My kids are city slickers. It’s my fault for not taking them out into nature more often. The fresh country air is supposed to be good for you but all they’ve known is the smell of the city. Don’t get me wrong, I always spoil them with trips to the roller skating rink or the zoo. Once we even went to see the penguins at Phillip Island. But one place I haven’t taken them to enough is the country.

We had a sneaky opportunity to go out to Tamworth last weekend because a friend of mine was getting her farm sheds and stables rebuilt and wanted to get out off the property while the builders did their thing. So we picked her up in the morning and went for a drive. Being from the area, she knew all the good places to visit and things we could do for the day. The kids were so excited. Even the sight of farm houses and sheds from the car window got them excited. When we drove past the fields of sheep and cows they were squealing with delight. We stopped off for lunch at a lovely spot near a creek and had a picnic. At that point my friend got a call from the stable builders. Tamworth garage companies are really efficient so they got the job done sooner than we’d anticipated. I had to drop my friend back home but the kids didn’t want to call it a day yet. We spend the rest of the afternoon at her property, while the kids fed the neighbour’s ponies through the fence. I had the hardest time calling them back when it was time to go home!

Our daytrip to the country really showed me the value of getting out of the city. I’m convinced it was therapeutic in some way for the kids. Perhaps I’ll take them to a wifelife reserve next time.