When kids turn into ducks...

In some places you can access a coral reef from a beach (for instance Heron Island). This can be daunting for kids, though, so I suggest giving them a pool noodle as floatation. They put this under their armpits and across their chest. Try to stay flat on the surface, hold hands if you need to, and slowly kick until you reach the reef.  

Make sure you tell the kids not to touch the reef since coral is sharp and, believe it or not, some of it stings.

For your first time, keep in deep enough water that you are unlikely to kick the reef, even when coming up to chat and if kids get water in their mask, ask them to tread water with their noodle while you slowly pull the bottom of the mask away from their face and let the water out. There’s no really need to take it off their head. If they need to stand up, swim to shallow water and look down before standing.

Now, it’s possible the kids will get the hang of this really quickly and become immersed in watching tropical fish. Even with teens, it’s important that they buddy up and stick with their buddy at all times. Once they feel comfortable, discard the noodle and explore together. AND if the become real fish, they can try diving down to get closer to the coral. To do this, they simply hold their breath, do a duck dive and hold enough breathe in their lungs to exhale when they come up. 

When they reach the surface again, a short, sharp ‘TSS’ into their snorkel will push the water out the top, or through the purge valve at the bottom, and they can breathe again…

There is something absolutely magical about snorkeling. Time suspends and the sound of breath in and out is almost meditative.  Only three more sleeps and I get to show Amber how it works! I’ll tell you next week!

Getting wet

Now, it’s time to get wet! In the pool, or in the bath tub are the best places to start getting kids comfortable. To reduce fogging, spit in your mask and wash it around then rinse. If this is too gross for kids, very diluted soapy water (dish soap) does the same thing.

Get their hair wet first and place the mask, making sure not hair finds its way inside to break the seal. Keep the strap high on their head and slowly put just their face in the water. Tell them to keep their mouth closed around the snorkel and breathe through it like a straw. No laughing, because the water will come in around their laugh lines! Don’t bother with fins at this stage. When they feel comfortable with breathing they can try swimming at the same time.

When they feel comfortable with that, I suggest you graduate to a calm beach. Still, don’t use fins for a while. Walk up to their waists, put the mask on and do just what they did in the pool. The visibility at the beach is likely to be much worse than the pool and this takes getting used to.

Next step, put on fins. There are two ways to do this: first, on the sand, then walk backwards into the water. Second, if the water is nice and calm, walk up to their waist holding the fins and put them on while in the water. I suggest a pair of socks because this stops the rubbing…

Now, the idea is to try and lay flat on the surface with their face in the water and slowly kick up and down with their legs, keeping their legs (and fins) underwater. The more splash, the fewer fish they will see, and the more tired they will get.  Practice this in an area they can stand up at first but be very careful where you stand if you have to stand up. Fins are responsible for enormous reef damage, and this is why it’s important to have control before exploring the reef.

Tomorrow, let’s talk about actually snorkeling on coral reefs together!

Heron Island here we come!

So, there I was this morning, digging through the summer toys looking for snorkels and masks. Why, you ask?  This weekend we are off for a couple of night at Heron Island and it’s a place I have long wanted to go… lounging on the beach, watching turtles nest, snorkeling with tropical fish at the place where two currents meet and the range of species is extraordinary.

As dug through all manner or paraphernalia, it occurred to me you might be intending to snorkel with the kids this summer too… so, I thought I might help you along the road. (I used to teach kids to snorkel on the Barrier Reef and Hawaii, so I probably know what I’m talking about…). Today let’s talk about buying the gear…

First there are the  fins and we all know how quickly kids’ feet grow. If you are planning to snorkel with tour operators I don’t recommend buying your own. They will have plenty of sizes to fit most kids. Just check ahead for availability if your kids’ feet are on the extremely small side.

When it comes to masks, however, I really recommend getting a properly fitted one for each child. There is NOTHING guaranteed to turn kids off snorkeling faster than an ill-fitting mask. Things to watch out for are that the silicone is small enough to fit their face. Hold the mask up against them, without the strap and ask them to breathe in. If it stays there, it fits.

When you get your new mask home, clean out the inside of it with toothpaste. This removes the thin layer of silicon and reduces fogging.

Then there’s the snorkel… and one of the most uncomfortable parts of snorkeling is the mouthpiece, especially for kids. Most ‘off the shelf’ snorkels come with a large mouthpiece. Luckily these can usually be replaced and I suggest taking your mask to a dive shop and buying a small mouth piece for a few dollars.

Now you’ve got your gear, it’s time to learn the basics… doing this right first time can be the difference between comfortable kids and fearful ones, so I’ll share my tips for getting in the water tomorrow! 

Photo courtesy Tourism Queensland

Live and waiting

 Well, the dust has settled and it has now been a week since the launch of www.kidswelcome.com.au at UnderWater World on the Sunshine Coast.  And what a successful launch it was…

Over 100 people (half of them kids) arrived around 6pm and were greeted at the door by my wonderful team of PR students from the University of the Sunshine Coast.  While adults mingled and swapped holiday stories, the kids were whisked away to the seal viewing area for dinner, and divided into scavenger hunt teams… red, blue, green and yellow then set off with clipboards in hand and a exploration booklet. How exciting it was to be in this iconic attraction at night, without anybody else so they went a little wild and ran from clue to clue!

Upstairs, adults gathered in the Turtle Theatre where local celebrities shared their thoughts about Kids Welcome.  MP Fiona Simpson applauded the ingenuity, Sunshine Coast Destination Limited representative Tony Quarmby called it ‘unique in the western world’ and Councillor Debbie Blumel reflected on how far things have come since the launch of Kids Welcome to Queensland in 2009. After I showed everyone through the site, it was officially declared open by Channel 7 New’s Rosanna Natoli…

Now it was time to explore UnderWater World at night. Parents and children were united to wander through the shark tunnel, wander through the Billabong and spot ‘Nemo’ in an anemone.

The evening wrapped up with a prize giving for the winning scavenger hunt team and a prize draw for tickets to local attractions. 

So, now the web directory is officially open. It includes over 2000 reviews of things to do with kids in Queensland, NSW and the ACT with more states to follow soon. It’s free to use and you can even upload your own reviews and images to help other parents make good choices for their own kids. I have provided the framework and it’s up to you, the user, to determine the direction this resource takes.

I’d love it if you can log on and give me an insider’s view of those places you most love….

Kids Welcome web directory live!

Today’s the day I have been waiting for… 

The Kids Welcome web directory is now live!

Five years of travelling around this beautiful country and writing reviews (someone has to do it) has finally resulted in a parental resource of which I am very proud.

Why did it take so long? Because I had big ideas, and the bigger the dream, the longer it takes for it to reach fruition! The result is a site with over 2000 reviews (for starters) a unique traffic light rating system, the ability for you to share your own holiday images and videos, and even become a Kids Welcome reviewer yourself! I invite you to become part of the Kids Welcome community.

Today I wanted to share some of the journey with you… starting with a night in 2006. It was a night I couldn’t sleep (which is pretty unusual for me). Ideas were flooding through my consciousness and I couldn’t resist so I sat by my keyboard and tapped ideas. By morning I had a blueprint for my next few years:

I wanted to write guidebooks to make it easier for parents and children to explore the world around them. This desire was born from a childhood of travel and a belief that kids learn just as much outside a classroom as within.

The problem was, I didn’t really know how to write. So I called my local university and discovered they had a Master’s degree program in journalism starting in a few weeks. Impetuously, I signed up and spent the next three years learning and cutting my teeth at the local paper. Eventually I graduated in 2009 with a Master’s degree and a job as a local magazine editor. Later that year I published my first guidebook, Kids Welcome to Queensland.

Environmental disasters in Queensland this year, and the demise of my biggest retailers caused a rethink of the business. I am glad it did because the Kids Welcome web directory is the result. Now I can reach more families than ever before.

Not only that, but the range of ways to use Kids Welcome reviews has expanded from print only to print, pdf and soon even to a phone app.

A few years ago now, a young couple printed a small book called “Across Asia on the cheap” in their Melbourne garage. Fast forward and the fledgling company they created is still called Lonely Planet. They are my inspiration…the sky’s the limit!

Chock-late!

My world flashed before my eyes… or more exactly, the nearby camp site (looming larger by the second) flashed before my eyes. A glint of a high chair, flash of campfire and three four-wheel drives standing like gate posts between me and them.

I was careening down a slope, dragged behind me runaway trailer and trying desperately to act as the brake and avoid disaster. Moments before, the world had been serene as I chose what appeared to be a flat clearing and unhooked from the car.  Needless to say, it wasn’t as flat as I had thought and lifting the trailer arms had caused enough momentum to start a roll which didn’t stop.

“HELP!” I screeched at the top of my lungs to my fellow campers. They rushed forward in slow motion as I continued down the hill: a drogue in a sea of gravel.

Doesn't look like a slope!

It ended as quickly as it started with a grinding thud as the trailer met one of the cars: denting both. All I could think of at that moment was “Thank you”. I had missed the baby, missed the happy campers, and only wiped out one of the three cars.

Yes, I had left a fair chunk of my leg in the gravel, and yes, I had made a very silly mistake by not chocking my tyres, yet everything that mattered was still in one piece.  The lesson was learnt without trauma and I am now the owner of a brand new set of bright yellow chocks… soon to be mounted on the outside of the trailer like warning beacons!

Hail Port Stephens!

Sometimes we meet amazingly warm people when we are camping. One of these was Tars from Port Stephens Tourism who kindly helped us book a few activities before we arrived. Not only that, but he met us at our first activity and took pictures of us launching into the sky on a tandem parasail. 

To thank Tars for his support, we invited him and his son to join us for a sausage sizzle at our campsite one evening. All sounds pretty manageable… and that’s what we thought…

Our days were packed as we rushed from Oakdale Farm to the Toboggan Hill, and from the Australian Shark and Ray Centre to Sahara Trail Rides. As it neared time for our guests to arrive we ran into the shopping centre to grab a few last minute goodies.

It was then the forces of nature dumped celestial buckets on Port Stephens. Not only that, but hail, well, hailed down. The cacophony inside the supermarket was deafening and the 10 metre run to our car left us totally drenched. 

As we approached Fingal Bay Holiday Park trepidation set in. It looked like a refugee camp. Tents were strewn across the lawn, disheveled campers wandered around picking up errant pieces of caravans.
Gratefully, our camper trailer (Blueberry Pie) was where we had left it. Our kind neighbours had lashed it to a nearby tree and pole breakage was minimal. Our welcoming shade cloth mat was covered in debris and it looked like a stream had run through our campsite. Every single thing was wet. It was 10 minutes before our guests arrived.

Now, if you have ever wondered what if feels like to be on one of those reality TV shows with the clock ticking… this was it. Amber and I raced around in high speed motion and JUST got things together in time to start sizzling a sausage and hand our guest a glass of wine. We must have looked a sight…. Our rain jackets still on, soaked to the bone, but smiling!

And what a lovely evening it was. A lovely conversation for me, someone for Amber to impress on her scooter, and tales to tell for years to come!