Our very own forest bath

Tony and I decided to road test the forest bathing theory.  We chose the bike trail down Rifle Range Road in Atherton, not far from the CBD.  It was a postcard-perfect Tablelands day and there was a gentle breeze, ideal to stave off litres of sweat that would otherwise flow during the 3.4 km hike to the summit.

     I recalled a saying, advice for people planning to enjoy the natural environment:  Take nothing, but photos and memories and leave nothing but footprints.

Setting off

When forest bathing it is important to use the five senses.  Listen to the calls of the crows or the clicking pedals of high-speed mountain bikes barrelling towards you.  Smell the sweet and pungent lantana and African sedge grass.  Gaze in wonder at the forest around you and the convenient path cut by human hands up the side of the hill.  But don't touch the flora or fauna and don't taste any fruits or berries in case they are poisonous.

     We made a few sounds fellow forest bathers were able to take in.

     "Kibbim, don't pull out the black boy stalks!'

     "Sutchy, you are not stoning any creature!"

     'Savannnah, if you watched where you were walking, you wouldn't trip over!"

     'Seffwen, you'll have to carry your own water bottle!"

    And a hell of a lot of "Just be quiet and keep walking!"

At the top.  Still smiling.  No doubt the kids were looking forward to my home-made fruit loaf with unprocessed, processed and oat brans and of course, my made-with-love muesli (recipe next post).  Funny, they mustn't have burnt up much energy because they didn't eat much.

We passed up the opportunity for a cooling dip on the way down.  Things had got a bit steamy since we were facing west; in the lee of wind and the afternoon sun.

Almost at the bottom.  Tony growled Kibby for repeatedly throwing sticks (black boy stalks) at Seffwen who is squatting in the background, monitoring the growling.  She likes to ensure Tony deals appropriately with Kibbim's bad behaviour.  Too often, Tony lets his little gapu (sucker fish) get away with murder.

Tony gave Kibbim a damn good growling this time.

Almost back at the carpark, except Kibbim who is keeping a safe distance from Tony.

Back at the start and into the bargain, everyone was accounted for, although a little dazed.  Kibbim is still smarting from his growling!

     It was a energetic and fun day and I'd certainly recommend forest bathing to all and sundry.  Firstly the kids were so worn out following 2.5 hours of walking, there was no fighting or backchatting for the rest of the day. Secondly the kids didn't eat that much and there was enough of my fruit loaf left over for afternoon tea.  Thirdly it provided in excess of the recommended 60 minutes plus of physical activity per day for children and finally and most importantly, it enabled us to spend quality family time together, aside from Kibby throwing sticks at Seffy and Tony clipping Kibby across the ear and me nagging the kids to stop complaining.

     We took nothing, but photos and memories and all we left were footprints and urine.  And of course, the echoes of our parental reprimands.