Kiwi Kids Outdoors

A new ish play space perfect for getting the kids outside these school holidays! Have you checked it out yet?

There’s magic in the playground AND in the surrounding outdoor spaces - check out the rocks and rock pools, or some of the nearby walking trails along the bays. You could make a whole day out of it as you can walk from naval point right around to magazine, corsair and Cass bays and beyond! There’s a fishing space further down towards the port.

Let us know what else you love in the area! ⬇️

Plating native trees is a great conservation activity with kids and something they can watch grow over time!

We hope it’ll attract more native birds to our backyard that we can admire together too.

Have you done this with your kids? What notice plants have you got growing in your backyard?

Fab little outside stop if you’re a parent road tripping with kids between Christchurch and Kaikoura! Share for your next road trip (or a wee trip in its own right on a nice day)

📍St Anne’s Lagoon - Cheviot (state highway one)

If you’ve stopped here let us know what you thought?

Toilets ✅
Walkways ✅
Picnic areas ✅
Plenty space to stretch little legs and burn energy ✅
Nature & birdlife to spot ✅

Always great for parents and kids alike to stop somewhere that feels good for all.

Note this footage is from March when we passed through for a camping trip to Kaikoura.

Those hands-on, tactile outdoor kids will love this simple building project that we found on the DOC website - build a pet and child safe rat trap tunnel for your back yard 🔨

Share with your outdoor parenting mates and have a trap building day together! Let us know if you give it a go.

Bonus points if you can find and re-use most of the materials in your garage from past projects or off cuts - you could deconstruct a wooden pallet found on the side of the road etc etc (the deconstruction part is lots of fun too!) - it helps make it a cheaper project, and offers additional learning around sustainability!

https://www.doc.govt.nz/get-involved/conservation-activities/build-a-backyard-trapping-tunnel/

‘s quilt could be the change you need to get yourself out on more overnight adventures with the kids! Share with your outdoor parenting people who are struggling to lighten the load and free up room in the pack 👌

Sponsored partnership - I reached out to this awesome company and they said yes, and I’ve been very happy with their quilt!

Why it’s been great for our family:
- I now only need one quilt between me and my toddler = much less weight, more room in the pack for kids gear
- it is awesome as an extra, very small packing item on camping trips or just cold outings as you can use it as a snuggly blanky on all sorts of occasions
- it’s so warm - this has a comfort rating of -5 degrees means the limit is even lower, it’s also over stuffed for longevity

There’s so much to love AND every piece of gear is an individual decision, and so I am nearly ready to publish a longer blog post with more detail for families considering an ultralight quilt including things you’ll want to consider before taking the leap (but spoiler alert, I’m glad I took the leap)

is the sort of company I am stoked to work with - I don’t do too many brand collabs but this Kiwi biz have epic values and standards that they adhere to. Cheers guys 🙌

Sweet little road stop break for families travelling with kids between Christchurch and Nelson! The last point in the reel is very in important but I would argue that’s true for all NZ road trips too!

📍Buller Gorge Swing Bridge Adventure and Heritage Park

Approx 3.5 hours drive from Christchurch or 2 hours from Nelson

A good chance to stretch little legs, get some very fresh forest filled air and soak in the lush green scenery ready for the next leg of the journey.

You’ll have to turn off and take a 4km side trip to get there, but our fam thought it was pretty cool.

Current prices online to cross the bridge are $12.50 for adults, $5 for kids, the loop walks are really cool once you’re across, ranging from 10 min to 2 hour walks.

Unfortunately not a pram/wheel friendly option.

What do you think of this place?

Tramping kid-free overnight in Lewis Pass’s St James Conservation Area.

My friend Sarah and I are both mums - every 6 weeks we try to go walking or tramping together for a solid catch up and self care. It’s always full of yarns, laughs, tears and silliness.

Share with a parenting friend you want to start this habit with!

Sometimes it’s just a short walk, this was our first overnighter back in Feb. love this area so much, we’re off to explore another trail there soon.

This one was about 12km to the hut from memory. Very doable undulating terrain if you have the right footwear and gear, with some grunty but pretty short uphills to test the fitness.

Always do your research into a track & weather etc before you attempt it yourself. There are so, so many gorgeous trails out there if you hop on the DOC website and explore your area.