A school holiday tramping programme helps kids gain confidence and skills from their grandparents.

The snowstorm was gathering intensity and the decision was made to close Mt Ruapehu. As skiers cleared off the slopes, a resort worker started to sweep the gullies to make sure no one was left in the whiteout. To his surprise, he found a party of young children accompanied by their grandparents making their way down Tennants Gully from a club hut. All were happily rugged up and concentrating on their footing. He checked the group was okay and they continued their walk to the car park. 

The worker had stumbled across something quite remarkable: Grandparents’ School Holiday Programme, an initiative that sees grandparents tramping with their grandchildren during the school holidays. For the kids, it’s great fun. For the grandparents, it’s about spending time with their mokopuna while introducing them to tramping. For the children’s working parents, it’s a valuable holiday programme. For everyone involved, it’s been an astounding success. 

“I’ve always had a passion for getting kids out into the natural environment,” says Peggy Munn, who started the programme at Tararua Tramping Club (TTC). “It’s great for children’s physical and mental health to be firmly connected with the natural world. The kids lead busy lives and it’s often hard for parents to get them into the outdoors, so the best solution is for us retired people to take them out during school holidays.”

The programme has been running for around three years and the kids in her group range from six to 12. Another group does trips with under-fives. It started with easy overnight tramps but, as the grandkids grew, so too did the trips. Past trips have been to TTC’s hut in the Orongorongo Valley near Wellington, camping at Battle Hill near Porirua, and to the TTC club lodge at Mt Ruapehu, scene of the memorable snowstorm descent. 

“It was windy; we were holding on to the youngest children,” says Munn. “But the kids trusted us. There wasn’t a hint of worry.” 

While parents work, their kids have fun and games.

Establishing relationships between grandchildren and grandparents is the essence of the programme. With different dynamics at play, it can be both rewarding and challenging. “They come from different families, with different parenting models,” says Munn. “Sometimes you spend a bit of time reassuring the parents that their kids will be alright. We’ve been accused of being irresponsible on occasion, which we take as high praise!”

Munn says some parents are not trampers themselves and can find it hard to let their kids go into the bush with Grandma and Grandad. “We all know grandparents can be pretty relaxed with rules, but that’s our job,” laughs Munn. 

But kid-wrangling can be hard work, even for a seasoned expert like Munn. She admits that the kids have a wide range of abilities, all of which have to be catered for. “Some almost need to be on a leash; others you have to encourage to take a few risks. But all have a great time.” 

The programme operates informally. “We have an email group. As school holidays approach, we find out who’s available and choose a place to go.”

One aim is to give the children a range of life experiences. Electronic devices and cell phones are banned. 

“I look at my lovely grandkids and they are incredibly tech-savvy,” says Munn. “They play sport on the weekends, but they don’t have a lot of downtime to get connected with the bush. This is one way to address that.”

Zach (11) and Lucy (9), children of Munn’s daughter Sarah Blundell, have been on seven or eight tramps with their grandparents and are looking forward to many more. 

Lucy says the snowstorm on Mt Ruapehu was probably her favourite tramp, despite the blizzard feeling like “frozen needles on my face”. 

She says the food, the games, the adventure and the chance to hang out with Grandma and Grandad in the outdoors are the best parts. 

“We always have a lot of fun,” says Lucy. “Once we did a talent quest, and another time we invented a game where you run into the hut and climb out the window, and do it over and over again.” 

Peggy Munn has a passion for getting kids outdoors.

Zach has his own favourite memories, most of which seem to involve hearing Grandad’s swearword-infused poems. “There was also the time it took me 30 minutes to eat a jam sandwich because of the cold. It wasn’t fun at the time, but hearing Grandma retell the story is always fun. And then there was Harry in the toilet, when …” But Lucy interrupts, calling out, “Don’t tell that story!” We may never know …

As you would expect, food is often a highlight. Lucy remembers incredible gingerbread cake made by one of the grandmas, and spag’ bol’ and chicken stir fry are always winners. But life’s culinary luxuries aren’t solely for the youngsters. These grandparents are no dummies, and once the kids are settled and out playing games, it’s time to break out the wine and cheese. 

“We usually sit back and leave the kids to it,” says Munn. “They’ll be outside inventing all sorts of amazing games. We don’t need to organise activities, they’ll be playing hide and seek or building huts by the river, sometimes they’ll forget it’s even lunchtime.”

Zach and Lucy are learning that tramping means being part of a team, and that means washing up. “If you don’t volunteer, you get ‘voluntold’,” says Lucy, ruefully. 

Sarah Blundell (right) says the holiday programme is a huge help and her kids love it.

For mum Sarah, the trips play an important role in her children’s development. “Grandparents have such great conversations with the kids on these trips, and we notice that afterwards. The kids open up and talk to us more now when we’re walking. It also teaches them resilience and tolerance. Sometimes the walks are long and hard, but they learn to keep going until they get there. We really notice that coming out in other elements of their lives.”

Sarah and husband Rory both work busy full-time jobs. Holiday help from her parents has always been appreciated, but she says the value of this programme goes far beyond babysitting. 

“The kids really have built a unique relationship with their grandparents. But they also meet other kids’ grandparents and of course other kids, so they’re getting many different interactions and personal experiences. It’s always good when kids have the influence of other adults in their lives.” 

Munn says that doing a programme like this with a tramping club has several advantages. Logistically, they have access to the club’s van, which allows the group to travel together. It also guarantees a pool of grandparents and grandkids. 

“Tramping clubs often have grandparents who have grandkids nearby,” says Munn. “I really do    recommend this to other clubs.” 

After a trip, the kids write up their experience for the club newsletter. Munn says it’s interesting how their description often bears scant resemblance to how grandparents remember the trip.

“The things they enjoy are often not the things we thought they would enjoy,” she says. “It’s always evolving, and no two trips are ever the same.” 

She started it!

A winter trip to Rangiwahia Hut in the Ruahine Ranges could be on the cards this year as the group looks for more challenges. Munn says as the kids grow she’d like to put greater emphasis on the tramping side of things. “At the moment it’s more about getting them outdoors and introducing them to nature and to the fun you can have.” 

Zach and Lucy are both looking forward to next winter because that means snowball fights. Zach has good form – his headshot on Grandma at Mt Ruapehu is the stuff of legend. And if you think it sounds mean to target Grandma so cruelly, Zach isn’t having any of it. 

“She started it,” he says. “After that, it was game on!”