Autumn is definitely on the way so before too long, the nights will be drawing in and it'll be getting cold and wet. I'm trying to make the most of these last vestiges of summer by getting out and about as much as possible. I asked Madhouse Daddy if he was up for a spot of geocaching and when he said he was, I decided to go to Parc Galamé, an amazing park about 15 minutes from our house.
I love this park because it combines everything you need for a great day out and it's totally free. The fact that someone had gone round hiding a whole series of geocaches was just the icing on the cake !
Unsurprisingly, the kids wanted to start off at the play area - they've had a revamp but still kept this really old fashioned-looking merry-go-round which is always hugely popular with kids of all ages.
Then we doubled back to the more wild part of the park because I'd seen that there was a big geocache lurking here somewhere. Pierre asked to be in charge of the GPS and proudly carried the treasure bag too !
We soon found the box, after a baby frog jumped out of the undergrowth and gave me a heart attack, much to the delight of everyone else !
I was excited to see that there was a travelbug lurking in the box. It's always great fun picking these up and seeing where they've been before helping them on their way. This one started in Germany before going to Portugal, England and France - I wonder where it will go next.
The kids had fun trying out the exercise equipment along the way !
We wandered through the little garden and spotted this enormous metallic ladybird.
Followed by this equally big rabbit, hopping around minding his own business !
Who's that trip-trapping over my bridge ?!
The park has a collection of animals that you can wander round and stroke. We saw sheep.
Madhouse Daddy got friendly with the geese. (Sophie avoided these ones - she has a bit of a goose-phobia after being pecked on the bum and chased by a goose when she was small - it still makes me laugh when I remember it !)
The goats are always very friendly.
As was the horse.
The donkey stayed over the far side eating the grass though.
We went hunting through the undergrowth for more geocaches - Pierre found one behind this tree stump.
Despite hanging off the bridge and scrambling down the slopes, Madhouse Daddy didn't find this one though !
Some were very well camouflaged.
We headed into the woodland.
Sophie needed a quick rest !
Juliette took control of the GPS !
And we found this ingenious cache hidden up a tree. You had to unwind the string to lower it down from the branches on a pulley !
Despite being a big one, there wasn't much in it apart from a logbook, so we filled it up with treasures from our own bag. (It's a great way of clearing out all the little bits at the bottom of the toyboxes and rehoming McDonald's happy meal toys still in their bags !)
Time for a last visit to the play area.
Where do they get all their energy from ?!
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