Forest Family NZ
Epic Adventures for Rad Families!
Waimama Reserve, Whiritoa- Barefoot👣
I rediscovered Whiritoa which is on the Coromandel peninsula, a few years ago, when I met up with some old school friends, who also have two boys of a similar age and a bach there. It is a great place to visit with the kids due to the awesome lagoon at the northern end of the beach. I highly recommend checking it out. And it only takes 1 hour from Tauranga!
I took our relatives there during the summer, and while the kids were splashing about and the adults were hanging out watching, I snuck away for a quick walk up and over the hill to Waimama Bay, barefoot.
It felt wonderful connecting with the earth beneath me on this quick adventure. Check out the video below to see what the track is like.
The track entry is on the other side of the lagoon which can be reached by wading across or walking around if you prefer to keep dry! The track sign says 30 minutes to the beach but I got there in 15 easy minutes. FYI there are NO facilities there and NO lifeguards.
Waimama is a super pretty beach and there was hardly anyone around. It would be a great place for a picnic.
The Whiritoa lagoon, as you can see is a whole lot of fun and is usually pretty busy over the summer months with families paddling, swimming, swinging, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, kids with nets, inflatable flamingos etc… etc… but there is such a lot of space it never feels too crowded. A sun umbrella is a good idea though. Sometimes the tidal flows create a fun little wave like you can see in the video above, where the kids can catch a wave and body board from the lagoon towards the sea. Whiritoa beach on the other hand often has a steep drop off and big dumping waves. We always recommend swimming between the flags.
When was the last time you took your shoes off and connected with mother earth? Comment below.👍🌿🌊👣
Time⏳⌚…What’s that? And where can I find more of it?
This year I have re-joined the world of being a working parent, you know, the world where you earn actual money, have grown-up conversations with other adults and get recognition for doing a good job. I’m really enjoying it so far, and I am actually finding myself being more organised! Have you heard the saying “if you want something done, ask a busy person”? Don’t misunderstand me a stay at home parent rarely has time for themselves but as my two are both at school now I’m needed less.
Anyway the things I am now finding hard to fit in are exercise and in particular my bush walks. The weekends seem to get booked up so quickly and we each have various weeknight activities on. Are we just trying to do too much? Probably, it’s week 5 of term 1 and my kids are already knackered, this summer has been super hot just to add to it all.
I’m left wondering how can I fit it all in?
Finding the right balance, that is what i’m working on, for myself, my children and my family as a whole unit. I feel very strongly about teaching kids about the importance of stopping 🧘🏻♀️ ☮️ ….. off screens! We all need time to process and reflect.
One evening last week, we decided to take the kids for a short bush walk to a river. The light was perfect, the track wide and reasonably easy – although my daughter did manage to skid, trip and fall into a ditch along the way! Still it was great (insert: rebellious) to be out on a school night and 👆sticking it to the routine!
We rounded a bend and came to a perfect view of the river, my daughter was screaming back to the boys “come on, hurry up, it’s so amazing, it’s beautiful”!
And it really was. A literal breath of fresh air.
We spent the next hour or so exploring up and down the river. I managed to grab a few minutes to breathe and stretch before I was coerced into eel hunting, and we did manage to lure one out from under a rock with some chicken leftovers tied onto a hand line with no hook on it.
It was a fantastic evening. Out enjoying the moment. The next day though, the kids weren’t so co-operative due to their later than usual night …… pros and cons, pros and cons 🤷♀️. I’m just gonna keep chipping away at finding that balance ✌️.
Nga mihi, Anita 🥜
#secretspot #privateproperty #friendsinbeautifulplaces
Looking for an adventurous roady? Then you can’t pass French Pass😉🌿🐟🤢👍
Hand’s up if you’ve ever been to French Pass? …I’m betting it’s not many! Remotely located in the Marlborough Sounds, top of the South Island, New Zealand. Turn off SH6, north of Rai Valley and buckle up for an epic ride! For about half the trip (~30 km) you will experience twisty hair pin corners, one lane bridges, steep grades, and unsealed sections but, you will be rewarded with incredible scenery! The road takes you through farmland🐮🐑 + native and introduced forest all the while giving you breathe taking views of French Pass and D’Urville Island. OK, so if you are prone to car sickness this may not be the trip for you 🤢. Otherwise I recommend winding the windows down, putting on some sweet tunes (or Roald Dahl stories) and taking your time, because this is one roady worth doing!
French Pass is famously known as a narrow and treacherous stretch of water that separates D’Urville Island from the Mainland. There is a short walk to the lookout where you can safely observe this stretch of water, it is quite something to behold! Aside from the ocean and bush there really isn’t anything else out here which is part of the charm and attraction. I booked the Homestead for my 30th (a few years ago now…) and we had a right old party! You can also hunt out there at certain times of the year, fish, swim, jump off the wharf, or just relax. Hilariously, we were there just before Christmas time and Santa rode up to us on his lawnmower for a chat! If you don’t own a boat you can catch a water taxi to D’Urville Island to do various walks/hikes, which I highly recommend too.
Because the trip to French Pass is not a day trip you will need to sort out some accommodation. You could rent a bach/holiday house like we did, or book into the DOC campsite. I can’t wait to take my kids there one day in the not too distant future…maybe for another big birthday celebration😉!
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Getting re-inspired while reminiscing – Waitewheta Hut
So I thought it was time we revisited this adventure, as it was so awesome! It’s definitely time another one was done. Check out our video below🖐🚶♀️🌿🏞👍
6 amazing mamas and 7 cool kids!
Originally we had 10 kids coming but sickness, a sleepover and the last soccer game of the season meant we were down to 7. In hindsight this was good because it meant majority of the mums had a 1:1 ratio, this made for less stress and a more enjoyable walk. A one adult to one child ratio is especially good when walking with younger children and first timers, as many games and distractions are needed. Parents also tend to become pack horses for the bags and the children themselves, so be prepared.
We estimated it would take us around 4 hours to do the walk, so we decided to leave early as that meant no time pressure, giving us the whole day to get to the hut.
The track follows a historic tram line and is pretty wide most of the way, there are plenty of swing bridges to cross and these are great places to stop to take a look around. I feel that the 5th and final swing bridge is worth mentioning on this walk, as once crossed there is a short path that leads down to a perfect little beach. We rested here, had some snacks, and the kids had a good play which consisted of skimming stones and dropping rocks off the bridge. We left here with only one of the seven children getting wet, which I feel was pretty good odds. This is a good reminder to pack those extra clothes, especially if not walking in the warmer months when things are easily dried.
In just under 5 hours in total from the car park we got to the hut. The kids got their second (or maybe third) wind and quickly set about: getting their beds ready (we dominated one of the two large bunk rooms), devouring crackers and cheese like a pack of ravenous piranhas and sculling hot chocolates so they could run outside to explore, play tag and practice gymnastics! The mamas were left to sort, prepare, cook and supervise before getting to put their feet up with a well deserved cuppa.
When bedtime rolled around some of the kids could not get to sleep, even though they had walked for nearly 5 hours! Going to bed with the kids was really the only thing that worked and, actually, in the morning we were better off for it! If you haven’t stayed in a hut before – don’t expect too much sleep. Huts are noisy places even without kids (who is rustling that plastic bag/snoring/talking?!). Plus with no curtains you can bet your bottom dollar the kids will wake and get up early!
The next day, rain came after about an hour into the trip out. Rain coats, pack covers and wet weather gear were then all put into use – and when one raincoat couldn’t be found in the pack (that can sometimes feel like Mary Poppins’ bottomless bag), a black rubbish bin bag was turned into a makeshift poncho, tu meke. Also, one boot started to lose its sole so kiwi ingenuity saw a sock being sacrificed to hold it together. Note for next trip – bring gaffer tape (not really an essential but can be in those MacGyver moments).
Walking in a big group is great. Everyone had turns in different positions, being the leader or chilling at the back having some quieter time. All the mamas took turns encouraging the smaller ones and we even saw the kids pitching in to help get a pack on, singing a song of distraction or finding a walking stick to keep someone else going.
Going on long hikes or tramps with children does take some patience and sometimes a lot of creative thinking – like turning a small cut into a game to identify which grasses are cutty grass, or getting the younger of the group to walk up front with an adult, giving them a head start, and telling them that the others will try to catch up – That way they keep up the pace because they don’t want to “get caught”. Roll with the punches and try to prepare your mind so as not to get stressed or annoyed when the challenges arise. As always, this is much easier when you have friends to do it with.
Nga mihi, Anita
Monkey🐵 see monkey🐒do. What kind of example are we setting for our kids?
It was a 4 hour drive home from Taranaki to Tauranga, with just my partner, myself and our 6 year old son in the car, SO… I decided to make the most of having this amount of time together to talk with my partner, haha= captured audience!
What I wanted to discuss was how we use technology (in particular our phones and the iPad) and about what sort of example are we setting for our children.
Like many of you I use my phone as a 1) Phone (ahem) 2) for texting 3) it’s my watch and alarm clock 4) for playing music 5) as a camera 6) the internet! Already so many reasons to be fiddling with this damn useful piece of technology and I haven’t even mentioned apps (I have really crap storage) or games (as that’s not really my thing). However a few times lately I have been told off by my 8 year for being on my phone too much! I legitimately started to make excuses “ I’m actually doing the banking “or “ I just need to reply to this email”, and most ironically using my phone to update this blog or our social media pages about “getting outdoors with the kids”😂🌳🚶♀️ On the flip side it has got me thinking…
How does this look to our kids? What are we in fact normalizing? How are we being present with one another? Just how much time are we spending online? Are we mindlessly scrolling?
Being outdoorsy folk I feel we are doing ok. But I do think we could be doing a lot better particularly us adults by being more intentional with our usage. We are on devices more than ever (obviously I’m on one right now and my partner is sitting outside using the iPad as I write). I had an idea about getting a little basket, placing it on the kitchen bench so when we walked into the kitchen/lounge we would flick the phone onto silent and place it in there until an allocated time i.e. once the kids are in bed and then check/text/whatsapp or whatever. My partner gets a text message each evening to tell him what the work plan for the next day is so it might be hard him to not check it but I think even having the intention of not reaching for it every 5 seconds will help us be better role models.
As for the iPad our boys only got it at Christmas so its all fairly new and exciting for them still, they would stay on it for hours if we let them! I do worry about iPad usage (it seems very addictive and I notice their behavior gets off track) + their awful hunched over postures when using it! Does anyone else feel like this? We are going to trial restricting usage to 20 minutes of school math games or whatever program they “need” to be doing followed by 10 minutes of games. That’s 30 minutes each, per day.
Does anyone else share my concerns? I’d love to know what you are doing with your kids or what discussions your having. Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Thanks Tammy✌ #letsunplugandgooutside
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Going bush and letting off steam
A nice relaxing stroll in the outdoors can be very therapeutic, but also a run or fast paced walk can really get your body and head sorted out quick smart.
I was feeling flat, un motivated and quite grumpy one day (about week 3 into the summer school holidays 😜 and yes maybe premenstrual 😜) so I said to the kids “let’s get out for a walk and swim”. We went up to our local reserve in Whakamarama – Puketoki Reserve. A friend and her two daughters also came (I love a good mission buddy, and Rie you are always up for one, thank you, you’re awesome 🙌 ).
We walked straight in and onto the long loop track and I was like “let’s go, move, run, pace it, let’s do this”!! All four kids were off, they really didn’t need any encouragement. Rie and I paced it out and stopped for chats when we caught up with the kids. It got our heart rates up, warmed our muscles and cleared the lungs.
That was exactly what I needed.
Towards the end of the walk I had the most amazing moment with a Robin who came and perched on a branch an arm’s length away from my face, it stayed there for a full minute having a good look around and chatting away, it was so special (gutted I didn’t get a video to share with you all, but then again maybe it was just a moment meant for me at that time 🐦 ☮️).
It really reset me and re-sparked my mind. Talk about putting things into prospective.
After we finished the walk, which had a pretty quick start and middle, but a gentler, slower end thanks to the “lesson” from the Robin 🙏, we picnicked under a tree and the kids had a cold refreshing dip in the stream.
Yassssss – all is right in the world again ✌️
Nga mihi, Anita 🥜
Cloudy ☁ with a Chance of Blissballs
Who doesn’t want to walk a trail called Peach Tree 🍑🌳 Track? Am I right? Enjoy this guest post written by my good friend and adventure buddy Stacey Walden, on her recent trip to Great Barrier Island, in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand😀👊🌳🚶♀️
Aotea (aka Great Barrier Island) has become one of our favourite summer holiday places to visit in New Zealand. We have visited 6 times in the last 8 years, with our two children. My son Leo, now 7 is “a born a hiker” (as we say back home in Canada). There are many great short walks on the Island -from 15 minutes to a few hours, from waterfalls, to hot springs, to amazing coastal views, you name it, Aotea has it!
Last year I really wanted to walk to the summit of Mt Hobson, the highest point on the island at 600m, and take in the amazing views, but I hadn’t come prepared… This year however I made sure I was!
I wanted a clear day, so we could take in the views and not too much wind, as the start of the trail is ominously named the Windy Canon! The day finally arrived when we could see the summit from our beach-side bach and with it a light breeze, perfect. My hubby dropped my son and I off at the start of the Windy Canon (it’s the easiest way to get to the summit, with the least amount of climbing). I asked him to pick us up at the end of the Hotsprings walk in 6-7 hours time (as per the track times). Leo started off whining as he often does at the start of a walk… but after a few minutes he got into the groove. After climbing some steep stairs through the Windy Canon we arrived at the lookout and it’s incredible views of the island. We have walked this track many times (Leo began walking it on his own from about 1 and a half years old).
The Department of Conservation track guide says the walk to the summit takes 2.5-3 hours. After passing through the Windy Canon we continued along Palmer’s track and along the ridge line until we hit the stairs! I don’t think I’ve ever climbed so many stairs before in my life, and man was I glad to see the end of them! I was just thinking to myself, I hope we get to the summit soon when a mom and her daughter passed me coming in the other direction and said “Not long now.” ……. I though what??? It’s only been an hour. But sure enough a few minutes later the sign for the summit appeared, 2 mins to the top! Sweet!
However, we arrived to the summit in full cloud! My careful planning had been foiled, thankfully we could still see down to one of the harbors below. I would have happily waited for the clouds to clear but Leo was keen to get on to the hut. So we started heading down to the hut, more stairs! Down, down, down. I was very glad for the railings and don’t think I’ve ever felt my legs shake like they did! Leo of course was fine and kept rushing ahead. To my relief the track started to level out, just as my legs felt they may give out! We reached Mt Heale hut in the 45 minutes the sign had predicted and settled into an early lunch.
The views from this hut are incredible, Little Barrier Island is off in the distance, at this point both Leo and I wished we were staying the night. However after a nice rest and a text to my hubby to say we were way ahead of schedule (thank goodness we had cell coverage) we set off again.
More downhill! We returned via Peach Tree Track, which meets the Tramline Track after about an hour, but it was much more of a gradual gradient, my legs appreciated it 😀. The views just continued to impress. I couldn’t keep up to Leo’s fast pace, and he was often out of sight, but every now and then he would call to me to make sure I was still around. We saw a waterfall in the distance, crossed a small stream, and arrived at the Tramline Track. Yay – We had made it to the valley floor, no more downhill, hurray!
The next sign we came to said 45 minutes to the Hotsprings, at this point Leo started to complain that his legs were tired, I told him that mine were too, but that it was not too long now. I’d packed a day pack full of food and 2 bottles of water. I had more than enough food but I should have brought more water. If I was going to do it again, I would have Leo carry his own hydration pack (his suggestion) with a few snacks too.
Along the old tram-line, there were many beautiful Nikau palms, we also spotted some mushrooms and later I found 2 stick bugs mating on the side of a step. We arrived at a stream and at this point I was so hot I wanted to get in. So we did, Leo stripped down to his birthday suit and I went in my underwear. It was such a refreshing treat! From here it was 15 minutes to the Hotsprings where we each had a quick soak and waited for hubby and little sis to meet us. When they hadn’t arrived we decided to start walking the last leg of our trek to the car park and then ten minutes down the track we heard a little voice say “Mommy!”, it was my daughter and hubby. We all walked back together and my daughter complained that her legs were tired, she’d walked 30 minutes on a flat track!😂 I’d asked hubby to bring water, which Leo gulped down (I’d had to ration his on the walk so we had enough to last us). The last bit of the trail is beside a beautiful and nowadays unique wetland, sadly there are only 3% remaining in New Zealand. When we arrived at the car park, I showed the kids on the map the route we had walked. A total of 11 km up, across and down a mountain range in about 5 hours – not too shabby!
We celebrated with a delicious treat at The Fat Puku, a local cafe = Bliss! The next morning when Leo awoke he said “Mom, lets walk to the summit again!” My calves were so sore the thought of it made me cringe, but I’m so happy to have my not-so-little hiking buddy.
🌿Awesome adventure Stacey! 👊 Way to go Leo!
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Oxfam trailwalker training- Leyland O’Brien to Hurunui Hut return
In March four of my friends are doing the Oxfam Trailwalker event as a team, from Edgecumbe to Ohope finishing in Whakatane. In total they will walk 50 kilometres, across farmland, beaches and forest, they anticipate this will take in excess of 12 hours. Myself and another friend are their support crew (which I’ve never done before and am excited about!) So as a good “member of the team” I went along on a training walk with two of my friends last week. I suspect they asked me knowing of my savvy bush navigation skills and awesome conversation 😉 Here’s a short video of the trail we walked, a bit about the girls and the cause. Enjoy
🌿For more information on the tracks we walked click here
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Bush Ambience …& Cracking Thunder 😳
Summer walk wish list – Whataroa Falls – Check ✅
It was meant to be a beautiful summers day, so a friend and I organised to take the kids on the bush walk to Whataroa falls, located just 40 minutes out of Tauranga. The day before had been a stunner and the forecast looked good …
We packed light, only taking our lunch, first aid kit, water bottles and our togs …
The signpost at the car park said 1 hour 20 minutes to the falls; the perfect distance for our energetic 5 and 7 year old’s. Before we knew it the kids were off, running down the track – nice 👍 a good chance for the mamas to catch up after the Christmas break.
The walk went super fast! We had lots of inquisitive robins and fantails come to say hello, and had lots of fun giving the HUGE trees a big hug (to give us all a bit of perspective). The kids also spotted the coolest looking fungi in an old rotted out log, at first they said “oh, someone has been naughty and left some plastic rubbish or maybe an old soccer ball?” on closer inspection we decided it was a fungi, and after some research we found out it’s commonly known as white basket fungi (ileodictyon cibarium) …… Pretty cool find – well done kids!!!
And then, after about an hour of walking the thunder started! My friend and I give each other that look, you know the one – the “oh no – I wasn’t expecting that!!! What do we do now?” look. We were so close to the falls, should we push on and try our luck? Or should we turn back and try again another day?
The sky wasn’t all that black, and there was no rain, plus it was still really warm out…
And so, in typical kiwi fashion we kept on walking “she’ll be right” 😜 as we say in NZ. We plastered relaxed smiles on our faces and did our best to distract the kids from the thunder. 😬 And let me tell you this wasn’t some light thunder far off in the distance this was BOOMING, shake the ground, ear splitting, cracking thunder ⚡…..
Needless to say, the kids weren’t so keen to keep going …. but with the lure of finding eels, from one of the people walking back from the waterfall, (they took the thunder as a sign to leave – huh, makes sense), the kids all but ran the last 10 minutes, not even noticing the thunder.
Yay, we made it to the waterfall without the sky falling on our heads! And, thanks to the thunder we had the place to ourselves 👍
The kids were happy paddling in the shallows, and they got to spot the big eel poking out from under a rock. After a while it started to spit, so we gave the kids some snacks and decided to head back. It was warm enough that the kids walked back in their togs, plus that way if it rained it wouldn’t matter and they would have dry clothes to get into at the car. Fun times!
What an adventure – we will all remember that one!
Nga mihi, Anita 🥜
Pukeiti, New Plymouth- a Rain forest with Rhododendrons🌺
I’ve recently got back from a great week, spent exploring New Plymouth in Taranaki, New Zealand. I have been to New Plymouth a couple of times for WOMAD (World of Music and Dance) which is an incredible festival, but I hadn’t actually done any real exploration of the area. I have my partner’s family here from Wales at the moment, and whenever they come over we like to rent a bach (that’s NZ for holiday house) and explore a region they (or we) haven’t been to, or don’t really know. I suggested Taranaki which I knew they hadn’t been to, and which has- mountain biking, an amazing coastal cycle/walkway, a gigantic mountain (Mt Taranaki), good surf, the wonderful Pukekura park (currently hosting the festival of lights and outdoor movies!), a compact creative city hub full of great cafes and independent stores. Something for everyone you could say!
A highlight of my trip was discovering and visiting Pukeiti, a rhododendron garden set among New Zealand native trees and plants at the base of Mt Taranaki. This garden was set up by an incredible visionary person named Douglas Cook who famously established Eastwoodhill Arboretum in Gisborne. Douglas set up not one, but two incredible and huge public gardens! I was familiar with the Gisborne arboretum and story but I had no idea he set up another one!!! Pukeiti covers 360 ha of regenerating native forest and includes 21 km of walkways, including 26 ha of planted exotic garden. Apparently, and I love this part he was searching and searching for the perfect place to grow rhododendron and found it here at the foothills of Mt Taranaki. P.s the best time to see rhododendrons is not summer!😂
At the entrance to the park you will find a wonderful cafe and beautifully done information panels. We also discovered (much to our glee!) that they do a “kids tree-house trail” ! You even get an Activity bag containing 4 activities and a map. We had such a fun time exploring the gardens, doing our activities and finding tree-houses. I can’t recommend visiting Pukeiti and the Taranaki region enough! Did I mention it’s all FREE!
NB: We tried to take the stroller along the tree-house route but it was a bit tricky in places. I feel there’s still so much to explore here. We will definitely be back!
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