APRIL SCHOOL HOLIDAY IDEAS
Kids are so great, until they’re bored and then they have the potential to be world class pains the bum. And yes, we know you can give them an iPad and let them watch endless videos or play games or whatever, but come on, get ‘em outside doing stuff in nature!
And yeah, yeah, we also know it’s not as easy as giving them that iPad and the keys to the world wide web, but who knows, you might even enjoy the fresh air as well, so here’s a few suggestions to enjoy The Awesomest outdoor and nature stuff for the kidlets this April School Holidays.
So let’s get awesome:
1. Wild beginnings at the zoo & monarto safari park.
Both Adelaide Zoo and Monarto Safari Park have a Wild Beginnings thing going on. It’s basically a self-guided list of activities you can do based around some of the bubba animals they have which currently include hyenas, a baby giraffe, and some cotton-top tamarins who legit have the best hairdos ever.
Hot Tip: If your budget doesn’t stretch to actually going, you can always head on over to the zoos website and vote to name the baby animals! (We’re voting for Giraffey McGiraffeface!) There’s quite a few babies so that should keen ’em busy for a few minutes.
Check out their websites for a few other activities they have going with Conversation with a Keeper, some art stuff and other activities.
2. grab your teddy, it’s picnic time!
Who doesn’t love a Teddy Bear’s Picnic? No, wait, don’t answer that. Probably not everyone’s cup of tea, but Teddy will definitely have a cuppa if you Teddy Bear’s Picnic at Botanic Gardens on April 14. With some music courtesy of the SA Police Band who’ll playing a selection of well know hits and movie themes that’ll have everyone tapping their toes. If you happen to miss this specific picnic, you can always have your own – try the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, or if you can dodge the over enthusiastic instagrammers, check out the Autumn colours at Mt Lofty Botanic Garden!
3. the museum will be a real buzz.
Make a bee-line to the South Australian Museum these school holidays for a hands-on workshop all about North Terrace’s buzziest residents.
Learn all about one of nature’s hard-working pollinators: the humble bee! Join Xandra from Xannie’s Bees in the Discovery Centre where you’ll create your own bee-themed plant pot to take home and encourage pollination in your own backyard. Have a sticky-beak at the Museum’s 90-year-old bee colony living in their observation beehive, try on some beekeeping gear, and grab a taste of honey straight from the hive!
(And hey, no one likes a smart ass, but we’re gonna go out on a limb and say they’re not bees in that picture. Could be wrong.)
4. fancy a drive? and a snorkel.
There’s always cool stuff to do at our national parks, (here’s a list of 30 things ranging from “sure, why not?” right through to “heck no!” to inspire you) and if you didn’t already know, they also have this whole ‘Park of the Month‘ thing where there’s specific events going on at particular park. In April it’s Lower Eyre Peninsular Parks (ie Port Lincoln neck of the woods) so sure, it’s a bit of a drive, but if you’re up for it, they’ve got heaps of cool activities to check out. There’s kayaking, a rockpool search, bird watching, tree planting, and a few different snorkel activities including looking for seahorses at Port Lincoln Jetty and bloody hell, you had us at Seahorses!!!!
5. how about an awesome playground adventure?
Playgrounds have come a long way since we were burning our arses on steel slippery dips and from the monkey bars onto some old car tyres and honestly, who ever thought that was a good idea? Now playgrounds are pretty whiz bang, and some of our favourites are Mukanthi at Morilata, the one at St Kilda with the cool pirate ship whatever that’s called, and there’s some pretty cool new ones at Thorndon Park Reserve in Paradise, Glenthorn in O’Halloran Hill and Golden Fields at Golden Grove. There’s a few other ones on this list you may want to check out too. You could totally do a playground crawl!
6. still bored?
Geez Louise, difficult to please much? You could also try Tree Climb (we did a REEL on that one when they opened at Kuitpo), you could do a Dolphin Sanctuary Kayak Tour, or… ah… just give them the iPad while you sit back, relax and have a cup of tea.
