Hiking with young children - A child's view

Guestpost by Esmee (6 yrs)

Hiking with young children is perceived by some as too much work. However, if prepared well, hiking in the outdoors can provide wonderful family moments. In this post Esmee shares her view on today's family hike.

We went on a river walk. There were rocks, we had to walk next to a river. It was from the movie Lord of the Rings. It was a bit hard to walk first because it was a bit too rocky and we had to cross a few rivers which was quite fun.

I had a walking stick which I stuck in the river, looking for animals. I did see lots of little insects. Then we had a stop so we could have a drink, half way nearly up the hill, we were nearly at the top. Then we stopped again and had a drink again, at the top. At the top we saw very, very big, big hills. They looked like big rocks.

I saw hundreds and hundreds of fossils. Camiel and my dad found a fossil that had an arrow on it, pointing the way that my mum and me were going. So Camiel and my dad split up. Camiel went the right way, but my dad didn’t. So he had to walk for a long time on the wrong path. And then we got together.

Then we finally reached the top. The fossil stones had shells and rocks in them, so it was a rock with a rock in them or a rock with shells in them, which we call a fossil. Fossils are things from the olden days that have died like dinosaur bones. If people find them they put them into places like a museum.

The shapes of the rocks we saw were different. We saw a shoe shape, we saw a heart shape, we saw a shell shape of a turtle, a frog’s head that had jaguar spots on it, and a rock that kind of looked weird but it had a white elephant on it. We saw a big rhinoceros head on the wall.

There was sand. What I did in the sand is I made little footprints with my hands like fists. It was supposed to be an old dinosaurs track. I also found olden day rabbit poos. It was hot and I started sweating. I got really tired I was getting fried. On the way back the wind was a bit gusty, it nearly blew me away. - Esmee (Esmee blogs at The Applekid)

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Hiking with children is a great outdoor activity. It creates wonderful opportunities to teach them to love, enjoy and respect nature. Children love to touch everything they see. We usually plan our hikes near boulders, waterfall, streams and other attractions to keep our children interested. The above hike was into the Putangirua Pinnacles, in the South Wairarapa, a location which has been used in the making of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. While Esmee may be too young to have watched the movies, as a kiwi child she certainly has heard about them, and admittently, has seen some scenes. After all, Peter Jackson was born and grow up not far away, and Lord of the Rings is a New Zealand icon. This created some needed anticipation with Esmee and Camiel as we set foot after a 2 hour drive from Wellington.

Hiking with children creates different dimensions. You will have to change your goals and, most important, be flexible. For many children, it's the journey that's important, not how long the journey is or what the destination is. Be prepared that you may not go as far, as fast, or as high as you may like to go. Children are slower and smaller. They look at things with different eyes as they have their own sense of time, wonder and interest. They will see insects, leaves, flowers, spider webs, dew drops,pebbles, shapes and sizes in the environment you may not notice. This will add a real joy to the trip as you marvel together at the beauty of nature. Make sure you bring food and water along, good clothing and footwear is also essential, so is sunscreen and insect repellent. Esmee and Camiel enjoy their walking sticks. Our children also take a photo camera or video camera along, adding another dimension to the trip, as they look for an interesting picture and are in charge of their own photo and video taking. This also creates lots of after fun as they create and edit their slideshow or videoclip once they are back at home.

Hiking is one of the most enjoyed outdoor activities. Most children love the outdoors and they love to be active. Do you take your child hiking? What tips do you have?