This adventure started with a daddy-daughter day. I didn't want to just drive to the park or go through the motions of another boring weekend. I wanted us to be on a mission. I stitched together a few images of things I knew we would pass and printed them out on a single sheet of paper.
I handed it to my four-year-old in the backseat. She couldn't read a map, and the pictures weren't to scale, but that didn't matter. Suddenly, she was in charge. She was pointing out the window, telling me which way to turn to find the big boat. She was the kind of backseat driver you actually don't mind.
There was skepticism at first. We found the boat, but it didn't look exactly like the picture. She wasn't sure if it counted. I told her I’d take a photo and we could ask her mum for a second opinion later. That was the moment she became the boss of the expedition.
On the way back, we passed a big bumpy tree that I’d put on her list. She was elated. To see that look in her eyes, that she had found it on her own, was when I realised we had hit this out of the park. As adults, we lose the magic of the mundane, but for her, that tree was a landmark she discovered.
The idea for the business didn't come from the success of that first day, though. It came from the scramble of the second day when my daughter asked if we were doing another treasure hunt today.
We had to go to the hospital to see Grand-pop. For a kid, that’s a chore. It’s a stressful, boring trip. I wanted to turn that chore into a family adventure, but we were on a road trip in an area I didn't know well. I found myself frantically trying to find landmarks and stitch together a new map so she could lead us to the hospital doors.
That scramble was the spark. I realised that as parents, we are always looking down at a satnav or a phone, following a voice command. Maps aren't really things anymore. By giving her a map, I was giving her a life skill and a way to look up at the world instead of down at a screen.
Wonder Trails exists because I wanted to make it easy for every parent to have that Saturday. I wanted a way to turn a walk, a drive, or even a trip to the hospital into a wonder, a mission where the child is the hero, to give other parents that feeling I got when we fliped that everyday into an epic-day.
Grab a map.
Step outside.
Let them lead the way.
Secure your adventure for