one activity per day in SA

I've set my children a challenge: choose one activity per day for the first week of the school holidays. At least half must be free. This is part of getting to know our home state a little better.

The rules:

• Each activity must be able to be completed in a day. This means we are limited to commutable Adelaide areas. Near-country is okay.

• No overnight stays, although the suggestion to leave Drew a note on the door saying we'd be back tomorrow was amusing.

• Find activities both children want to do.

• Public transport is encouraged. It adds to the adventure.

• Try and do things we haven't experienced previously.

• I reserve to right to veto all choices.

Day 1 - try out a new parkrun

We headed to West Beach parkrun to try out their 5km coastal and linear parkway run. It's always good to try out a new course. There were a huge number of kids participating - kudos to their parents and to the regular organisers of this event. Then we visited Henley Square for breakfast.

Day 2 - Bay to Birdwood Rally and family hike.

Every year hundreds of cars make the pilgrimage from the Glenelg to Birdwood in the Bay to Birdwood Rally. Sitting along the roadside for an hour or so is quite entertaining. We even saw Batman, but he drove past too quickly for me to take a photo. I hope Gotham City wasn't in trouble!

We followed this up with a family hike on the Crafers Circuit walking trails from Aldgate to Crafers return on a 9km loop.

Day 3 - Tree Climb Adelaide

There's nothing but serious fun at the tree climb, unless you're afraid of heights! I stayed on the ground and practiced my photography as the kids made their way along the high rope courses.

Day 4 - Seacliff to Hallett Cove walking trail return, taking in the Hallett Cove Conservation Park. We ran the trail to the kiosk where we stopped to refuel, then checked out the Hallett Cove Conservation Park and beaches as we walked back to the Seacliff Yacht.

Day 5 - South Australian Museum and the Bat Trail

The trip to the SA Museum was impromptu. A space exhibit on the lawns got our attention and once we finished learning about meteorites we decided to head in to the Science Discovery Centre and then some of the other exhibits.

The real purpose of the day was to visit the Bat Trail and learn about Adelaide's new colony of Grey-Headed Flying Foxes.

Day 6 - Heywood Park Ninja Course

We headed down to Heywood Park to check out the new Ninja Course for tweens. School holidays meant that it was packed but the kids still managed to bounce from one piece of equipment on to the next.

The equipment was fun, but more suitable for less coordinated tweens or strong younger kids. My boys who are right at home jumping all over obstacles thought it was a bit easy.

Day 7 - Thorndon Park to check out the ultra marathon

We visited the picturesque Thorndon Park to cheer on some of the runners who were competing in the Adelaide 6 day ultra-marathon event.

It's a great place for a family picnic or bbq with a paved walking trail winding around a small lake. There's a playground for younger kids and plenty of room to kick a ball. Ollie took his chess board along and played with one of the runners visiting from Victoria. It was a funny sight.

I am looking forward to seeing what activities we can add to the mix during week two of the holiday break.