Walking back with my brother from swimming club. At a give way sign (there were only two in our rural Northland town!), both my brothe rand I threw some stones at the sign – by the time we got home ( less than 15 minutes walk) my father had been rung by a lady living next door to the give way sign and we both got a growling for such a terrible act of vandalism.

Kelly - Travel behaviour change, North Shore

-Every holidays I used to stay with my cousins at my grandparents place and my granddad would walk us and his little dog down to look at the Jane Gifford boat which was moored in the river. On the way we walked on the edge of the road because there was no footpath and you could smell the clay of the banks. There were so many flowers and if we were lucky; after we had checked the status of the boat renovations, we might be allowed an ice cream. Granddad walked with his walking stick that clack clacked on the road as us kids told stories.

Rose – teacher Central Hawkes Bay

- Leaving the new, but horrible roman sandals in the agapanthus and walking in bare feet

- Dawdling home with friends through the mud and puddles and taking a long time to get home

- Smell of gum leaves on a hot day

- Tar on barefeet

- Sloshing through puddles in gumboots and kicking water over each other

Linda – Travel behaviour change, North Shore

- we didn’t even consider not walking to school. It had to be pouring with rain before mum drove us. Every morning I would meet my best friend at the corner of the street ans away we would go chatting all the way. 

Sue – teacher Auckland

- I remember walking home from school just after a heavy rainfall. My friend and I made leaf boats and stick barges and floated them down the flooded gutter. We enjoyed watching them pop down the drain!

 Paul – teacher

Standard 4, late 1970’s

Walking home from school was great because ….we didn’t have to walk straight home! A bunch of us would walk to the nearest park, some boys would have their new bmx bikes with. There were dirt tracks, a creek bed, hollow trees- we’d set up jumps, obstacle courses, maybe have a clod fight…. Then happily tired and grubby, we’d walk home, as long as we were back by 4 – 4.30 our parents wouldn’t worry too much…Three or four years later, the same park was the place for our first sneaky cigarettes…. But that’s another story!

Further information: Feetfirst@nzta.govt.nz, .