Today we participated in some organised nature time!
Me and my little guy headed out for a spot of Kanga with the lovely Ally from Kangatraining Palmerston North. We started at He Ara Kotahi and briskly walked the bridge loop with our little ones in carriers and/or pushchairs. On the way we stopped to do some body weight exercises for legs and arms, and work on our balance and flexibility. Oh and pelvic floor work (very important Mamas!). Some lovely yarns with some lovely Mamas. Next we headed to the Esplanade for a splash in the paddling pool. Always a good time. Today we brought a picnic lunch but the barbeques were in constant use by other families and the cafe seemed to be doing a roaring trade. The Esplanade is a great place to start and then simply see where your children lead you. Today we stuck to the pool but the train was running, the pond full of ducks (do not feed them bread!!), Wildbase always has exciting wildlife to learn about and observe, the bush walks are lovely, the orienteering course is permanent and the playground provides many adventures.
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Today we took a circuitous adventure. It started as a backyard sit while I destoned apricots and my little one tasted them and went on mini adventures with his penguin and a car. Then little one asked for a walk. No reason not to. My big one was immediately displeased to be removed from the couch so every few steps we would implore me "let's stop and sit down or go home". "Just a little bit further" I coaxed. Bearing in mind, we were only five minutes and about 200 metres from home at this point! We ventured slowly down to the river pathway and eventually made it home 4 hours later with both children full of joy, enthusiasm and a little bit of remaining energy. Here in Palmy, our river, Te Awa o Manawatu, provides a varied adventure. Today we headed down to a river bank clearing between Ruahine and Rumahanga. While my big one stripped off and read her book, my little one threw stones into the gently moving water. A little further down the river we heard a splash. We looked over to see bubbles wandering over the surface of the water. Then a splish-splash again. We ventured down to have a look. We spotted four fish - fish colour with some white tinges! We waded into the water a little for a closer look. We watched for a bit (mostly me as my little couldn't see them and big one wandered back to her book). My little guy decided he wasn't quite sure about the water continually moving over his feet so he happily accepted a pick up. Soon he was ready for more rock plopping. We moved back upstream and left our fishy mates to it. Our little one threw more stones and encouraged us to join him. We looked flat stones and tried to skim. We will keep practicing before we can tick this one off the list...
Snacks snacked, drinks drunk and many stones sploshed, we headed back up to the pathway. We took a long route home along busy Napier Road and via Pita Pit for an unexpected lunch out and the supermarket for dinner supplies. The quietness of the river pathway is so pleasant and the busyness of the road so noticeable. Still, I was in pleasant company. We stopped by two playgrounds on the way home for a "wee" aka swing. We would have stayed much longer but our little guy needed more food and I was keen for some shade and more water! Today I thought we would head down to the Urban Eels. I checked the weather forecast - some rain was forecast, heavy and showers later in the day. I decided we were still aiming for that, we would just chuck raincoats in the buggy and reassess later on. We wandered down to the Albert St swing to swing under a tree. It was balmy, sunny and warm. We carried on around the star path (Tini whetū ki te rangi, ko Rangitāne nui ki te whenua), playing "the grey is lava" and other games. We took turns sitting on the throne chair. We almost made it to the Esplanade before it rained. Big splotchy drops. Luckily we were prepared. Jackets out, rain pants on (little one). My firstborn suggested we turn back. I pointed out that shelter and snacks were far closer. We carried on. The rain stopped as we wandered through the bush tracks making a trail toward the café. It was fully loaded so I suggested ice cream at He Ara Kotahi. I promised it wasn't far. We stopped for stand up sandwiches and meandered back down to the river pathway and along to the New Bridge. Fortunately the rain hadn't scared off Scooptruck ice cream. It was devine - 10/10 recommend! We did another weather check - both on Metservice and by looking at the sky. It wasn't looking good so we decided to do eels another day and start heading home. We walked back along the other side of the river to the Fitzherbert bridge then crossed over to the lagoon. We took a short break to finish the snacks and drink some water. We braved walking straight through the army of swans, geese and ducks. It started to rain as we passed the canoe poloists (poloists? players? something else?). I am guessing rain makes no difference to them! We rejacketed and walked home. We were pretty dry as we had our jackets and it wasn't particularly cold. It's important to remember that "there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing" (Alfred Wainwright + others!). Rain provides another kind of adventure! |
AuthorI'm Kate. I have 3 children - 2 bios and a steppie, 1 under 5 and 2 tweenagers. I am determined to spend more time outside this year and share more of Palmy's wonderful places and free play activities. Categories
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