So we finally got out and did a planned walk with the girls (Eleanor 4.5yo and Harriet2.4yo). We headed up to Heaton State Forest/Watagans NP. We did a 1.5km (I think) circuit from Heatons Lookout and later a 650m circuit at Boarding House Dam. My blog entryis much longer if anyway wants to know a bit more about what the area looks like and how the girls went.
We have been wanting to take the girls for another walk for weeks, finally we had a clear schedule but the weather was miserable (cold, wet, a bit windy). It was drizzling a little as we were driving up, but nothing came of it. It turned out to be really nice conditions for a walk. First stop was the Heaton Lookout. The girls were amazed as they got out of the car, and for the first few minutes all we heard was “Wow”.
We had a bit of trouble finding the start of the track as it is not very clearly marked. We had to walk up the road a bit, and then back again, before finally deciding that this obscure arrow was pointing us in the right direction. This is the type of thing that is not an issue without kids, but with them taking a 100m walk down the road to check something adds 10minutes, rather than 1minute, and increases the chances of boredom and tiring out (thank you to the wallaby that bounced along and provide a point of interest).
The track turned out to be perfect to our needs. The track was very obvious, but it was not a nice clean track, which suited us perfectly. It was overgrown and interesting. It was strewn with leaves, sticks, and other obstacles perfect for keeping pre-school aged children amused. A great game was "over or under" as we made our own choices about whether to step over a vine or under it. We stopped constantly to inspect all sorts of things growing on the track. There was one section of the track when I was a bit unsure about continuing, only because we seemed to be heading down and I was concerned we were not on the loop trail but instead on another much longer one-way track that I knew left from the same area.
My eldest has been begging to go into the bush, to climb the gumtrees that she sees on the side of the road, to climb hills that she sees. We took her on an unplanned walk at Ku-rin-gai NP a few weeks ago but she was unimpressed that we remained on the track. This time, as it was a state forest, I had no hesitation in letting her go off track a little bit. She love the experience and told me on the way home that she liked being off track better than being on it because "Sometimes I can see the track, and even though it is dirt and very small I still know its there”. She took a couple of 2m detours of the track and thought it was very exciting.
My 4yo felt something in her sock which I fished out expecting a bit of scratchy grass, but instead it turned out to be a tiny leech. She carried it with her for quite a while and was very pleased when we got home that my husband had a leech in his sock too... a much bigger one which is now living in our terrarium (after my husband put his foot up and let it have a good feed!).
My 2yo got sick of walking about 3/4 of the way, but we talked her along by distracting her with games. My 4.5yo daughter making up games to play with her. I feel sorry for anyone who might have chosen that time to have a nice quite walk. In fact we did run into one man heading off onto a sidetrack, he gave us some very useful and reassuring information about where the track was headed. It was a very noisy expedition, constant chatter and barely a chance to hear the birds. But then I remember when I was 10yo that my idea of bushwalking was running as fast as I could until I got to the end of it.
Both girls needed to do poos while we are out there. My husband and I had not anticipated this, next time we shall remember to bring plastic bags so we can cart it out, or shovels, or even toilet paper!!
Overall this was an ideal track for little kids. It was wet and slippery and interesting. We saw mushrooms and spiky bushes and moss covered logs. I was very short (I honestly think it was about 1.5km) and it took us about 45minutes to do.
sounds like one to do with my 2 (around the same ages as yours give or take a few months)
