13 Outdoor Places Our LittleBoy Has Visited/Revisited

My husband and I met on a mountain. We became friends who ended up falling in love with each other and got married. Therefore, it is only natural that we introduce nature to our son since he was very very young. Fortunately, he enjoys traveling and hiking in nature as much as his father and mother

I would love to share the 13 places we have visited or revisited. We sometimes revisited certain places because of our son’s age. It is still the major thing that we consider the most. We couldn’t take him to places that we think that he isn’t ready yet but we still want him to see nature as much as he can.

1. Loji – Suaka Elang (Eagle conservation)

We wanted to introduce our son to nature and observe whether he would enjoy nature and able to sleep in the tent on hard land without his soft bed. We went to this campsite when he wasn’t even a year old. I have shared the moment in this post (here). To our delight, he enjoyed the moment there.

We went there again when he was 2 years old, it was a one day trip. We didn’t go to the waterfall when he was a baby because we thought he wasn’t ready yet. The second time we went there, we took him for a half an hour walk to the small waterfall and he enjoyed playing in the cold water. He even had his first nap on a hammock.

2. Cibereum Waterfall

We had another one day trip to a waterfall at the foot of Mount Gede (We would love to take him for a hike to Mount Gede, but the authority there has set a minimum age of 5 to be allowed to hike Mount Gede). We went there with our extended family and I have shared the moment in this post (here)

3. Mount Papandayan

Mount Papandayan is the perfect mountain to bring our little ones. My boy had practically gone there 4 times; when he was inside me (I was 4 months pregnant), when he was 1 year old, 2 years old, and 3 years old. I have shared the first 2 trips in this post (here).

We think that the mountain is extremely safe for a child. Not too cold and not too high to hike. We always slept one night there and in every visit, we had a different memory. In 2016 was so crowded, in 2017 was so quiet (there were only 7 of us) and a huge boar was hanging around our tents, in 2018 there was a little girl of the same age as my son, and in 2019 my son started walking more than being carried.

4. Mount Prau

We visited Mount Prau twice. Just like Mount Papandayan, Mount Prau is child-safe. However, the temperature can be insanely low (for people who live in the equator). We had to wrap him in several pieces of clothing to make sure he was warm enough. The first time we went there, we weren’t sure that he would survive the cold at the top of the mountain, therefore we only had a one day trip to the top of the mountain and went down again on the same day.

The second time we went there, our son had more experience with cold temperature so we dare ourselves to camp on the top of the mountain…and it was the right decision because we had an amazing view at that time. I am planning to share our pictures on our second hike to Mount Prau in the next post.

5. Dieng Plateau

Dieng Plateau is near Mount Prau, so whenever people hike Mount Prau they always find time to visit the Dieng Plateau. There is this old temple called Arjuna Temple.

6. Cilember Waterfall

Whenever we had no time to enjoy hiking and camping on our short holiday, we decided to visit a nearby waterfall. The next waterfall was Cileumber waterfall.

7. Mount Rinjani

I have been planning to write about our 5 days 4-night hike in Mount Rinjani but I didn’t seem to have the time and energy to do so. I will write it one day…I promise myself that. It was our first gamble to observe whether our son could do a long hike and to our surprise, he enjoyed every moment of it. He was not even 2 years old and he didn’t seem tired during his first long hike. He surprised both of us and he had proven to us that he sure has our gene running strongly inside him.

8. Selong Hill

While we were in Lombok, we didn’t only hike Mount Rinjani. We also went to Selong Hill. A very short hike with an amazing view.

9. Kuta Mandalika Beach

Before going back home from Lombok, we went to Kuta Mandalika Beach (the place is currently being prepared for MotoGP). The boy could enjoy the mountains and forests but he was terrified of the beach. It was our first time taking him to the sea. He didn’t want to swim and held his father so tight so that he won’t touch the water. He likes waterfalls and rivers but didn’t like the sound of the wave.

10. Pelabuhan Ratu Beach

We took him to another beach. This time he accepted the sound of the wave better than before. He didn’t cries and dare to touch the water.

11. Waterfall 1000 (Curug 1000)

As I have mentioned before, our little one loved waterfall and river. After an hour walk to this waterfall, he was so eager to take off his cloth and played in the water.

12. Highland Camp – Curug Panjang

I am the type of mother who could leave my son behind. I have left him in daycare during weekdays and to make up for the lost time, I always bring him along every Saturday and Sunday. When we did a survey for the school’s camp, I took him along with me. Other teachers didn’t bring their child (mostly single teachers). They needed me to evaluate whether the camp was proper for students or not…and if they wanted me to come along, they have to take my son along. He enjoyed the ride even though we had to visit more than one campsite.

13. Leuwi Cepet

This last place was during the pandemic. I know that we should stay at home, self-quarantine…but our mental and well-being are as important as our health. So we dare ourselves to go treat ourselves with a bit of nature. Fortunately, I had a midterm break and we could go on weekdays. The visitor was not so many so that we could keep our distance with others.

Well, those are the places my little boy has visited. He would have visited more places and hike more mountains if we aren’t in the middle of a pandemic. I wish the pandemic would over soon, I really want to hike and sleep in my yellow tent again. I miss the mountains so badly and so do my husband and son.

Happy Thursday Thirteen everyone 

Next week, I want to share similar thursday thirteen but only pictures of the nature without us in the frame 😉