It’s the outdoorsy fad that’s literally rocked Western Australia, and now it’s hit Tasmania thanks to two enterprising mums.
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Combining art with a never-ending game of hide-and-seek, the outdoors activity sees hand-painted rocks distributed throughout Tasmanian parks for children to find and then hide elsewhere.
The game’s Tasmanian branch - called Tas Rocks - began with George Town’s Greta Barber.
“The aim of it is that we manage to spread it all around the state,” Ms Barber said.
“[The WA Facebook group] has got about 40,000 members, they’re massive, but we’re at 4000 in a matter of six weeks so we’re going great guns.
“We’ve had so many people contacting us offline and online saying ‘thank you it’s so much fun and we’re getting our kids outdoors’.
“The whole aim is to get them off devices really, getting them outdoors and having fun.”
Since introducing the trend to Tasmanian shores earlier this year, Ms Barber has teamed up with close friend and teacher Kaz Searle to run the state’s official Facebook page.
The page serves as a hub for parents and families to post photos of found rocks and clues to where new ones might be found.
Miss Searle said the pastime provided a great incentive to get outdoors and was an “amazing outlet” for parents as well as kids.
“I’d say at the minute there’d be a couple of hundred rocks sitting around [Tasmania] and they’re in a lot of different locations,” she said.
“We’ve got rocks in Huonville, Judbury, Bridport, George Town, Launceston ... so it’s really been a big spread and a lot of people are re-hiding the rocks, they’ll find them, take a pic and rehide them.
“We’ve had a rock that was painted in Hobart and it’s moved to George Town with about eight stops on the way, so it’s really exciting for the kids and the parents seeing that journey.”
Acrylic paints and permanent markers are recommended for those looking to put new rocks into circulation.
For more information or to get involved visit the Tas Rocks Facebook page.