Trailbabies wanted!

Calling young outdoorsy families! Please feel free to pass this invitation on to anyone who might be interested. trailbabies[AT]gmx[DOT]net is a non-commercial emailing list as a simple way to connect young families who like to go tramping with their babies or toddlers, and those who would like to try it. Contrary to popular belief, hiking with babies or toddlers is doable, enjoyable and safe - if you do it right. It's not rocket science, it's just not very well known. Join us and try it! You will never look back. If you have experience yourself, tell us about it! We are no club, do not see ourselves as competition to clubs either, and it does not matter to us whether you are in a club or not. We are simply a group of like minded people who share experiences, tips and tricks and go bush together from time to time. Most of our activities are around Christchurch and occasionally across the South Island. There don't seem to be many parents who go tramping with their little ones - at least so far! We want to find and gather the few that do exist so we can learn from and with each other. We know you are out there, show yourself! Whether you are an experienced "baby tramper" or just love tramping but are not quite sure how to go about it with your baby or toddler, we would love to hear from you. Let us know if you would like to be added to our mailing list: Send an email to trailbabies[AT]gmx[DOT]net. Questions - email us as well! Happy trails! Trailbabies - going places together

Come and get to know some of "the others"! Just recently a few new families have contacted us; we take this as a good reason for another little outing to get to know each other. WHEN: Sunday 23. May 2010, 10AM WHERE: We meet at the car park at the bottom of Mt Vernon Park, in Huntsbury, off The Crescent - that is the low lying car park in the valley where the little creek is, not the one up on the ridge to the east. We will be there in all but the most terrible weather. Would be great to see you there! WHAT: We are planning to walk up the valley for as far as we all feel comfortable on the day, maybe up to the little shelter that can be reached in anywhere between fifteen and fourtyfive minutes depending on how keen the little ones are. If we feel like more, we can do that, but no pressure. For those who don't have much experience in walking with their babies: Just bring the usual stuff - things you would pack for an afternoon in Hagley Park like sunscreen, hat, warm clothes (and in rainy weather rain wear), snacks and some water. If you have a baby carrier, bring that too. If you can, bring an umbrella - they are sheer magic especially when walking with little ones, and can turn miserable conditions into a very enjoyable walk. See you there! Matt

Reminder for all outdoorsy families with babies, toddlers or young children! Come join us on a little walk, meet "the others", grab some new ideas and inspiration, share your experiences or just have a chat! THIS SUNDAY, 10AM, at the car park at the bottom of Mt Vernon Park, at the lower end of the Valley Track, off The Crescent, in Huntsbury. Come along! We're looking forward to get to know your family. Matt for the Trailbabies

THIS SUNDAY - Meet the Trailbabies! 10AM, car park at the bottom of the Valley Track in Mt Vernon Park, off The Crescent, Huntsbury. See you there! Cheers, Matt

...for anyone interested! This time we were out with six children between two and five which worked out really well - lots of playing, climbing around on the rocks, running through lots of bushes, and some good walking as well! First we walked up the Valley Track to the little shelter where we had a snack and play break. After that some of us had to go back for swimming class and the rest continued on up the valley towards the Summit Road. Our umbrellas kept us out of the wind during another snack and nappy break on the ridge with great views of the Lyttelton Harbour underneath black clouds, and then we walked down Rapaki Track, from where we cut across back to the car park via the Rogers Track. Although it looked very much like we might get wet on the last few metres, we didn't actually need to use rain gear this time around - bonus! On the way back down we couldn't help but plan the next trips already, which are in the making right now. I will post more information here when we know the dates - if you would like to join us, just send us an email! Have fun out there! Matt

Boulder Bay Miniwalk 6. June | Packhorse Hut Overnighter 12./13. June If any of the following sounds interesting to you, please send an email to trailbabies[AT]gmx[DOT]net! BOULDER BAY MINIWALK: On 6. June, we are walking from Taylor's Mistake to Boulder Bay and back. It will take us anywhere between three and four and a half hours, depending on how we feel on the day, and take us over cliffs with great views and through pine forest with a very cool swing hanging from a large tree! Boulder Bay itself is a tiny bay nestled into the steep coastline with a handful of small baches and a beautiful and quiet pebble beach. Lots of rocks to turn, sticks to float, and shags, seagulls and other sealife to see! You don't need a lot of experience to join us on this walk, but you do need warm clothing and rain gear for everyone - and your own food and drink for the duration of the trip, plus other things you would usually take for a half day's outing. In very wet weather, we will choose a shorter alternative in the area and learn how to deal with and enjoy a rainstorm - a useful skill for longer trips, and it makes the hot chocolate back home taste so much better! PACK HORSE HUT OVERNIGHTER: This trip is relatively easy walking but very typical New Zealand tramping nonetheless. It will take us through a mixture of different landscapes, amazing views over the Banks Peninsula, and at this time of year also quite a bit of mud and a few little creeks we may have to walk through - the latter, depending on rainfall, most likely below knee deep. Wet and muddy feet are almost guaranteed, but no crossing is dangerous on this track; if it would, we wouldn't do it and simply go back. It will likely take us between two and four hours to get to the hut. There is a lot to enjoy, experience and learn on this track, and we will come back home with a few new skills and boosted confidence for future adventures! IMPORTANT: I know it is short notice - if you want to join us on this overnighter, please contact me as soon as possible! We have to coordinate a few things and get to know each other to make sure we have a safe and enjoyable trip - to that end, we have a little prep dinner THIS MONDAY, 6PM. If you could come, that would be perfect; and it would also be good if you could join us on the Boulder Bay walk the weekend before, especially if you have relatively little experience. Just make contact with us now, and we'll take it from there! Looking forward to meeting you! Matt for The Trailbabies

...for anyone interested: Four Trailbabies and four parents had a very enjoyable warm rainwalk from Taylor's Mistake to Boulder Bay and back. We had no wind at all, spent some time on the swing in the trees near Boulder Bay and even more time experimenting with a new wood stove prototype which turned out to need more work, but boiled us some tea nonetheless. Puddles were splashed around in and lots of things got muddy, we learned something about walking on slippery ground, and then headed back home for a nice hot chocolate. A weekend later, six trailbabies and six adults found themselves shouldering their packs plus 4 armfuls of firewood at the bottom of the Kaituna Track on Banks Peninsula. It had been raining too much for the ranger to be able to get firewood up the four wheel drive track, so we had to bring our own. It was sunny and again there was almost no wind, so it was a slow but enjoyable walk up the track. Including a very serious cow patty stomping session, some creek crossing experiments and a lunch break, it took us about three hours to get to the hut, where we spent the afternoon and evening venturing around the hut, taking in the views over Lyttelton harbour, eating and enjoying the warmth of the log burner. After the weather turned over night, Sunday morning put our gear setup to the test with a little snow storm that we had to walk right into and fresh snow cover on the ground, making the way down pretty slippery. After a brief snowball fight, we decided to go for it, and made it back down to the cars in just one and a half hours. We learned heaps again on this trip, and the fact that we managed the cold weather on Sunday quite well makes us very confident that we'll have many more amazing trips in the future! We are planning already. As always, anyone interested in joining us on one of our Miniwalks or otherwise is very welcome to contact us - just send an email to trailbabies[AT]gmx[DOT]net. Happy trails! Matt for The Trailbabies

Even more Trailbabies walks! Miniwalks, half day walks, day walks and overnighters - curious? Contact us at trailbabies[at]gmx[dot]net and get ready for some trail action with your whole family! For the Miniwalks all you need to do is just show up on the day; for the others please get in touch with us before so we can organise a few necessary things together. General info for Miniwalks and Half Day walks: For those who don't have much experience in walking with their babies, toddlers or children: Just bring the things you would pack for an afternoon in Hagley Park, plus your baby carrier if you have one, a few snacks and water. If it should look like rain, bring an umbrella - they are sheer magic especially when walking with little ones, and can turn miserable conditions into a very enjoyable walk. Shoes: Anything from boots to sneakers works, as long as you stay away from flip-flops you should be fine. Please be aware that for anything longer than a half day walk, you will need proper rain gear and warm underwear for your whole family, plus at least a few other items; ask us if you are not absolutely sure and want to join us on longer trips. --------------------------------------------------------- !THIS! SUN 4.7. MEET THE TRAILBABIES MINIWALK - Mt VERNON --------------------------------------------------------- 10:30AM. At the car park at the bottom of Mt Vernon Park, off The Crescent, as marked in the maps attached to this email. On the lawn, at the bush edge, near the info sign, where the tracks begin. Sorry for the short notice! Weather will likely be great. One or two hours easy walking in the Porthills, visiting one or possibly two shelters in the area for a picknick and a few play breaks. If we feel like more, we can do that, but no pressure. Sheep counting along the way, and maybe a little fence climbing adventure too! --------------------------------------------------------- SAT-SUN 17./18.7. HUT OVERNIGHTER - LEWIS PASS AREA --------------------------------------------------------- For those of you who have a bit more experience, this can be a great trip. This time of year, you need to be even more prepared for tough weather than in summer, but it can be a very cool trip. The Lewis Pass area offers some great landscape to discover. If you're interested, please contact me so we can work out the details! --------------------------------------------------------- SUN 25.7. MEET THE TRAILBABIES MINIWALK - BARNETT CAVE --------------------------------------------------------- 10:30 AM. We meet in Barnett Park in Redcliffs, in the car park, on the lawn near the playground or in the playground itself, see the red circle in the maps attached to this email. It's an easy one hour walk to a cool large volcanic cave - BYO picknick included! --------------------------------------------------------- SUN 1.8. HALF DAY WALK - RYDE FALLS --------------------------------------------------------- A relatively short and easy walk to very cool falls in the forest, about one hour driving away from Christchurch. We'll take some picknick, spend some good time at the falls and then walk back to the cars. If you enjoyed one of our Miniwalks before, this would be a great next step up - you can even keep the falls a secret as a surprise for your children! If you want to join us, please contact me so we can work out some details. --------------------------------------------------------- SUN ?.?. DAYWALK - MT THOMAS --------------------------------------------------------- Steep, short and sweet! This is a quite strenuous and challenging but extremely rewarding climb to one of the highest peaks in the foothills of the Southern Alps at 1023 metres altitude with stunning 360 degree panoramic views that include the Kaikouras, the Southern Alps, the Canterbury Plains, Banks Peninsula, Christchurch and the sea! Due to altitude and for the views, this trip requires a good forecast on the last day before so we need to stand by ready to go for a few weeks until the right weekend comes along. It will definitely be worth it. If you feel that you want to do more than Miniwalks and half day walks like Ryde Falls and are keen to do some more serious walking on the trail, but are not quite sure about overnighters yet, this could be the one for you. Please contact me if you are interested in this walk, as a walk of this type needs some coordination of everyone involved. These should keep us busy for a while! Questions or suggestions, please email me. We are looking forward to seeing you all. Let's get out there! Matthias for The Trailbabies

Hi everyone, cross-post from "General Discussion" to give people who find this here the new link as well - Matthew, please remove this post if you would prefer that. Sorry it's been a while since I last posted an update about our activities here - that's simply because I don't have time to do that! We've been on a number of walks in the meantime, did a nice overnighter together, and learned a whole lot again. Summer is close now, and we're getting ready for some bigger trips! To collect family tramping specific knowledge and experiences in one single place, we have set up a specialised forum for tramping with babies, toddlers and children: http://www.trailbabies.net If you are interested, please feel invited to have a look around and, if you like what you see, sign up as a member and be part of everything right from the beginning! We are looking forward to get to know you. Happy trails! Matt for the Trailbabies

Hi again, my updates here about the activities of the Christchurch Trailbabies are getting less frequent; but that's only because we're busy doing walks and I have less time to spend in the forums! For anyone interested, here is a list of our next few upcoming trips and activities as a teaser. If you want to join us on some of these walks, send an email to trailbabies[at]gmx[dot]net or just show up to a Miniwalk or Half Day Walk at the stated time and place to get to know us first. After that, you can come to the longer walks as well. Note that we do change the destination and sometimes also the date of a trip on short notice to make the best of the weather at the time, so it is a good idea to get on our mailing list. This is a selection of what we're up to in January, February and a bit of March: 09-Jan-2011, 10AM Miniwalk Rapaki Track [2-3 Hrs] An easy family walk and great first step towards longer trips. It's actually the track that starts down in the valley by the car park. That's also where we meet. 14-Jan-2011 Peel Forest Camping Experience [1-2 Nights] Improve your camping skills with a nearby bach as backup. 23-Jan-2011, 10AM Boulder Bay Penguin Safari [Half Day Walk] Walk, picknick, and if we're lucky, Penguins. We meet at the car park at the beach at Taylor's Mistake. 26-Jan-2011, 10AM Miniwalk Bikes and Coffee [2-3 Hrs] A cruise for pilots of running bikes and little bicycles. We meet at the Netball Courts car park in Hagley Park. 06-Feb-2011 Red Hill [Day Walk] A fantastic walk to start exploring a more alpine environment. 11-Feb-2011 Banks Peninsula Double Nighter [2 Nights] Two and a half amazing days out exploring the tops of Banks Peninsula; probably one night tarping in the bush, one night in an open shelter. 13-Mar-2011, 11AM Miniwalk Avon Paddle [2-3 Hrs] A little "stroll" on the Avon River. We meet at the boat house where we will also rent the boats. If any of this sounds like you and your little ones, send us an email! Happy trails everyone! Matt