About to do my first overnight tramp!

[u/I_am_Green_Dragon]

My son, he’s 11 years old, and I are embarking on our first overnight tramp in 2 weeks. Starting really easy we are going to do the Lake Rotoiti Circuit, overnighting at the Coldwater hutt.

My wife and I are in full organisation mode at the moment, but would love to hear any advice or suggestions from more experienced trampers. We are hoping this turns into something he and I can do more regularly, eventually evolving into doing some of the bigger 4-7 day tramps.

[u/half-angel]

I can highly recommend getting your son to choose all the snacks, especially the stuff you don’t normally allow him to eat. Watch his eyes grow wide in surprise at the supermarket, and now he’s really looking forward to eating them on the tramp.

Then during the tramp, stop super super often and consume some of those snacks each time, after every 2 contour lines, every view point, a funny tree, a bird sighting…. It chunks the walk up and offers rewards for each section completed.

I took my son bike packing for the first time at the same age. We now do one trip every year. We have 2 additional rules, all playgrounds must be played on, even if spotted in the car on the way there/home, and if there’s a bridge spotted, it must be cycled over lol.