Adventure 18 - The one with the strawberries

Where: Ti Strawberry Farm, Bullsbrook

When: November 2016

My Adventure Companions: Mr Map, Mini Monkey, The Giant Baby and another Hike it Baby family

“Can we do this again next year?”

My family used to go regularly to a local strawberry farm every summer to pick our own strawberries. It’s a fairly common thing in the Uk but not so much in Perth. I had been on the hunt for a fruit picking activity to do with our Hike it Baby branch for a while and discovered that the PYO season for strawberries coincided perfectly with Giant Baby’s birthday.

The review I read warned us that there was no shade and boy were they ever right. I’m really glad that we scheduled for as early as possible because the walk out of the strawberry fields was pretty toasty. Whilst  we were hanging around waiting for another Hike it Baby family to turn up we were given some insider info: the best strawberries are the furthest from the entry point. No big ddeal, we’re Hike it Baby and walking is what we do! We walked for probably about 1km to get into the strawberries fields and then a bit further to get to the ‘good bits’.

Mini Monkey proceeded to eat his body weight in strawberries fresh from the bushes before being convinced to put some in the box (occasionally half eaten) for his friend. The Giant Baby got a little hot in the Tula and was getting fed up with me bending down to pick strawberries so I let him loose. The soil there is sandy and black so everyone ended up completely filthy. It was hilarious fun and I would definitely do it again. We collected about 5kg of delicious strawberries. Even after serving them at Giant Baby’s first birthday party in the afternoon and giving a whole bunch away to our friends it still looks like we have half a tray left. Ah well, here’s to a week of delicious strawberries!

Website: http://www.pickyourownstrawberries.com.au/ 

Opening Hours: 9am-5pm October/November to December. Exact dates depend ripeness of strawberries so keep an eye on their website or facebook page. 

Cost: $10 per 5kg tray (includes admittance for one person) plus $2 for additional people (including any kids who may walk/crawl and eat strawberries as they go). Max 5 people per group/tray. 

Adventure 11 - The one where the Mini Adventure Gods had other plans

Where: Kings Park

When: October 2016

My Adventure Companions: Mini Monkey, The Giant Baby and another Hike it Baby Mum and toddler

“Have you seen the forecast?”

I had planned a Bear Hunt to celebrate the first anniversary of Hike it Baby Perth and the weather was not cooperating. I don’t just mean a light, British-style drizzle putting a damper on things, I mean a full on West Australian weather warning with gale force winds and sideways rain. I was gutted to have to cancel it, but no one likes a soggy teddy bear.

For a Bear Hunt, everyone brings a teddy bear and, whilst one of the adults reads ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt’ by Micheal Rosen to The Littles, another will be hiding the bears along the trail for The Littles to find when the story is finished. Even I was willing to concede  that we would be better off to down grade to a regular hike and conduct the Bear Hunt on another weekend. As Mr MAP said to me, maybe this was the Mini-Adventure Gods’ way of telling us that it would be more fun to do next weekend when both Mr MAP and Grandma would be there.

Out of the twelve or so families who were going to come bear hunting with us, only one turned up for the hike. The weather was blustery, the skies grey and the toddlers a little wild. We scoped out the path for the postponed bear hunt and had snacks on the Green Mile during a brief sunny period whilst the two older boys chased the magpies away as they came to steal our crumbs. As we headed towards home, the skies ripened ominously. We thought we were going to make it before the clouds burst, but no. I felt like a drowned rat by the time I had managed to get the boys and stroller back into the car. Thankfully Mini Monkey and his friend thought running through the rain was absolutely hilarious.  

Website: www.bgpa.wa.gov.au/kings-park

Opening Hours: Never closed

Adventure 9 - The one where Mini Monkey wasn't in the mood

Where: Paruna Wildlife Sanctuary, Gidgegannup

When: September 2016

My Adventure Companions: The whole MAP family (minus Velcro Dog) plus a few Hike it Baby Familes

“Where are we going this weekend?”

Hiking on the weekends seems to have become the norm for us at the moment. To be fair, it’s spring and a great time to be out and about. The weather is good, the sun shines most of the time and the landscape is a stunning array of colours. We get delicious breakfast takeout from a little shop down the road and trundle off to our meet location. I get pretty excited when other people turn up to hike with us and love meeting other families who are as enthusiastic as I am about getting outside.  

This weekend we were back at Paruna Wildlife Sanctuary. We had five other Hike it Baby families giving us a total eight adults and eight children aged between 9 months (our Giant Baby) and ten years old. It was going to be a very different experience from my first time there!

After the last family finally arrived, we did some introductions and then trundled off to explore the little Possum Trail. We saw all manner of toddler and child approved things on the trail from ducks and bees to different flowers and gum nuts. I was impressed at how well everyone stuck together, considering the differing levels of walking abilities and the rocky terrain. Mini Monkey clearly had not recovered from his bout of tummy upset on Thursday night and had an inconsolable meltdown. Mr MAP finally decided that it would be better to take him back to the car to calm him down so packed him in the carrier and turned around. The Giant Baby and I carried on with the rest of the group but soon decided to turn around as we had reached our half way point in time. After misjudging toddler tolerance at our walk in John Forest National Park the other weekend, I wasn’t about to make the same mistake again.

On our return, we found a mostly recovered Mini Monkey and Mr MAP starting the picnic lunch. A couple of the families were able to stay so we had a lovely picnic in the sunshine and then the kiddos threw rocks in the stream until nap time called.

Comments Mini Monkey: WAHHHHHHHHHH *sniffle sniffle* WAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Website: http://www.australianwildlife.org/sanctuaries/paruna-sanctuary.aspx

Opening Hours: gate open 24hrs per day (May to November)

Cost: $5 per person.

Bonus Adventure:

Where: Freemantle Fishing Boat Harbour

After the drama of yesterday, we decided that we needed to do something a little low key the next day. We had a nice little walk around Freo, looking at all the boats and seagulls. Boats, fish and birds are all pretty interesting to Mini Monkey at the moment so he was satisfied. The icing on the cake for him were the massive fish tanks which line the restaurant area at Cicerello’s. There are lots of different types of fish to see from star-fish to little sharks and is a great way to keep little (and big) people entertained whilst waiting.

Comments from The Giant Baby: Tula rides are still awesome but mum forgot my socks today. My feet are cold. [sorry bub]

Website: www.cicerellos.com.au/

Opening Hours: Fishing boat harbour open all hours. Cicerello’s open 9am-8.30pm daily.

Cost: access to the fishing boat harbour is free. 

Adventure 7 – The one with bumblebees and bubbles

Where: John Forest National Park

When: September 2016

My Adventure Companions: The MAP Family (minus Velcro Dog) and some other Hike it Baby families.

“Is this the right waterfall?”

Nope. Not even close.

I was hosting a toddler hike in the lovely John Forest National Park. It was akin to herding cats. As soon as one toddler decided he or she was going to start walking again, another needed to stop to be let out of the carrier or to be put on their parent’s shoulders because their carrier was El Diablo today or to look at an inexplicably interesting gum nut. Mini Monkey decided that this week he has to stop at every flower he sees to look and see if there is a bee in it. It's wild flower season right now so we don't get anywhere quickly.   

We took the Eagle View Trail along-side the creek with an aim to cross it at National Parks Falls and return on the more direct and shorter Heritage Railway trail. Every time we came across a little muddle of rocks with a bit of white water, people asked “is this the waterfall we’re going to?”.

About half way down the trail I considered skipping the falls and settling for watching the toddlers dip their toes in the creek at a nice resting spot. No sooner had I found a comfy place to sit, some of them decided that this spot was not interesting anymore, so we were off again. Mini Monkey was feeling a little under the weather so I deployed some bubbles to lighten his mood. He rose to the occasion and charged ahead down the trail. I was concerned at one point that (in my over active mum-imagination) he was going to keep going and shoot off the edge of a very large cliff but all those ‘stop/start’ games we’ve been playing whilst out walking Velcro Dog paid off well. 

When we finally arrived at the falls it was busy. After the rain earlier in the week the water was gushing through the gully and over the edge in a fairly spectacular display. Clearly everyone else had had the same idea we had: rain earlier in the week + sunshine today = great time to visit National Parks Falls! 

The trail home was meltdown central with sit down protests and dramatic flourishes which only toddlers can manage. Lesson learned: listen to your gut. If you think some of the little ones would be better off turning around halfway to your destination, then do it. There will always be another time to visit. 

True to form, The Giant Baby resisted his trail nap until mere moments before we returned to the car to go home.

Comments from Mini Monkey: Lots of flowers. Bumblebees like flowers. I see bumblebees. Bumblebees make honey for me. Ooooooo, bubbles!   

Website: https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/john-forrest

Opening Hours: main gate open 24hrs per day

Cost: $12 per car.

Bonus Adventure - Plane Spotting

After our epic trek out to Paruna last week, my hiking buddy decided we needed something a little more sedate this week and suggested that the boys might light to go to the airport viewing platform. 

Even though they were doing maintenance on the runway directly in front of the viewing platform, the boys had a great time spotting the planes as they were taking and landing from the alternate runway. They ate lunch on the move, ran/crawled around the platform and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. 

Opening Hours: 6:30am-5:30pm every day

Cost: Free 

Adventure 5 - The one with lots of bubbles

Where: Magpie Path, Kings Park

When: August 2016

My Adventure Companions: The Giant Baby, Mini Monkey and a tribe of Hike it Baby families.

“Who like bubbles?”

Mini Monkey absolutely loves bubbles (the soapy, non-alcoholic kind). Specifically, he loves chasing after them and trying to catch them. I had seen other Hike it Baby branches do ‘Bubble Hikes’ and thought that this weekend was a great opportunity to try one out. At the very least, Mini Monkey would have fun. I think I have been having a little bit of burnout from hosting hikes recently. I’m running low on enthusiasm for trying to find new places in the hope of enticing other Hike it Baby families out. Without Mr MAP there for the weekend, I decided to give myself a little grace this weekend and visit Kings Park again as it’s only 10 minutes’ drive for us.

We had three other families join us with kids ranging from sixteen months to five years old. One of the other mums pointed out that all the kids were boys. Was that a coincidence or do young boys really have so much energy that their parents feel the need to join forces with other families to wear them out on a weekend?

We started blowing bubbles about fifty meters up the path and really didn’t get much further. The boys had a blast running up and down the path, following the bubbles as they floated away. The giggles of glee in the unexpected sunshine were wonderful. I had so much fun, laughing with the other parents and blowing bubbles for the kids that I forgot to take any pictures.

Comments from Mini Monkey: Bubble bubbles bubbles squeeee!   

Website: http://www.bgpa.wa.gov.au/kings-park

Opening Hours: Always open

Cost: free 

Adventure 4 - The one with the singing frogs

Where: The Spectacles

When: August 2016

My Adventure Companions: The whole MAP family including Velcro Dog and another Hike it Baby family*

“Let’s give it a go without the hiking pack today”

This weekend we went on one of my favorite, toddler friendly hikes and thought Mini Monkey would be happy enough to walk for most of the way on the flat, firm path. Unfortunately it was one of ‘those’ days so not only did he not want to walk but he also needed a few cuddles for persuasion. After a few ‘sit down negotiations’ and some edible bribery he decided that there were lots more interesting things to be seen from Mr MAP’s shoulders and agreed to go ‘up’.  I’d like to say that the pace picked up after that but it didn’t. This is what hiking with a toddler is all about. For me, today was about watching Mini Monkey feel the ferns, realise that his beloved honey is made by bees and see him have a good old chat about sticks with Mr MAP.

The Giant Baby is finding the world a very interesting place now and is getting very good at resisting naps. No more napping in the car on the way to hikes and no more napping on hikes unless there is the constant rhythm of continuous walking (clearly not today). After looking pretty perky for over two hours beyond his regular nap time, he finally gave in and fell asleep on my back just as we rounded the last bend before the car. To prolong this tiny gift of a nap, I left Mr MAP and Mini Monkey at the car with another snack and took our Hike it Baby friends to see the swamp. I have been along the board walk to the bird hide in the swamp several times before but this was the first time I had ever heard the wonderful chorus of insects and frogs that were singing today. It was so peaceful. Or maybe it was because there were no toddlers within earshot? Either way, it was a very relaxing end to a gentle adventure. 

Edit: I had wanted to add a lovely video of the singing frogs but sometimes I'm techncally challenged (I can hear Mr MAP scoffing at the word 'sometimes') and I couldn't post the video (yet). One day I may figure this out and I'll come back and add it (promise). 

Comments from Mini Monkey: Trees have sticks. Bees make honey for Monkey. I want stick...Please?

*I run the Perth branch of Hike it Baby so many of our mini-adventures are going to be Hike it Baby hikes and other mini families.

Website: https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/site/spectacles

Opening Hours: Never closed

Cost: Free