We love it when local mums reach out to us and want to share their favourite finds in the Shire. Today we have local mum of three Corie share with us her favourite way to spend a sunday with the kids.
For a while now I’ve been keen to share some local experiences my hubby and I have had with our 3 children Abby 6, Levi 4 and Jonah 2.
When I found the Mums of the Shire community I knew this was just the place to share. Why? Surely there are mums out there searching for that perfect outing where not only are the kids happy, stimulated, and growing from new experiences but Mum and Dad are also having fun!
They say happy kids, happy parents – but wouldn’t a little bit more – something for the parents, make it an even happier day for all? We think so.
Living in the Shire all my life, we know the play centres, cinemas, bowling alleys are a good rainy-day option but they can start to pinch your pocket. So where are those truly interactive shared back to basics experiences…. Sunday’s we like to be creative and try something outdoorsy, here are 3 local outings we have really enjoyed.
Family bike ride – Greenhills to Majestic Aquarium and back
Our 6-year-old and eldest child we have recently taught to ride a bike. Having 3 kids, this has now opened up so many new adventures for us. One of ours is finally a little independent.
With our 4 & 2 year old towed behind hubby in a bike trailer squealing with delight, we took off on our bike ride leaving Greenhills Beach along a designated flat bike path. This path is great on a Sunday when the locals are all heading into Cronulla itself, we are heading out along this path all the way to Shark Park, and onto the path that runs alongside the mangroves.
The kids are excited as we have promised them a stop at Majestic Aquariums in Taren Point to view the fish and shark tank! And if they are really good we might even buy them a little fish each for their tank.
We ride all the way there, purchase our little fish whileour 4-year-old very excitingly sits there nursing the fish in the bike trailer for the return trip back to Greenhills.
So you can imagine by now our daughter on her bike is getting a wee little tired, nothing a little encouragement with the temptation of an ice cream to be purchased at the local Petrol station won’t fix. Woolies Express delivers! We arrive back at Greenhills 1.5 hours later, new fish, relaxed, exercised and all very satisfied with our little adventure.
Splashing at Salmon Haul
Its sunny, but sometimes a tad chilly for a proper swim, yet we know that if we are at the beach we are all happy. Salmon Haul, at the far southern end of Cronulla is just far enough away from the crowds that it’s still easy to park.It’s nice to feel like whilst you’re in Cronulla still but remote enough that you can relax and pretend you are a world away from it all.
I love everything about the beach, the smell, the feel of the sand, but mostly the sensory hit of the sensational scenery we have along our south Sydney coastline. The kids love the usual sandcastle building, wading and splashing in the water, shell collecting (my daughter) and rock collecting (the boys).
In fact we excite the kids even more about this experience with the promise of painting funny faces on the rocks they collect when we return home.). Families with older kids we noticed were enjoying exploring and walking through the rocks at the end of the beach. After we had had enough of splashing we headed up for a little play at the playground just at the top. I don’t recall ever really seeing any other kids play here – although I’m sure they do! It’s one of the original little playgrounds in the area, with a cute little bucket on a pulley system, and some cool climbing ropes.
Breakfast – Cook at Kurnell
Sometimes it’s nice to not cook and clean up after breakfast at home. We had heard about this cool little food truck, it had been likened to the Hawaiian style food truck experience, let’s give it a go hey! For our family of 5 – or would be perfect for a family of 8 even, it’s just the place.
The whole café is outdoors, find yourself a big picnic table and order from the food truck.
Whilst we were here in Kurnell we may as well enjoy the beautiful sunshine. We had packed scooters, the kids scooted off along the new path south towards the end of the road, and the little park where there was a couple of swings (and bonus there are bathrooms also). We scooted back towards silvers beach, where we parked up and had a little play in the sand. What a great fun filled morning!!
What are our favourite local finds to spend a family day with the kids?
About me…my name is Corie Cowan, 36, I am a mum of 3, wife, sister and an Insurance & Risk advisor.
I enjoy a balanced life. I know I am extremely fortunate to have not only a beautiful healthy family along with a career I enjoy.
I work 3-4 days a week, and the other days I love to spend with the kids, family and close friends. I always have 2 holidays booked usually up to a year ahead and love everything about travel – talking about it, reading about it, scrapbooking about places id love to go (I am so much of a dork with this I created a scrapbook when we had our first child for ideas of place to travel with Children – I wasn’t willing to let kids hold me back from these great experiences). A great day for me is a lie in, breakfast out, a good coffee a swim in the ocean and ending the day with a glass of Chardonnay and a good meal (that someone else cooks for me!).
