Overnight Hike with 6 Year Old Tasmania

Tasmania specific bushwalking discussion.
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Overnight Hike with 6 Year Old Tasmania

Postby familyhiking » Sat 04 Nov, 2017 2:21 pm

Hi,

I am just wanting some advice. My husband and I have done plenty of overnight hiking prior to having our now 6 year old. We are all headed to Tasmania for about three weeks in late December / early January. We are keen to do some overnight hikes (weather permit) even stay out for two nights?? We will only have him carry his water and sleeping bag. My husband and I will carry the rest between us. He loves hiking and taking our time, to pick up sticks, look at ants, throw rocks into creeks etc........we can easily cover 8 to 10km in one day ( I don't want to do anymore than this).

Having experienced the best of Tasmanian weather when doing other Tasmanian multiday hikes (snow, sleet, fog with no vision 8-). I have always had the appropriate gear, so been fine.....I am just a bit nervy with our son.

I would love to walk up into walls of Jerusalem (camp at wild dog ) and then if weather looks ok........maybe spend another night there. Are we crazy attempting this with a six year old?

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for some good overnight / or two night hikes in Tassie which would suit us.

Thanks
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Re: Overnight Hike with 6 Year Old Tasmania

Postby taswegian » Sat 04 Nov, 2017 4:11 pm

Short answer go for it.
But. I'm Tasmanian with same kids, living in a much colder part of country to your place.
I took our youngsters out at an early age and The Walls included. Lea's Paddocks too. Latter flat by comparison.

Advantage you have is there's mum and dad. For me, mum was home looking after the rest of the clan.
Added extra responsibility and weight to carry.
Initially I carried all except her raincoat, Jumper, plus a small package of grub. Emergency rations we called it.
Plus a Whistle. And on a lanyard, round the neck slipped inside the shirt. Please.
(emergencies can happen and it doesn't take much effort to blow one)

There's a lot written on this site taking small kids bush in Tasmania and I'm sure you'll find support in the positive.

Obvious thing here is snakes. So a constant lookout is advisable, but as feared as they are they respect us and generally just slip out of site.

I know how much pleasure I got from taking my younger kids out and showing them first hand what they'd grown up with through 'not another sideshow' as I'd review the last trip when the slides returned from Kodak. Actually they did enjoy that side too.
I'm sure your your young son will enjoy The Walls.
I've found those memories stick and are still strong today with them.
Enjoy it.
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Re: Overnight Hike with 6 Year Old Tasmania

Postby geoskid » Sat 04 Nov, 2017 11:06 pm

Yep , You would be fine to take your 6 yr old wherever you wanted , given your combined experience to make decisions.
Critical Thinking.. the awakening of the intellect to the study of itself.
http://www.criticalthinking.org/
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Re: Overnight Hike with 6 Year Old Tasmania

Postby ChrisJHC » Sun 05 Nov, 2017 8:24 am

Consider having them not carry the sleeping bag, but rather a raincoat, some food, a whistle, etc just in case.
Also, I found it helpful for them to carry their favourite stuffed toy - particularly for the night.


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Re: Overnight Hike with 6 Year Old Tasmania

Postby familyhiking » Sun 05 Nov, 2017 8:11 pm

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't thought far enough ahead yet to think of the emergency situation and a whistle etc. I will definitely take the advice on the whistle around the neck. Also makes much more sense for him to carry jumper, raincoat and some emergency food as (not the emergency food) but raincoat and jumper are frequently accessed throughout a walking day and easier to get it out of his than try and get my stuff and his, out of my pack!!

I will have a look at the other topics which discuss hiking in Tassie with kids as well.

We bought a new tent for our new adventures ( so we can all fit in)...........so hopefully it lives up to expectations.........I don't know what we are going to do if he doesn't love hiking 8-)
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Re: Overnight Hike with 6 Year Old Tasmania

Postby taswegian » Sun 05 Nov, 2017 8:48 pm

Could you try the new tent on back lawn and suggest he gives it a go too.?
Its a different experience to the comfort of his own bed.
Suggest dad (or mum) just wants to try it out and perhaps he'd like to too, and if that's not enticing then suggest mum come too.

The favored stuffed toy (God don't refer to 'it' as that...), 'Horace' might like to come too.
Seriously that's something not to be overlooked, even if you bring 'it' along without his knowing on the trip and he materialises when you arrive. As ChrisJHC says.
Once you get out in the scrub it's a bit late when there's a whimper of 'I want....' and he's back home.
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Re: Overnight Hike with 6 Year Old Tasmania

Postby Strider » Mon 06 Nov, 2017 8:05 am

Definitely agree with the toys. We also take a favourite board game for after dark/before bed in the tent. Also, try to link some novelties with the experience. I've never seen someone so excited about eating pasta out of a packet while wearing stripey thermals! Also letting them use some of your gear makes them feel more like a "real bushwalker" - my 4yo son loves to use one of my trekking poles, also headtorches, sporks and other special bushwalking-only things.

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Re: Overnight Hike with 6 Year Old Tasmania

Postby familyhiking » Mon 06 Nov, 2017 2:12 pm

Thanks everyone. I will definitely pack the favorite teddy bear. We are already one step ahead of you guys on the tent. The backyard adventure has already begun (more also so that we got practice putting it up and down). We have planned to use in a couple of weekends time to test out in the wild. But Queensland (unless you are in a thunder storm) rarely gets the changeable weather like Tassie, so time will only tell in Tassie as to how it goes (well hopefully for this first one we luck out and get good weather - wishful thinking I know!!).
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Re: Overnight Hike with 6 Year Old Tasmania

Postby eaglehawk » Wed 08 Nov, 2017 10:03 am

There's aslo Freycinet and Scott Kilvert Hut.

Make sure he keeps the whistle on at camp, that's the most risky time, you're busy setting up, he's exploring...

Have fun!
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Re: Overnight Hike with 6 Year Old Tasmania

Postby familyhiking » Wed 08 Nov, 2017 12:46 pm

Thanks eagle hawk. The Scott Kilvert Hut wall looks awesome. I will look into it further. Good tip on whistle and around camp. It is too true.. they go adventuring when you are busy setting up camp!!
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Re: Overnight Hike with 6 Year Old Tasmania

Postby Son of a Beach » Wed 08 Nov, 2017 1:57 pm

For Scott Kilvert... I was just in there with my kids last weekend (they are 9yo and 11yo). They are experienced walkers (for their age), carry all of their own gear except for their sleeping bag, and it took them 4 hours to walk in via Lake Wilks and Face Track, and 3 hours to walk out via Hansons Peak. Both of these routes require scrambling on some very steep rock faces (but there is a chain to hold onto on the steepest parts). My wife nearly freaked out a bit at one point, watching our youngest scramble up the steep bit above Lake Wilks.

I'm not much of a hut person, but Scott Kilvert is a good one. However, it is often very crowded. My kids did not like the hut as they are not used to sharing a 'bedroom' with strangers (and there was only one other family group of three friendly people while we were there).
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Re: Overnight Hike with 6 Year Old Tasmania

Postby ebanna » Thu 21 Dec, 2017 7:18 am

We just came back from the walls of jerusalem. We have 3 kids, 7,9 and 11 and they have been hiking and carrying packs since the youngest was 5. I'd say definitely go for it, it's an amazing walk and a 6yo should be able to do it quite easily. The hard part is the ascent to trappers hut. We stopped for jelly beans once on the way. If your son isn't used to it there may be more jelly bean stops than that, but really, it's not very long. It took us about 1.5hrs to do that part. And then another couple of hours walking, roughly, to get to wild dog. Do consider going on to dixon's kingdom if you have another night, it's such a beautiful walk and the campsite is idyllic. In good weather- keep an eye on the forecast. I had telstra reception at the track turnoff to solomon's temple.

My two cents is don't worry about snakes or any other unlikely (but plausible) accidents. Everything in life carries risks and there's no point worrying about all of them. Just explain what to do if he sees one and some basic precautions like watching where he's stepping when he goes over logs (good luck there- our kids never watch where they're stepping). We gave then whistles when we walked in Fraser island as we were worried about dingoes. They fell in love with them, constantly played with them, drove us insane with the blowing, then promptly lost them. We certainly don't bother with them any more.

I asked my 11yo if he has any further advice and he said, 'make sure they go to the pool of bethesda'. I agree, it's a two minute side trip. To put it in perspective, a couple was at Dixon's with a 13 month old.

In short, definitely go for it! :)
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Re: Overnight Hike with 6 Year Old Tasmania

Postby Gadgetgeek » Thu 21 Dec, 2017 10:08 pm

Lots of good advice so far. The more responsibility you give now, ie, carrying the things he wants, looking after gear, not loosing things, the better off he will be. It still possible to get kids outdoor and helicopter them, and not let any consequences happen, which is just as bad as doing the same at home (or possibly more dangerous since it leads to a lack of self preservation) Each kid is different, and I've worked with all kinds, from the fearless to the overly fearful, and the cure is reality. You sound like you have a good plan in place so far, so good luck!
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