Given we are sprinting towards summer, it's about time I share some images from our winter snow trip! (Please note, there are some stunning examples of iphone-ography, as I didn't always carry my camera around.)
In July, I set off on a little adventure. This was a special trip, because it was a bucket list trip for Kokoda. You see, he was diagnosed with heart failure earlier this year. We don’t know how long we’ve got left with him, but I vowed to make every single day a good one for him. I’ve been lucky enough to travel to the snow a few times now, and every time I’ve been I have wanted to let my dogs experience it too. So, I finally made it happen! We went to Dinner Plain, in Victoria. One of the only places in Australia that welcomes dogs and has snow. Most areas of snow in Australia are situated within national parks - meaning no dogs allowed! The trip to Dinner Plain was approximately 3,600 kilometres return, so countless hours of driving. Thankfully, most of which had STUNNING views; rolling hills, cattle, sheep, alpacas, mountains and then into the snow!
Unfortunately, Australia has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to dog friendliness, and most places will just laugh when you are looking to stay with 4 dogs, so I felt like the worst pet parent ever when I decided to leave Deniki and Henry with their amazing dog sitters and cavalier friend, Mabel, instead. Taking just Kokoda, and my sister bringing along her boy, Harley. With the cats, chooks and aquariums in the capable hands of my pet sitter, and my other fair weather boys at their gold coast retreat, we set off on a Sunday morning and headed towards Coffs harbour.
We stretched our legs in Yamba, and walked the Lake Kolora circuit, its an easy 1.5km stroll around a little lake. Naturally, all the dogs wanted to do was swim, though hours in the car with a wet dog wouldn’t have been pleasant- so they missed out on that!
Of course, when in Coffs Harbour, you have to stop at the big banana! It may be good to know that dogs are able to sit up on the deck area of the cafe. That night, we stayed in a little dog friendly B&B just outside of Coffs Harbour in a small place called Bonville. The B&B was called Bonville Lodge.
I absolutely, wholeheartedly, 10/10 recommend these guys. The owners are so friendly, and the dogs are allowed free run of their beautiful garden, which after a day in the car was very much needed! One of my favourite shots of the entire trip was taken in their garden.
Back on the road again, and on the way to Sydney. We stayed in Sydney for 2 days with family, and the dogs very quickly adapted to Sydney living. It helped that almost every single park we passed was a dog off leash area, though unfenced, the dogs had plenty of places to explore leash free. (Brisbane, lift your game please!) There was a small off leash beach area not too far away that, naturally, we had to visit. Followed by a coffee for me, and some treats for the dogs brought out by the lovely barista, Jenny!
(Click images to expand)
Surprise, surprise… driving again! First stop was morning tea at Berrima. A gorgeous little historical town. They have an operational gaol, that may be the prettiest gaol around. More importantly, they have a bakery with absolutely delicious cakes. This little town is well worth a stroll through if you ever pass nearby.
And then to Gundagai! Because where else would you stop whilst on a road trip with your dogs than the dog on the tuckerbox?
Lastly, on to Holbrook, where we spent the night. This little town is home to submarine HMAS OTWAY. It is also a museum, but given our time of arrival, we didn’t manage to fit it in.
There is a dog off leash area just past the skate park behind the large submarine for the dogs to stretch their legs. Just be on guard if you visit, we did find a bush tick on each of the dogs afterwards.
Whilst they do not cause paralysis, and typically prefer cows over dogs as their hosts, it is still best to remove them so secondary issues don’t occur. This is easily done with your fingernails, or a pair of tweezers!