Pooh sticks!

Yesterday we were at the Botanical Gardens. One of the kid's favourite places is the SA Water Mediterranean Garden. It has a small 'stream' running through it which is the perfect place to play Pooh sticks. It was one of my favourite games as a child. I just loved the Pooh Bear books and read and re-read them. I couldn't wait for a chance to play Pooh sticks, but of course in Adelaide you really had to wait until it was actually raining to find a suitable stream! First you drop your stick in the stream. If you have a natural stream you have to do this from a bridge just like Pooh Bear and Piglet did.

Then you track the progress of your stick. With a natural stream this usually means you need to rush to the other side of the bridge! (My brother and sister and I always played Pooh sticks across a four laned bridge. This was when we were teenagers ! We would time our drop with the traffic - or lack of it.)
You watch and watch and slowly follow the progress of your stick.
Then you wait for your stick to emerge at the other end. Hopefully yours will be the winner!

Everyone behind you is probably out of the race!
Retrieve your winning stick
And then start all over again. And again. And again. And again. We spent an hour watching these three play Pooh sticks. Fortunately, the stream must be designed for Pooh sticks because there are seats for mothers, sisters and nephews to sit and watch. And we did.