Austy had his first trip to the river yesterday (apart from the time he was 4 weeks old and draped in muslin wraps to try and protect him from the blowing gale and 40 degree sun!). He had an absolute ball!! They have upgraded the reserve since we last went, with a little barbeque shelter, and Austy's favourite, a climbing frame. It's meant for much older kids, but that didn't stop the little guy from scaling it all the way to the top and hanging onto the little swing disc things like a little monkey.
It took him a little while to get used to the bouyancy vest that we had on him from the minute he got out of the car till the minute he went back in it to go home, and he was a little scared of the river (unlike him as he's such a water bug), but he absolutely loved riding in the boat and once we got him used to the river he wanted to paddle and kick all afternoon.
He was thrilled that Lulu puppy could come along with his big cousins, and had a good play with her. Then he noticed something sitting with another family and asked "Want to go play with the purple kitten". We had no idea at first then he took me by the hand and lead me to a tiny chocolate coloured labrador puppy, 12 weeks old, named Cocoa. The owners were kind enough to let him pat her and we were told to be careful as she is a bit of a nipper. Then Austy exclaimed "She won't bite!", quite sure of himself too.
In the end it became a bit much and he zonked it... in my arms in the back of the boat while it was running! He must have been exhausted since this was the same kid that slept only 20 mins in the long car trip between Adelaide and Falls Creek (and I think we only got that much on the way back too). The nap was short lived though as Austy's Dad kept flooding the boat with his sudden stops, and within minutes he had us both saturated and the poor boy awoke with a start!
Still, he can't wait to go back again soon.
