Playground games are a staple of childhood. But when you grow up in the zoo, it looks just a little different. Bindi Irwin’s daughter Grace Warrior, for example, loves playing hide and seek with her family, and the 3-year-old gets to do it in the coolest place! Bindi’s mom Terri Irwin shared a picture of one game, and instead of hiding behind slides or other playground equipment, she uses natural landmarks to take cover.
“Hide and seek in the outback. Grace wins again!” Terri captioned a photo on Instagram. Her, Bindi, and Grace are in the Australian outback, playing hide and seek with huge termite mound that towers over them. Terri peeks around one side of the mound, smiling at Grace and Bindi, who are hiding on the other side. The mother-and-daughter duo is wearing similar bucket hats as they giggle. The world is her playground!
Fans were just as impressed as we were. “Feel a bit under rated here, we only use behind doors, lounges and curtains,” one person joked. Someone else said, “Grace growing with tons of awesome experiences full of love and fun! ❤️”
There’s another classic childhood game Grace loves: playing with sticks! Terri shared another photo of her granddaughter, who is wearing the same blue bucket hat with a green shirt and khaki pants. She stands in the middle of a big field, triumphantly holding a giant stick over her head like the wilderness explorer she is. She is clearly a mini leader already!
The second picture is a wide shot, showing Grace running through the field free as a bird. It looks so beautiful! “Grace is having so much fun at the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve,” Terri captioned the photo. “Did you know that the Reserve is twice the size of Singapore?!?!”
The Irwins have been spending time at the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve, named after Terri’s late husband, to do crocodile research. Grace has tagged along, clearly soaking everything in and having lots of fun along the way.
Bindi, who shares Grace with husband Chandler Powell, opened up about the importance of playtime in a interview with SheKnows. “We were kind of this wild family,” she told us. “I grew up within Australia Zoo, so my home and my backyard is a sanctuary filled with wildlife. Growing up, we traveled a lot for our conservation work as well, and no matter where we were or what we were doing, we would always have playtime together as a family.”
“Those moments of connection with play I still draw upon as an adult, and I think that’s really, really special,” Bindi added. “[P]laytime is so important because it gives kids the opportunity to have those building blocks for the foundation for the rest of their life. It really gives you this opportunity to learn and discover — almost like accidentally learning something along the way. You play and you’re building confidence, you’re expanding on your knowledge, and discovering the magic of the world around you.”
Before you go, check out all the ways Bindi Irwin’s daughter Grace is following in her mama’s footsteps.
