My son turns 10, what can I do for him that will be special?

Question

January 2012, my son turns 10. I want to do something special with him, just me and him. A male bonding session to celebrate his double-digits. I've spoken to my wife and she thinks it's a great idea, the only problem is what to do?

He loves the outdoors and whatever we do it must be an ADVENTURE. I'm looking for ideas rather than places to visit. We live in Australia, for those that what to suggest places here.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

This may be a hit-or-miss suggestion, as it really depends on what your 10 year old likes. But, since you say he likes the outdoors, and you want an adventure....

Australia is known world-wide as the producer of some of the best opals. Some of the mines offer tours, and you can look for your own opals. There is even underground camping available at some sites.

If your son can swim, and is comfortable in the ocean, a snorkeling tour of the Great Barrier Reef is another adventure specific to Australia.

Answer 2

As a child I loved climbing and scrambling. There are these safe climbing activities, which are near me in the UK:

http://www.cotswoldcountrypark.co.uk/head4heights.shtml

You climb poles, and can jump off.

http://goape.co.uk/

This is a bigger activity set in woodland, with treetop walks and so on.

Perhaps there are some things similar near you?

Answer 3

Here are some outdoor ideas, off the top of my head. I've tried focusing on stuff that's special in some way, something that he might not have had opportunity to experience before. These ideas are slightly biased toward what I think would be cool things in Australia (esp. diving), but I realize that down under is a big place so you might not be near the ocean, for example.

• a weekend camping trip, with hikes during the day
• combine camping with fishing, if you're into it
• a diving course
• take a weekend to learn horse-back riding
• a go-cart race
• a one-week special vacation, to see a distant part of the country, or even a different country. Combine with the above.

Answer 4

This might not be applicable if you do that a lot with your son, but find out what it is about you that he's interested in. How about a place that is special to you for some reason, or a place you went to before he was born?

Answer 5

As I play a lot of festival gigs with my band I took my 10 year old son along as a roadie to our latest one for his birthday - spoke to all the hospitality managers and got him access passes so he got to meet a lot of bands and get backstage, sat in at sound and video desks etc and generally was pampered by crews and production.

ymmv, but it was a great bonding experience for us - must be something similar possible where you are.

Answer 6

Since you are looking for something outdoors that contain adventure, I'd suggest an amusement park or zip lining/ropes course. Not knowing where in Australia you are located, I can't offer links to relevant sites.

Do you have a price range in mind?

Basically, I'd suggest finding something that you and your son enjoy doing together.

I think the memories will be the time that you spend together, not the actual trip itself.