslide in the backyard
• take the train into the city and go exploring
• visit a new beach
• go fishing
• visit poppy
• check out a new library
• have a water balloon fight
• explore a new scooter park
• bike ride round Olympic park
• make a giant sculpture out of recycled cardboard
• spend a day reading new books
• Christmas craft
• write a letter to Santa
• go to the cinema
• Lego day
• have a treasure hunt
• build a fort
• Left or Right adventure (go for a drive and flip a coin to choose your direction)
• perform service for someone less fortunate
• visit Karloo Pools
• visit the disused Helensburgh rail way tunnels
• visit family in the country
• cook sushi
• bake and decorate cookies
• prepare and serve a fancy dinner
• invite friend for dinner
• have school friends over for a play date
• have a PJ day
• make jam
• complete some scouting activities

So far, so good.  Day number 1 of the holidays, we participated in parkrun, went to visit Santa and chilled out with a friend all day.  We finished up with some sprinkler fun in the yard and salad and steamed dumplings for dinner.

Glow Stick Bath

The Pom found this idea on Facebook and gave it a try with the kids.

$4 worth of glow sticks from Woolworths, well worth the effort.

 

Why Taking Small Children Camping is Super Hard and 100% worthwhile

When I was a child, we went camping for two weeks every summer to the same place on the NSW South Coast.  I have the fondest memories of our free range summers and am still in touch with some of my summer friends.

I do understand that there are some people out there who really don’t like camping, and I think if you are brought up camping then it is more likely to be something you enjoy as an adult.  For that reason I really pushed to get us into the car and onto the coast for a week under canvas (nylon really but it doesn’t have quite the same ring).  I recommend you at least give it a try – the kids will love it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think camping is the perfect holiday for young families, and this is why:

• It brings you closer to nature – you can feel the wind, hear the storm and feel the grass without leaving bed!  Not to mention spending all day in the great outdoors with the TV, the toys and technology firmly forgotten.

 

• It brings you closer together as a family – When we arrived home from our camping trip I was immediately shocked by how big our house felt – spending all our time in such close quarters was nice.  We were not so physically distant from each other during the day and we were able to have so many fantastic experiences together.

• The house work takes much less time – don’t get me wrong, camping is hard work, but sweeping out a 2×8 tent and washing 1 bowl per family member takes a lot less effort than cleaning a four bedroom house.

• The awesome feeling of community – our first night camping the kids were up way past their normal bedtime blowing bubbles with the next-tent-neighbours.  Every time people walked too and from the amenities they stopped for a quick chat, there were offers of games nights and tips on how to improve our set up.  We got to know so many people that we ordinarily might not have hung out with.

• You get back to basics – we took limited clothes, toys, food and other assorted goods.  We didn’t have a million choices to offer and the kids didn’t even ask for three types of jam for their toast.  We worked together to make our small tent comfortable and didn’t need lots of ‘things’ to entertain us.

• We spent lots of quality time together – in 7 days the whole family only left the campground twice.  We spent all our time at the beach, the park and chilling in the shade.  We were able to connect, sit and watch life pass us by and just forget about real life.

My brother and I were just reminiscing about our awesome super relaxing, do nothing camping holidays as kids.  I wish now that I could go back and thank Mum for giving us those memories, cause this week sure wasn’t easy or relaxing for me.

Camping with small people (especially a crawling Baby) is hard work.  The Baby spent the whole week crawling through mud and grass, eating heaven knows what and generally having a ball.  But from my perspective there were issues I had never considered and that worried me and made me work hard…  Everything from packing the trailer for a week before we left so I didn’t forget anything to bathing the baby (laundry sink), showering 2 wriggling big kids, washing swimmers, keeping everyone fed, clothed and clean to cooking with limited supplies was hard work.

Would I trade it?  Not for anything!

Tips for Camping with Little Kids

We have just returned from a week camping with our three children, the Boy (5.5yrs) the Girl (3 years) and the Baby (10 months).  Camping is amazing for children and families but I wanted to share with you a few tips that made our experience easier.

• Set Boundaries – unlike home, its hard to limit children to a certain room(s) while camping.  When you arrive make sure to scope out the area and set limits of their roaming.  Our big kids where allowed to go to the playground and jumping pillow without us but where not allowed to use the bathroom or visit other tents/caravans without us coming along.
• Take a plug – useful for doing dishes as well as bathing the Baby in the laundry sink.
• Prepare for a change of Routine – we almost always eat dinner at 5.30 when at home, but while camping this waivered to as late as 7pm.  We relaxed the rules a little because we were having a late afternoon tea and to let the kids play as long as they could before it got dark.
• Practise telling the time – if the children asked to go to the park I would say “please come back and check in with us every 10 minutes.”  in the future we will take watches to practise with but if sufficient time had passed I would wander the 20m to the park and just catch their eyes so they knew we were always close by.

Pack some quiet time activities – we took colouring books, story books, a few toys, facepaint, and some simple card games.  These were invaluable on rainy afternoons but were also used in the middle of the day when the sun was at its hottest and we all needed a break, and also by the Girl when playing with the bigger kids got a bit overwhelming.

Take plenty of plastic boxes for storage – we will definitely take more next year.  We needed one for our quiet activities, one for clean towels, one for all the bath towels, one for the clean dishes, one for the dirty dishes…

• Allow each children one or two small toys or comforters – we set a rule that the stuffed toys had to stay in the bedroom compartment of our tent.  The kids loved cuddling up to them at night but didn’t need them during the other parts of the day, there was too much else to do.
• Discuss early what treats will be allowed – we bought 1 round of ice creams and had lunch out 2 days.  Apart from that the kids had 1 popper/juice box and 1 bag of chips every day that they could have whenever they wished.  Once they had had their popper and chips it was water and fruit for the rest of the day.
• Take a water dispenser – we had a big water dispenser that we filled each evening.  The kids each had their own water bottle that ‘lived’ in the arm of their folding chair and they could fill it as and when they needed it.
• No playing in the bedrooms – our tent has a bedroom at each end and a living space in the middle.  During the day the children were not supposed to play in the bedrooms.  This mean the beds and suitcases stayed generally sand free and organised.

Early morning riser rules – the Baby woke every day at 5am!  Rather than let him wake the whole camp site I would strap him into our Ergo baby carrier and walk the beach with him for an hour and a half – not restful, but beautiful and envigorating.  The older children knew they had to try and stay quiet until at least 7.30.

• Invest in a collapsible washing basket – we have a flat folding Ikea basket that we take with us when we travel.  All the towels and linen travelled to the campsite in the basket and then it sat inside the tent and the children knew to toss all their dirty clothes straight in in.
• Rinse swimwear every night – we spent almost every day dressed in not much more than swimmers.  Each night after the kids were in bed we would do the dishes and rinse out the swimmers and hats from that day.  Most days they were dry and ready to wear again come morning.
• Hats and Sunscreen are non-negotiable – right from the start the kids knew if they left the shade of our site they needs a hat and sunscreen.  And the sunscreen got reapplied every few hours.  Actually in our week in the sun, it was only the Pom and I that got burnt!
• Always take warm clothes – even if you are camping in the middle of summer, take multiple pairs of warm clothes for each member of the family.   We have been caught out in summer storms before and there is nothing worse than being cold and wet!
• Save all your change – collect all your coins for the few weeks before departure.  Most campgrounds have laundries that use $1 coins and you can send the kids to the shop for a loaf of bread.
• A torch makes everything more fun – Ikea sell cool wind up torches for around $5.  These make going to bed and night-time toilet trips so much more fun.

Does anyone have any other tips to add?

Museum of Sydney’s Sydney Harbour Icons with LEGO® Bricks

It was a miserable rain soaked day when I took my three children, 5, 3 and 9 months to the Sydney Harbour Icons exhibit at the Museum of Sydney. We had never visit the Museum of Sydney before and being only 2 blocks from Circular Quay train station with ample public transport and food options it was a hit!

Learn about Sydney’s historic beginnings

The Museum of Sydney is built on the grounds of Australia’s first Government House. The forecourt of the museum showcases the layout for the original buildings and allows you to glimpse down into the past to view the remaining foundations.

The ground level of the museum has clear floor panels to allow you to view artefacts found when the current building was constructed – pottery, pipes and the skeleton of a dog!

Showcasing the character and Soul of the City

The Museum of Sydney exists to celebrate the people and events that have shaped the character and soul of the city.   There are exhibits on trade in the early colony, a small theatre and displays on Sydney’s history, including its original inhabitants, the convict settlement and the building of our icons. Of particular interest to my children were the scale replicas of the boats of the first fleet.

One exhibition space currently features an exhibition on Lloyd Rees, an Australia artist from the 1930’s. Unfortunately the beauty of his finely drawn work was lost on my art aficionados. They did however enjoy a wander through the exhibition and the chance to do some colouring in an activity booklet.

Is it time for Lego Yet?

While the children enjoyed a wander through the whole museum, the major drawcard at the museum is The Sydney Harbour Icons with Lego Bricks exhibition. Entry to the exhibition is for one hour only and you must attend at your booked session time.

The exhibition features four main models, the Harbour Bridge, The Opera House, Luna Park and the Pacific Aria Cruise Ship on raised tables around the room. There are also smaller models of fireworks, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht race, a tugboat and the tall ship HMB Endeavour dotting the space. The exhibition is small and intimate, freeing you from the crowded feel of some museums.

Build your Own Masterpieces

Despite these masterpieces the draw card of the exhibition is that the tables are also filled with thousands of Lego pieces and the option to design your own masterpiece to display. There are three large desks with enough stools for all the attendees to take a seat and begin creating. It was fun to watch everyone work away and see some real works of art emerge.

Mr 5 made some monsters, Miss 3 was just overjoyed to get her hands on some “little Lego” (which is normally kept out of reach) and was happy sticking pieces together at random. It wasn’t until we had been in the exhibition 20 minutes until they began to notice the large scale models around us.

Ohhh’s and Ahhh’s for Lego

The work that went into the exhibition pieces was amazing. There was a train that ran over the Harbour Bridge, the Ferris wheel at Luna Park spun around to collect passengers and the fireworks “exploded” overhead. But by far the most interesting models were the Opera House and the cruise ship which were actually sliced in half, built so you could see the inner workings of these fascinating structures.

The detail was incredible -there were cooking classes, swimmers, a prison in the brig, backstage engineers, a bride and groom, and restaurant diners. It was fascinating the see how all the various Lego pieces had been used for different purposes. There were also a few hidden surprises, a lady with a hoard of cats, David Hasselhoff and more for eagle eyes to find.

Firing the Imagination to Create

The models got the kids imaginations fired as they tried to recreate some of their favourite scenes. They also really enjoyed finding a mini fig to represent the passions of each member of our family.   The more you looked at each piece the more there was to see.

Packed full of Fun in a Compact Space

The exhibition was the perfect size for us, the kids could easily move around the space and I could keep an eye on them as they looked at the different displays, chatted with the other guests and tried their hands at building. The models are raised on display tables, but the children could easily climb on the stools to get a better view.   Because the models are located over the Lego building benches there were times when it was difficult to get close enough to view the details on each model. Luckily people moved around during the session, allowing us to come back and see bits we had missed.

Even the Little ones are catered for

Mr 9 months was very happy watching the bigger kids build, then we discover the Duplo area at the back of the space. Here there is a trough filled with the larger Duplo braded Lego (suitable for under 3’s) as well as a Lego wall to stick the bricks to. Mr 9 month’s enjoyed pulling out the blocks and throwing them all over the floor and then the bigger kids joined him, making shapes and letters on the Lego wall.

Make the most of your Session time

You are allotted 1 hour in the exhibition space and this was just the right amount of time. We were able to rotate through viewing, building and chatting several times without the children loosing focus and they all finished with a big grin on their face.

Coming Home to build more Lego

The trip home was filled with creativity as the children discussed what they were going to build next. The exhibition was well laid out, entertaining for the kids, but with enough detail that adults had a great experience as well. The Sydney Harbour Icons exhibition is recommended, especially if you have a Lego fan in the house.

Top Tips

• Allow an addition hour, outside your Lego exhibit time, to tour the other areas of the museum. Don’t miss the replica first fleet boats replicas on the first floor.
• Ask for a MOS 4 Kids booklet at the ticket desk. This guides kids to find, count, colour and draw their way through the museum.
• There is a great viewing room at the top of the museum to sit and watch the world go by.
• Unsecured pram parking is available on the ground floor near the bathrooms but you are able to take your pram into all the exhibits.
• In the Lego exhibit, don’t forget to look around the room at the models made by previous attendees. There were minions, Minecraft characters, Elmo and more made by talented hands.
• Encourage the children to create something themselves and display it with other creations around the room. Don’t forget to give it a go yourself!
• You can book your tickets to the Lego exhibition online. Make sure to arrive 5 minutes before your session time to make the most of your allotted hour.
• The baby change / disabled toilet is a tight squeeze if you have a pram and several children to fit in.
• All toilet facilities are located on the ground floor near the elevator. Encourage children to go before your enter the Lego exhibit on the second floor.
• The moving Lego elements are on a timer, if the kids miss seeing one of them, just tell the staff, as they will happily turn them back on.

The tickets to this event were provided by ellaslist and this review originally appeared on their website.

Jimmy Giggle’s Christmas Party

 

The Children and I were lucky enough to win some tickets to see Jimmy Giggle’s Christmas Party at the Concourse in Chatswood on Saturday.  Given that our show started at 1.30pm on a Saturday 6 days before Christmas we made the decision to catch the train to Chatswood rather than drive and try and find a park. It was a seriously hot day but the trains were air-conditioned, the kids all travel well and I packed lots of snacks!

Due to a train delay we only arrived at Chatswood Station 20 minutes before the performance. Lucky it is just a short walk from the station to the venue which is located in the council arts hub, along with an art gallery, library and other performance spaces.

The venue is not equipped to handle prams on the level that a Giggle and Hoot concert elicits and due to the fact that a ballet was starting at the same time as the Jimmy Giggle Concert we did have to wait to catch the lift one flight up to the venue.

Before we entered the theatre, we left the pram in the pram parking area. The key is to be prepared with all your valuables and things you might need during the show packed in one bag ready to carry into the venue.

We had never been in the Concert Hall at this particular venue before and it was a great experience. The hall isn’t too large, entry to all rows of seats is ramped rather than stepped and the gaps between the rows of seats are generous. This, along with flip up seats, made climbing over the other audience members with baby and backpack much less stressful than it could have been. The only downside was that booster seats were in short supply when more than half of the audience was under 5.

We had wonderful seats right in the middle 5 rows from the front. The concert was five minutes late starting which is never good when you are trying to entertain small people. But as soon as the lights dimmed and Jimmy Giggle appeared on stage the whole audience was wrapped.

Jimmy Giggle was excellent, high energy, very entertaining, in fine voice and able to adapt quickly to the audience. The children took a few moment to get used to the back and forth “pantomime” style of participating in the show and then they were hooked.

Jimmy Giggle guided us through some Christmas decorating, played ‘hoot and seek’ with Hoot and Hootabelle and had a brand new shiny bike delivered by Santa’s elves, Jingle, Sparkle, Tinsel and Bob, they even had time to take an #Elfie! The songs where all familiar Christmas classics including Frosty the snowman and Jingle bells, some songs even had a giggle-esque twist “Hoot-dolph the Blue nosed reindeer”.

After about 25 minutes Jimmy Giggle was joined on stage by Ali McGregor. While Ali is a wonderful performer, she wasn’t familiar to the audience and the songs that she sung had a distinctive adult / Jazz vibe, meaning that much of the younger audience lost attention and began fidgeting.

Jimmy eventually returned to the stage and the audience attention came back with him. Santa joined his elves and they all sang their way through a few more Christmas classics.   My kids particularly enjoyed Santa’s Gift, the Gift of DANCE – as they watched the big guy in red writhe around the stage.

There were several encore’s, but the best song of the day was definitely “The 12 days of Hoot-mas” which featured the whole cast running around stage trying to get into position to sing about Santa bringing them “1 hoot pyjamas…3 Gigglepaws…5 Gigglesaurus Roars… 8 elves a dancing” and more. It was a great, high energy way to end an entertaining show.

I believe that taking kids to performances from a very young age exposes them to audience etiquette, the give and take of live performance and instils in them a growing desire to experience more live events in the future. A kid friendly performance such as this with a short performance time, lots of excitement and an audience of fellow parents allows kids to enjoy the performance exuberantly without fear of recrimination from more composed theatre goers.

The only downside was that the children wanted to see more of Hoot – rather difficult with such a small puppet in a large theatre, and The Girl really wanted the chance to show Jimmy Giggle her special Hoot dress!

Long country drives

I have an amazing extended family.  Some of whom live in Canberra – 3 hours away and many of whom live in Grenfell, a small town 5 hours west of Sydney where my Mum grew up.  That combined with my Dad’s family living on the Coast North of Sydney meant that seeing family inevitably involved a long car trip.

And when I was a child, we didn’t have cars that cruised along at 110k/hr with air con, CD players and personal DVD screens.  In fact the cars we drove when I was a kid had nothing but some windows and a tape deck.

My mother used to tell a story about driving to Grenfell when I was a tiny baby and stopping at every town along the way, paying the 20c and dipping my brother and I in the pool before driving onto the next town and the next pool.

I have vivid memories and my brother and I drawing a line in the plush velour middle seat of the car and freaking out if either one of us dared cross that sacred line.   And on other occasions we would stack our pillows and our heads on the middle seat- pillow, head, pillow, head and take turns rotating who was on the bottom while we tried to nap.

We had no entertainment other than our own imaginations (reading in the car makes me queasy) and conditions where no where near as fancy as they are now days.  However we survived and those long trips are part of my happiest memories.

When the Boy was 2 and the Girl just a baby, I drove both kids to Grenfell by myself for a short visit.  I packed a bag full of arts and craft, books, snacks, toys, and even an old ipod with his favourite flash card game to keep the Boy entertained.

While we were there one of my cousins (who has similar aged children, and does a 2.5 hour drive regularly) made an offhand comment that her kids didn’t get special toys or electronics and that they just had to sit and look out the window.   She wasn’t questioning my parenting at all, but that comment has really stuck with me.  Why do kids these days need to be constantly entertained, plugged in and force fed stimulation?

Ever since that day we have travelled a lot more freely.

The kids generally take a stuffed toy in the car and maybe a book but that’s about it.  Depending on the journey’s duration I will pack some snacks for when we stop for a break.  Other than that it’s each person’s brain for itself.

We talk, we sing, we play I Spy (when children are young we play “I Spy with my little eye, something that is green” – as opposed to letters) and if I am really lucky they sleep.

I think that learning to sit and watch and think quietly and just generally being unplugged is something we don’t do very much anymore.  I am grateful for the opportunity the children have to see so much of our beautiful country, I love sharing with them my memories of family trips when I was a girl and pointing out interesting things for them to see, and I relish the opportunity to have some more focused time to listen to them and understand their way of seeing the world.

In November we drove back from Canberra – all the kids were asleep and I just turned on some of my favourite tunes and drove.  I don’t particularly enjoy driving but it was nice to allow my mind to wander and enjoy the beautiful scenery as we raced comfortably homewards.

Perhaps we all need to take the time to unplug and let the mind wander…

 

 

Places to go on hot days

Park	Date Visited
The Playground, Darling Quarter Darling Quarter, Darling Harbour	All the time
Blaxland Riverside Park Jamieson St, Sydney Olympic Park	Jan 2015
Pirrama Park Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont
Waterplay Park, Steel Park Illawarra Rd, Marrickville
Putney Park Pellisier Road, Putney
Nurragingy Reserve Water Park Wren picnic area, Knox Rd, Doonside
James Ruse Reserve Water Playground Corner of Hassall and Parkes St, Parramatta
Granville Water Park Granville Park, Montrose Ave, Merrylands
Cathy Freeman Park Australia Avenue, Sydney Olympic Park
Vera’s Water Garden The Entrance, Central Coast
Blacktown Showground Precinct Francis Park, Blacktown
Philip Ruddock Water Playground Dundas Park (Curtis Oval), Parramatta

Featherdale Wildlife Park

Each year my Dad (Poppy) gives the kids an experience for their birthdays, rather than a gift.  It’s a lovely way for them to have some special time with Poppy and they have way to many toys anyway!

This year for her birthday the Girl was going to Featherdale Wildlife Park and Poppy was kind enough to bring the Boy, the Baby and I with them.

Featherdale is located in the middle of surburbia (literally the neighbours could stand on their back porch and watch the dingoes frolic) at Doonside near Blacktown in Western Sydney.  We left home at about 8.30am on a Friday, the traffic wasn’t bad and we arrived just after the park opened.

The Tourist Bus trade hits a peak first thing in the morning and again just after lunch.  Despite having just opened the parking lot was full of buses.  Luckily however the tourists are just their for a happy snap with a Koala and they soon leave.  The park is set up to accommodate this, as soon as you enter there is a queueing system for koala photos (which we by-passed) and then the tourists get straight back on the busses, leaving the rest of the park to those of us with more time.

There is a daily feeding schedule which kept us busy for the first two hours, crisscrossing the park to see talks and feedings with echidnas, penguins, reptiles, dingoes, and THE CROCODILE.

THE CROCODILE needs to be italiscised as it was the Girl’s favourite by far.  We let the kids take it in turns choosing which animal we were going to go and see next and each time it was the Girl’s turn we had to go back to THE CROCODILE.  Luckily Featherdale isn’t too big as I swear we walked back to see THE CROCODILE at least 20 times.   And after we watched his feeding in the morning he didn’t move all day apart from the occasional opening and closing of his mouth.

The feeding presentations are great and always worth attending.  The kids got to hear about the animals, see the keepers interact with them and in some cases give them a pat.

The day we went came at the end of a week of solid rain, so whether it was because it was the first sunny day in ages or simply the spring sunshine, all the animals were quite active.  Even the wombats and Tasmanian Devils spent the day wandering around outside their dens.

Featherdale only hosts native Australian Animals, so don’t be expecting giraffes and elephants and the other big drawcards of the more traditional zoos.  There were enough exhibits to keep our little crew interested for several hours.

As mentioned the Girl was a big fan of THE CROCODILE, the Boy quite liked the koalas and the farmyard where he could wander among sheep, goats and geese.  I enjoyed the Reptile house with a decent collection of snakes and spiders (all safely kept away from me) and Poppy was a fan of the birds.

Featherdale has an amazing collection of aviaries.  I will admit that I am generally in agreeance with another visitor we overheard who said “but, birds are boring”.  However when I took time to stop and look there were some beautiful and strangely wonderful birds to watch.  The kids enjoyed the really brightly coloured birds, as well as those standing on one leg!

After the morning crowds had time to clear there were some school groups come through.  It was easy enough to see where there were headed and stay out of their way.  In fact generally we had a really quiet day just meandering around the small site on our own.  Part of your ticket is an Animal Passport and the kids got right into collecting stamps at each of the big ticket enclosures.

Animal food is available for purchase in ice-cream cones.  The Girl really isn’t a fan of up close and personal with animals so she wasn’t interested and all the boy wanted to do was eat the cone for himself.   It did however allow us to hand feed some Kangaroos in the walk through enclosure.

Once we had seen all the other animals we headed back to the front and were greeted with zero queues for the koala meet and greet.  We were able to stand and talk to the keepers and meet 3 koalas which the Boy loved.  Highly recommend waiting till the middle of the day for this activity.  But don’t wait too long as there is another bus influx just after lunch.

I packed lots of snacks and water.  The park is small but was rather steamy after all the recent rain, however there were plenty of places to sit and rest.  We had lunch in the café, which was decently priced for a tourist attraction.

After lunch we took one last wander round and said goodbye to our favourite animals, ie THE CROCODILE before we headed for home.

When we visited (November 2015) Adult tickets were $29.50 and children 3-15 $16.  Well worth the price, especially if you have foreign guests who just want to pat a koala and a kangaroo.