Growing Up Troppo - May
Reviews, tips and advice for travelling the world with kids.
By Libby Larsen
The beginning of the dry heralds so many things I love about life in the top end.
It's all about getting amongst it and enjoying the outdoors. The beauty of living in these parts is that, within a hop, skip and a jump away from the CBD, there are tons of options for families looking for easy and kid-friendly walks where you’ll feel like you are miles away from it all.
Down the road from the action at the Leanyer Recreation Park you’ll find Holmes Jungle – a tranquil Top End monsoonal rainforest refuge that’s home to loads of local critters, plus a couple of easy walks. Being around 30 to 40 minutes return, they are ideal for mini hikers and their parents.
Did you know there’s a free DIY orienteering course at the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens? Neither did I!
Once there, all you need to get started is to scan the QR code, download the map and off you go. And beginners have no fear – phew – there’s an easy level. My map reading skills are very rusty these days, but orienteering is something I’d love my kids to have a crack at. An interactive Tree
Walk with YouTube videos was also launched in the botanical gardens last year, which sounds intriguing.
One of our favourite walks at East Point Reserve is the Mangrove Walk. The last bit of the walk is the highlight – a raised platform takes you through the middle of the mangroves and out to the harbour.
On a high tide the water laps at your feet just below the platform. Afterwards, make a beeline to the Salty Plum Café (weekends only) and sink into a beanbag, grab a cuppa and take in the views while the kids do some beach combing.
Fogg Dam, anyone? This is somewhere we take our interstate visitors who don’t have the time to get out to Kakadu. And every time we go, I always leave saying it’s so close and we should go more often.
I’m always impressed with how many birds we see and I reckon the viewing platforms are great. There are also a couple of really nice walking tracks, which are totally under rated in my book. Pack the scroggin!
And last, but not least, there’s Howard Springs. A little stroll to the springs is well worth it. The Howard Creek Walk, like the name suggests, meanders along Howard Creek. C
ombine these little walks with some zip-line action and a splash in the shady man-made rock pools at Howard Springs and you’ll have a winning, family friendly outing.
Happy hiking!
Image courtesy of George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens
Travel is, and has always been, Libby Larsen's passion and she believes that this shouldn’t stop when you have kids. Libby knows that the best travel advice and tips come from other parents and so she started Growing up Troppo. It has loads of inspiration about hip places to stay, play and eat with kids that, importantly, parents love too.
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