Bush-bashing

So I think I owe you a few posts, right?

Not that you have to read them. I'm not demanding your undivided attention, or anything bossy like that. I know I just mentioned a few things I meant to blog about, and hadn't got around to actually writing them. So if you'd rather, you can just turn away now and go back to Facebook, or Twitter, or actual work, whatever takes your fancy, really. I'll just stay here for a few minutes and fill in my virtual baby book, ok?

Ok.

So last Friday, we took the kids bushwalking. We were meant to go on the Monday, but Maisie and I were as sick as the proverbial canine. Since I spent all of Monday in bed (I know, right?), and the Mouse had a hacking gutteral cough, we waited until Wednesday...and then postponed the hike again, since by then Mousie's nose was streaming freely and copiously.

Jack and Phoebe were, understandably, most displeased at our delay tactics. They had been very patient and understanding on the Monday morning when Mummy's head did not separate from her pillow. They were grudgingly sympathetic on the Tuesday, and again on the Wednesday. By Thursday, there was open dissent amongst the troops. So Christian and I girded our loins, and prepared for our trip regardless of Friday's weather. The plan was that if the Mouse woke still snotty on Friday morning, I would stay home with her. Thank goodness, she was raring to go.

Clad in trackies, gumboots and warm skivvies, we hit the road at 7:30am. Did I mention we had borrowed Grandma and Grandpa's car? The clutch on my Tucson had given up the ghost on the Tuesday, and since our little Barina does not take three Maxi-Riders, we were going to have to ride our bikes to Tarra Valley if we ever wanted to get there....

Enter Grandma and Grandpa's Fairlane!! That poor car got stuffed full of backpacks and picnic rugs and books and snacks and coats and nappies and hand sanitiser, and off we went. Daddy had drawn a cunning little map for Jack and Phoebe so they would know what to expect. After two hours in the back seat singing classic 80's pop, we arrived at our first bush track.

Now you see, Christian and I used to do a lot of camping before the kids trampled their way graced us with their presence in our lives. We had panniers to carry our camping gear on our bikes, and would ride a fair distance before setting the tent up for the night. I knew it was only a matter of time before we took the kids on some sort of outdoorsy trip, so a spot of bush-bashing seemed to be the perfect introduction.

Both of the big kids insisted on carrying backpacks with their water bottles and a muesli bar in them. With Maisie in the Baby Bjorn, we trekked along a windy, hilly bush path for a kilometer or so. There were enormous tree ferns and lyrebirds singing, rushing creeks and little bridges, and an overriding sense of calm. The kids were delighted to reach the waterfall (the destination on their map), and then they ran back through the forest to the promise of a picnic.

There's nothing quite like a ham sandwich eaten on a damp wooden bench, in a still, dripping rainforest that literally rings with your children's laughter. We had a lovely little picnic, which was only marred slightly by the need to use the long-drop toilets nearby. Wouldn't have been so bad if I had just been able to nick in quickly myself...it was holding two children over the toilet while they took care of business and had lengthy chats with me that did my head in (not to mention my nose...)

Our next stop was a longer walk, this time to a suspension bridge. Originally, the plan had been for me to carry the Mouse in the sling for the first, shorter walk, and for Christian to take her on the second hike. However, she carried on so badly when Daddy strapped her in, that I ended up with her again. She was a bit stroppy on the 1.5km trek downhill, but nothing I couldn't handle. I let her run along the suspension bridge, and she flapped her arms and screeched with joy.

All three kids absolutely loved the bouncy bridge, and looked down into the deep gully filled with ferns from behind the safety of the barriers. It was worth every minute of the walk with eleven kilos of toddler strapped to my front, just to see our kids ignite a love of bushwalking right in front of us. I watched them running up and down, and thought, why haven't we done this before? This is magic.

And then came time to walk back to the car.

Firstly, we had to convince the Mouse to get back into the Baby Bjorn. We were not very successful. Even though we managed to force her limbs back into the correct bits of the sling, she screamed and flung herself around so wildly that I had to physically restrain her to stop her from falling out. Which is how I found myself climbing a steep bush path, UP HILL, gripping one arm and two legs of a wailing, flailing 18 month old banshee. There were no birdies cheeping merrily near us, peoples.

With everyone back in the car, safely strapped in and with food shoved unceremoniously in their gobs, we began the trip home. And I must say, I reckon our kids had a brilliant day. Considering we took three kids aged five and under on two (smallish) bushwalks, we came home relatively unscathed. Here is a summary of what we took home from Tarra Valley:

* some rather cute photographs of the kids running through the ferns and posing in front of waterfalls
* a few photos of me in my favourite brown beanie. (Not the most fetching garment, but warm.)
* a significant amount of mud gathered on gumboots, pants and hands. (Definitely worth it.)
* three carseats full of biscuit crumbs and bits of muesli bar
* a red-faced, knackered Mummy with permanent weals on her shoulders and back in the exact shape of a Baby Bjorn, and kick marks on her thighs which match the Mouse's booted feet
* a plan for a camping trip in the near future, which will expand on the fun had by all at Tarra Valley
* a decision that next time, Mummy will not wear the sling, but will instead lure the Mouse using sugary treats or whatever is necessary to move her. Tooth decay be damned, I am not wearing the Baby Bjorn up hill ever again!!