IMPLEMENTACION

The focus of families surveyed at these visitor attractions was mainly placed on time together and joint family activities even if it required compromising by adults. However, some respondents (24%) stated that they and their children got pleasure from pursuing their own interests alone or together with peers from the same generation. It is assumed that adults were aware of this interest of children, because many families at Orana and Willowbank were accompanied by friends of the children or met with other families at the visitor attraction so that children had peers to play with. At the Antarctic Attraction families mainly visited as individual groups so that children could only play with any siblings present. Being with peers kept the children occupied for some time, but some adults also repeatedly referred to their children entertaining themselves at the attractions which gave adults some time to rest:

“We invited a friend of <child> to come with us today. For her it is great to have somebody to play with and for me it‟s a little more relaxing, because I don‟t have to run with her all the time.” (Kaikoura mother of one girl (5) & friend (5), Orana)

“The activities here are great for children, the kids basically entertain themselves. I mean, sure, I still have to watch them, but I don‟t have to be the entertainer.” (Christchurch father of one boy (2) and one girl (4), Willowbank)

105 The fun children had playing with their friends at the attractions was pointed out by a Christchurch father of one boy (7) surveyed at Orana and an Otago mother of two boys (8&11) surveyed at the Antarctic Attraction:

“<friend> and <son> loved being at the playground, that was their best thing today. We just sat there and had a coffee”

“The boys were in the snow room for ages and enjoyed playing with each other in this unusual environment.”

These examples support the earlier discussion in that the own interest of children were primarily related to fun activities, especially playing, together with siblings or friends.

A rest relieved adult family members from being the entertainer of children and may allowed them to explore their own interests. Own interests of adults at Orana and Willowbank mainly reflected some form of socialising with other adults either from their own family group or from other family groups. Socialising was described as great enjoyment during the attraction visit:

“We were here today with a big family group so the kids could play with each other and we had time to talk a bit. Just chatting and catching up; I think that‟s what I enjoyed most today.” (Christchurch mother of three boys (4,6&8), Willowbank)

“It was nice to catch up with my friend again, because we didn‟t see each other for a while. Our boys were busy feeding all the animals which gave us a good possibility to chat.” (Christchurch mother of one boy (8), Willowbank)

The importance of socialising was especially emphasised by a Christchurch mother of one boy (4) visiting the attraction together with a group of other mothers with young children:

“We meet here once every week to have a coffee and chat. The children pretty much occupy themselves which gives us an hour to rest and talk.” (Willowbank)

It was recognised that socialising with other adults mainly reflected the interests of female respondents, especially mothers, and it was of no interest for adults who visited the Antarctic Attraction. At the Antarctic Attraction, an Amberley father of two girls (7&9) explained that own interests of adults rather mirrored reading the information provided about the Antarctic and studying the exhibits:

“Our two kids had so much fun riding the Hagglund they wanted to go twice. This gave us [parents] at least half an hour to go back in and read some of the interesting information that we couldn‟t read being with the kids.”

106 The extent of adults‟ own time during the attraction visit was dependent on the own time of children, because children being with their family all the time did not allow parents much time to pursue their own interests. The amount of own time differed between a couple of minutes:

“We [mother and friend] had at least the time to finish our coffee and chat a little in the meantime before they [children] required our full attention again.” (Christchurch mother of one boy (6), Willowbank)

and a couple of hours:

“The kids were occupied playing with each other and with the animals all the day, so I had a great amount of time to relax and enjoy the beautiful environment.” (Christchurch mother of two boys (4&13) and two girls (6&10), Orana).

From the above discussion, it follows that family members also liked to pursue own interests and to spend time with peers in the visitor attraction environment. The self-interest of children was fundamentally perceived as interactive, because they seek out fun, while adults favoured to chat, relax, or study. Thus, own interests differed across the age spectrum.

Summarising family on-site experiences, it can be deduced that they include a happy time eternalised in photos, a variety of fun activities, edutainment on basic and advanced levels, a change in routine, and the pursuit for own interests and peer time all influenced by current weather conditions. The following section presents more general results on these families‟ experiences of family outings and holidays.