Nature Play / Travel Fit

Get the whole family exercising and enjoying nature

Anne @ Let Me Be Free19 Comments

Family exercising in nature

Continually I am hearing that Australian children are not exercising enough and not spending enough time outdoors. No more than two hours of screen time a day is recommended however only a third of our children are meeting this recommendation. Children who spend more time outside tend to be more physically active and less likely to be overweight.

Getting your children moving shouldn’t be a difficult task. If you initiate exercise then they will be willing to join in.  Lets set an example for our children and exercise as a family.

Here are a few ideas of ways you can get outdoors and incorporate exercise for the whole family.

Bushwalking

Going on a hike is a great way to enjoy nature and it also gets in your exercise. There are plenty of trails to be found and national parks to explore. Why not take the family out for a picnic and spend some time walking in the bush.

Make it a fun activity, recently I gave the kids a bucket and they went off looking for treasures. Filling their bucket with nuts, sticks, leaves and what ever else they could find. The kids used all the things they had collected to make patterns, shapes and pictures in their playdough.

Nature Play 050

Cycling

Get on your bike! It is a great way to explore, take a coastal ride, cycle around a lake or for the more advanced riders why not try a bit of mountain biking. Don’t forget your helmet.

Geocaching

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure hunting game using a GPS. You need to navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache hidden at that location.

Geocaches can be found all over the world and the locations can be quite diverse. They might be located at your local park, at the end of a long hike, underwater or on the side of a city street.

It is a great way to get the whole family moving to search for the Geocaching and you will also have lots of fun.

Day on the water

There are so many activities you can do on the water. Take a swim in the beach, snorkel, kayak, surf or paddle on a stand up board. You can even set up the stumps and have a game of beach cricket or simply take a walk on the beach.

North Beach

Kayak Blackwood river

Walk the dog

Get your four legged friend out and about, head down to your local park or to a dog beach. Even your dog will thank you for it!

Look for Wildflowers

Get the family outdoors and go in search of wildflowers. When the children have an activity I find they are enthusiastic and want to keep moving. Looking for wildflowers in the bush is a great way to get them excited plus they will learn about native plants.

Carnamah Wildflowers

Get the family together today, get outside, get active and get back to nature.

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19 thoughts on “Get the whole family exercising and enjoying nature”

  1. Great post and I couldn’t agree with you more. There’s really no excuse not to get outside and give our kids a balanced perspective on life, there’s so much beauty and fun to be found in nature. Geocaching is awesome! 🙂 Gorgeous pics.

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  2. Geocaching is a new one for me. It sounds a bit like a much more accurate version of the kind of treasure hunts I used to enjoy as a kid. I’ll bet kids nowadays enjoy it too. The more things change… 🙂

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  3. We were huge Geocaching fans. Did 30 in an hour and half for an event and then a further 27 in one day walking from Hillarys to Cottesloe. We kind of lost our mojo following a run in with a black snake and a swarm of bees. Must get back into soon. It’s such great incidental exercise and a perfect way to explore new territory.

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  4. I agree that more children need to be moving and yes, it comes from the parents. I think parents aren’t moving as much either so we all need to be getting up and going! I’d never heard of geocaching! What fabulous idea! The sun is out here (rare) so we’re off bike riding this afternoon with a playground visit as a reward. My boys need to use their energy for sure!

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  6. Saving this list for when my little one finally starts walking! I’ve never heard of geocoaching before – that’s on my to-do list as well. I love getting outdoors, I think we all go a little insane stuck indoors with kids.

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  8. Love this post Anne, I find it hard to believe that so many kids don’t get enough exercise. We’re living in the perfect place for so many outdoor adventures on our doorstep. Will have to try geocaching, I’ve heard a lot about it but never tried it.

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