Kerry Haggard works as a writer for a Johannesburg-based PR company. She cherishes the two most beautiful boys that ever there were, and embarks on adventures in baking in her not-so-copious free time. Find her on Twitter @KerryHaggard

When faced with five children and a hot muggy (but beautiful) Jozi day, I was looking for an outing that wouldn’t involve too much effort in the heat of the day, but that would be fun and appealing to all of us – from my father-in-law to my three year old son. My first thought was the Joburg Zoo (which I love), but in the interest of keeping the holiday suitably exertion free, we wanted somewhere that didn’t involve too much trekking around in the hot sun.  Friends had spoken highly of the Lory Park Zoo in Midrand, so we piled into two cars and headed north to Midrand, hoping to leave the heavy clouds and the spitting rain behind us – we all needed a change of scenery, and we were not going to let the heavy clouds deter us!

It was a bit of a hunt to find Lory Park – there are signs, but there could possibly be more – but when we got there, it was easy to find parking in the secure parking lot. It’s a bit more pricey than the Johannesburg Zoo, at R55 per adult and R35 per child, but I guess if you’re not enjoying government subsidies, you are obliged to charge a bit more. This made it a bit pricey for our party of eight, but we weren’t disappointed once we were inside.

Years back I worked on a publishing project with the Johannesburg Zoo, so I have a bit of back knowledge about the signs of a good zoo – and Lory Park has a lot of them. The animals are healthy – well covered but not fat – and the design of their enclosures attempts to replicate their natural habitats as far as is practical. The tigers and pumas revelled in their ponds and waterfalls, while the tiger cubs had a lush ‘jungle’ where they could frolic and ever-so-gently maul one another, to the great amusement of visitors. There were a few animals that were pacing, but there was no clearreason for this – these animals are all very well fed and cared for, with all sorts of stimulation devices (like ice lollies for the lions) to keep them from boredom.

The zoo has a daily programme of interactive events which is publicized on its website and on handouts at the entrance, so I eagerly sought out the snake handler and his red boa. My boys were not keen to see a snake draped around their mother (and neither was my husband!), but I valued the opportunity to get close to a creature that we all normally shy away from. I was intrigued at how warm this cold-blooded snake was, and at how it just ‘parked’ quietly across my shoulders until his handler took him back.

There’s a wide variety of animals, reptiles and birds, which meant that there was something for everyone to enjoy. There are some rareties – it’s the first time I’ve seen a honey badger close up, and it was great to be able to see the black puma’s spots on closer inspection.

There’s a cafe that serves fairly reasonably priced hotdogs, hamburgers, chips and cold drinks, and a covered area to enjoy your purchases. There are also braai areas scattered throughout the zoo, and there are covered bomas, grassy patches, benches, tables and chairs at regular intervals where you can rest or enjoy refreshments – they seem to be completely ok with you bringing your own.

We all really enjoyed the zoo – just remember that the snakes and other reptiles are kept in their cool enclosures in the heat of the day, so we didn’t see many of them on our hot afternoon, and that the zoo closes at 4 every day.  Visit its website for useful updates and opportunities to get involved in its conservation work:  www.lorypark.co.za .

We spent the day in Newtown, Johannesburg, today… at the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre. It’s like a science museum only cooler… way cooler.  It’s 3 floors of stuff… packed with coolness and loads to keep the kids occupied.

It was easily the most fun we’ve ever had for R30!! Seriously, that’s all it cost to get in, because Connor was “free” ‘cos he’s under 6.   We got there at 11:30am… and I managed to drag them out of there at 3:30pm!! And they were complaining that they didn’t want to go home yet.

I was in two minds about going to Sci-Bono.  The only people I knew that have been there, have got little kids.  I was worried that Bradley would get bored.  Well, I’m not actually sure who was more engaged by the centre actually.  They definitely got different things out of the day.   Connor was just interested in getting things to work.  Bradley would intently read instructions to get them to work right… but he’s not yet interested in why it works like it does… and I’m sure older kids/teens would be… so it caters for all ages.  And it’s under cover!! Perfect for a rainy day! And for those worried about going to “scary” Joburg  the parking lot is right outside with a guard

The highlight of the place was definitely the Murray and Roberts construction site.  The boys kept coming back here.  There was a “site office” where they had to get kitted out with hard hats and bibs.  There were piles of foam bricks and cement to build walls between steel structures…

I managed to tear them away to get them to a science show at 12:30pm.  And on the way we got sidetracked by this machine that showed pressure in a chamber when you used a lever to spin a soccer ball

The science show was fabulous.  They used chemicals to produce fires and all sorts of cool things for the kids to see… in this experiment she blew cake flour out of a funnel and lit it… I did not know that flour could burn like that! Then she made bubbles with liquid nitrogen and I can’t remember what else .

Then it was time to see the dinosaurs.  They were awesome, and roared and moved when you pressed a button.  Really cool for the kids!

Both boys loved the Eskom section where they played with circuits and currents… this one used batteries to get a train to move around a track.

This was them running to get back to the construction area after being through all 3 floors of magnetic, electric and musical fun….

We’ll definitely be back.  Connor wants to go there again tomorrow… LOL! And I’ve definitely decided that this is a definite party venue for one of them this year!

SHOPPING MALLS WITH KIDS FUN

The following shopping malls will be open, offering activities for kids right through until the day before Xmas. 2 exceptions are Menlyn Park and Irene Village Malls who will be running kids holiday programs right through until school starts pretty much.

EAST RAND:
Crafts, Carols & Holiday Fun at East Rand Mall, Boksburg North, Dec 1-24
Festive Fun Lakeside mall, Benoni, Dec 9-23.

JOBURG
Fourways Mall Xmas Carnival, Fourways, Dec 12-24.
Children’s Treasure Island Irene Village Mall, Pretoria, Dec 1 -Jan 9
Santa at the Centre Brightwater Commons, Randburg, Dec 9-24
Season for Giving Northgate Mall, Randburg, Nov 29-Dec 24.

PRETORIA
Menlyn Park holiday program, Menlo Park, Dec 2 -Jan 15.

WEST RAND
Clearwater Mall holiday program, Roodepoort, Dec 10-24.

DECEMBER 16th FAMILY TRIPS

We have an incredibly long list of venues we found that are open on this public holiday  including child friendly restaurants, museums and places to see animals and action activities. Here are a few:

MUSEUMS
Apartheid Museum Ormonde: 10am-5pm: adults  R55,  kids  R40, under 7yrs free
Hector Pieterson Orlando East, Soweto: Adults R25, free  under 13yrs, students R5

James Hall Museum La Rochelle: Free 9am-4.30pm,  adults 25, kids R15
James Hall Museum of Transport (JHMT) is a thematic land transport museum covering various modes of transport dating back some 400 years and is the largest museum of its kind in South Africa. We have steam driven vehicles, trains, trams and trolley busses, fire fighting vehicles, early bicycles, animal drawn vehicles and cars.

Museum of Military History, Saxonwold 9am-4.30pm, adults R25, kids R16
The Museum’s collection of more than 44 000 items are divided into 37 separate categories and include the official South African war art and photograph collections. The Museum library has a unique collection of books, journals and archival material. Interviews are regularly conducted in the library as part of an ongoing oral history collection project. In this way, it ensures that previously unrecorded experiences of ordinary servicemen and women are preserved for posterity.

Origins Centre Braamfontein, adults R75, under 12yrs, R35, 9am-5pm
The Origins Centre tells a story of how all humans began in Africa, developed tools, language, art and spirituality. The Centre contains the latest interactive multi-media equipment. (Hologram and virtual rain animal).Workshops for bushman art and shadow dancing, story telling, shadow puppets, music, dance and more

Sci-Bono Discovery Centre, Newtown – Adults R20, kids R10,  9am -4.30pm
From LEGO pits and mini-construction sites to understanding the principles of electromagnetism, the exhibits cater for curious minds of all ages
.
Transvaal Museum CBD Central. Adults R20, kids R10
This is a small Natural History Museum which even if a little outdated provides a memorable interactive experience for the whole family. The museum currently houses a vast taxidermy collection as well as a number of fossils. There are four exhibition halls; Genesis of Life, The Austin Roberts Bird Hall: collection of SA birds, arranged according to their number in the Roberts Bird Guide. The Geoscience Museum: collection of different minerals, crystals, and gemstones in SA and the Discovery Centre: hands-on experience about nature and science

RESTAURANTS AND PLACES WITH ANIMALS
Croc City Crocodile Farm, Fourways.
Joburg Zoo Family Day, Parktown.

Restaurants in Joburg, Pretoria and the East Rand that have playgrounds and activities for kids.

This week I have 4 events and 4 great party ideas for you. Lets start with something that’s on this weekend and next.

You can take your family:
Mulberry Picking at Trees Eco Fun Park, in Benoni.  Bring the kids ,a container and be sure to wear old clothes as Its a bit messy!  Entry fee includes the best tips to remove mulberry stains from clothes and kids!  Open from 10 am – 5pm, R25pp.  That’s today through until next Sunday.

Then there are 2  ballet performances that open this week In Joburg and Pretroria.
In Joburg at the Lyric Theatre, Gold Reef City you can see the ballet, Don Quixote until  October 23. The production features leading South African and Cuban ballet dancers.

Then there’s

Stars of the Ballet Moscow at the State Theatre, in Pretoria, which opens on Oct 21st and runs until the 23rd. The Show consists of a troupe of 10 dancers selected from different Moscow theatres. The artists are considered to be among the world’s finest classical dancers.

And then for something a little different,

You can go on what’s called a nocturnal walk at Kloofendal Nature Reserve in Roodepoort in search of Spiders& Scorpions . You’ll be given UV torches to show up the scorpions in green. That’s taking place on Friday  Oct 21st in the evening at 6.30 pm.

Since the party season is around the corner over the next few weeks we want to share some great ideas with you for kids, teen and adult  parties.

This week our focus is car or circus parties

CAR PARTIES
Kids Traffic Land  Balfour Park Is a new venue in Highlands North  at Balfour Park Shopping Centre which has been turned into a mini city with roads, traffic lights and tunnels, and motorized little cars. it’s a great party venue and day outing for 4-7yr olds

Fun Prix Race PartiesThis is a mobile party that comes to your venue with tracks and remote cars for the party goers to race each other.  Great for slightly older kids say from 6-12yrs.

CIRCUS PARTIES

Boswell Wilkie Circus PartiesTake place In the big top in Randvaal, in the Vaal Triangle. The children get dressed up as clowns, acrobats you name it and become part of the circus for a few hours.

Green Lizard EntertainmentI offers a mobile circus school that comes to you with silts, tightropes, unicycle,s balls and transforms your venue into a circus school. They travel to  Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Remember you can find more ideas of what to do with your family in the Gauteng region on www.Jozikids.co.za on your computer or your cell phone.

In Pretoria- this weekend

Rose Festival Ludwig’s Rose Farm, in Pretoria North  from Oct 1-9. The festival brings you exhibits of garden roses and Drayman’s Beer fresh from the keg. A stand of German food, Leberkaes, Bienenstich and Lebkuchen more will keep the hunger at bay. For rugby lovers we’ve added a big screen in support of the BOKKE! Restaurant is open with the best cakes, coffees and rose delights. Free tractor train rides every hour, jumping castle to keep the kids happy in our huge play area. The Butterfly Garden is back in flight after the winter rest. Thorns ‘n Things, the rose boutique is the perfect place for early Christmas shopping.

2x Shopping Centres in Pretoria have quite a bit on offer this weekend.

Ama Baby Bok Wold Cup Play Area at Wonderpark Shopping Centre  until Oct. 9. There will be a play area with interactive games, winners workshop, magical movie time, colouring in, play dough, LEGO puzzles and much more Bok entertainment.

The Smurfs are coming to Menlyn – Oct 1,2 . Join us for a Smurfalicious event when the Smurfs visit Menlyn Park. The National Roadshow will be hosted at the exhibition court just outside the Nu Metro Cinemas. Expect nothing less than all blue fun and a full day of activities including the following: Blue face painting, colouring in activities, fun blue play dough, Smurf PlayStation gaming, crafts & workshop, modelling, dance competition, meet & greet with the Smurf characters, MC hosted games & competitions & free gifts & prizes.

SHOWS FOR NEXT WEEKEND

The Nutcracker the ballet, State Theatre, Pta Oct 7-9. The Classical Christmas Ballet performed by Student from The Sheron Viljoen School of ballet,

The African Boma National Eco Expo at Botanical gardens, Pretoria, Oct 8-12 . The Expo focuses on nature conservation and the sustainable utilization of natural resources and offers entertainment for the whole family. Activities, shows and displays: A cheetah show; lion cubs (if available); live snakes; birds of prey; quad bikes; 4X4 vehicles; paintball; rock climbing; steam train rides; life entertainment by various artists and talks byfield experts and role players in various fields of expertise are on the menu

Joburg International Motor Show 2011 at Nasrec Expo Centre, Oct 8-16.

UJ Choir & Tygerberg Children’s Choir Rosebank Catholic Church, Rosebank, Oct 8. These highly talented children participated in the world’s flagship choral competition, the 6th World Choir Games in Shaoxing, China, where they received two gold medals and were crowned Double World Champions – in the Religions of the World and Folklore categories.

FRESH PRODUCE  MARKETS

Blubird Whole Food every Sun, Birnam & Thurs, Killarney
Find fresh produce, seasonal organic fruit, vegetables & raw honey. Bio detergents. Someone who will plant trees on your behalf to offset your carbon footprints called GROWATREE.  For kids, there are earthworms and seeds to grow their own trees plus children chefs selling their own produce

Watch out for their Spring picnic on Sept 18.  Bring your bottles of wine, your blankets, shade and of course yourselves and your children. There will be music and a safe area for your children to play on the jumping castle.

Bryanston Organic Market, every Thurs & Sat morn. Buy delicious freshly made food,  you’ll also find great organic fruit and veggies. And for the kids there’s entertainment,  craft activities including candle dipping, pottery painting and sandart. They sometimes have puppet shows and puppetry making as well.

Hazel Food Market in Menlo Park Pretoria, Describe their market as a a European-style food market which sells all types of food products from fresh fruit and vegetables to ready-to-eat food. There is a jumping castle, jungle gym and kids play area every Saturday during the market.

COMING UP Saturday September 10th

Shared History- The Indian Wellbeing Experience at Zoo Lake, Parkview
Includes lectures on Indian Ayurvedic Practices, Organic& Ayurvedic Food Stalls; display counters for Ayurvedic Products and Literature, Yoga Workshops and Guided meditations,,Sept 10.

Shakespeare Dreaming at Joburg Zoo, Parkview, Sept 10.
Robert Whitehead, Mark Hawkins and Vanessa Cooke have woven a delightful tapestry of Shakespearian text
into an accessible fun-filled program of music, dance and comedy for all ages. Featuring a stellar line-up which includes Timothy Moloi, James Ncgobo, Robert Whitehead, John Vlismas, Leeanda Reddy, Mari-Louise Basson & Craig Arnold and featuring the Johannesburg Youth Ballet.

CHARITY INITIATIVE

Toyful Collection both old and new for charity, Wonderpark Shopping Centre, Karenpark ,  Pretoria North.Aug 20-Dec 11.

Its women’s month and we have 2 interesting women’s activities to tell you about:

The first is taking place at Melrose Arch on August 13th next to Moyos restaurant. There will  be a huge big Pink  truck offering Free Breast Cancer Screenings plus valuable information this disease that affects as many as 1 in 29 South African women.

Also on Saturday the 13th Your Parenting is running a workshop, called Pregnancy & Breastfeeding at the Southern Sun hotel in Hyde Park. It’s about how the first 9 months (pregnancy) shape your baby’s life and Getting breastfeeding off to a good start. It only costs R150 pp.

A bit of pampering

Come and be pampered with your daughter at the Mom & Daughter Pamper Spa organised by Glittagals at Planet Fitness the Wanderers in Illovo. Sessions costs from R50 for kids and R100 for adults- booking is essential. Sessions take place on Aug 9,12,16,23.

Then how about going out and leaving all your worries at home on August 9th? Put your sneakers on and lets go. As usual the Jozikids calendar is filled with loads to do. Heres a sampling of some family friendly restuarants offering Women’s Day Specials for the whole family

Family Friendly Restaurants offering Women’s Day Specials

Ludwigs Rose Farm in Pretoria North has a talk by  Anja Taschner about roses – pollen, seeds and new colours. Enjoy a meal or tea at the restaurant and take in the tranquil farm atmosphere. Visit thecrawly room filled with insects and bearded dragons. Large playground for the kids to enjoy and tractor rides

Primi Piatti has created primi pods at certain branches which now offer kids pizza making & baking,in Pta  you’ll find primi pods in Menlyn and Irene. In Joburg  at  Bedfordview, Cresta, Eastgate, Fourways,Randpark Ridge, Stoneridge / Edenvale and Sunninghill

Tres Jolie in Ruimsig on the West Rand is a restaurant with pony rides, jungle gyms and a farmyard

Here are a couple of events and activties you can do with your family this week.
In Centurion, theres a family friendly restaurant with a play area and section for kids to make their own pizzas called the Purple Cow. They’ve organized a True Italian Cooking  Evening on Saturday Aug 6th . You’ll learn about making sauces, pastas – the cook is author Tossie Lochner who will have samples of her sauces for sale plus a book with some of the recipes she  will make. The whole family is welcome

Every Friday and Saturday night,  Lakeside Mall in Benoni organizes:

Kiddies Craft Evenings Its an enclosed supervised area where the kids can create while you enjoy a meal at one of their restaurants.

Rocky Ridge Estate This venue has a play park, fantasy minitown and road safety traffic area. It’s a place you can take your family for a day trip with a picnic basket , they also have a braai area – Booking is essential
as they also organise kids parties, educational outings and many other functions.
So phone before you go but it sounds like a great self catered family outing .

If you or your  kids want to ride a train theres:

Mini Steam Trains open days, Florida Park, Aug 7,21.

Reefsteamers to Magaliesburg, Parktown, Aug 6,9,27 .

Tshwane Xplorer at Friends of the Rail, Pretoria, ,Aug 9.

by Sine Thieme, a writer and mother of four who is new to South Africa and busy chronicling her experiences on her blog, Joburg Expat.

If you’ve ever felt the itch to join your kids on the jungle gym but were afraid you’d get stuck because everything was kid-sized, you’ll love JoziX. It’s a playground for kids and adults alike (though not very small kids – the minimum age is 7), featuring rock climbing walls, swinging monkey-bars, a trapeze, tightropes, a jousting wall, a tricky rope ladder, and gigantic slip-‘n-slides in the summer.

We recently had a birthday party there for our youngest daughter, and I had envisioned my job as setting up the refreshments, cutting the cake, and taking some pictures. But before I knew it I was swinging along the monkey bars like an orangutan and trying to throw my husband (who had envisioned his job as providing the transport) off a high beam using gigantic mittens.

Everything is padded so there is no risk of injury, but you will be left with some sore muscles (mainly from trying to climb out of the deep crevices of the huge mats you land on). The nice thing is that you get to stay as long as you want, so that you can go 5 out of 9 in the jousting competition against your husband, if necessary.

Visit my blog for a more detailed story about this fabulous venue.

by Sine Thieme, a writer and mother of four who is new to South Africa and busy chronicling her experiences on her blog, Joburg Expat.

A great place to visit with your kids if your budget is limited or you don’t have time for a full-fledged safari is the Lion Park just North of Dainfern. You get to drive through the park in your own vehicle (making sure the windows stay up the entire time!) and will get good looks at not only lions but also cheetahs, wild dogs, a variety of antelopes, and a giraffe.

Afterwards, when you’ve seen enough lions (we had the privilege of watching a young white lion climb up and down a tree), observed the wild dogs during feeding, and roused the cheetahs from their nap, you get to enter a special enclosure on foot, where there are more animals. We got to pet and feed a baby antelope, see hyenas and ostriches, and, as the crowning of our afternoon, play with the lion cubs.

They are actually a lot bigger and stronger than you think. Like grown dogs with sharp claws. So they’re not as easy to pet as little kittens, but just as playful. Only smaller groups of people are allowed in the lion enclosure at a time and there are several volunteers to help keep the lion cubs tame. They were kept quite busy as a group of Japanese visitors arrived after us!

A visit at the Lion Park will take you about two hours and costs R130 per adult or R70 per child (discounts for multiple children and children under four free). Just be sure to plan some time (and money) for the gift shop at the end

Click here for more information about the Lion Park