Dog Days of Summer

In the evening of our first full day in Waikanae, Andy and I decided to take the dogs down to the river. We’d been down there the day prior, and this time I brought my camera along. We left around 6:00 pm when the day had cooled down a bit.

There are pathways that run along the river on both sides for several kilometers, and we passed a lot of runners, bikers and swimmers. Higgs and Hoagie were happy to explore off-leash.

The late afternoon sunlight was beautiful as we walked through fields and past groves of trees.

I could get used to this place.

The dogs were more than ready to cool off when we found a swimmer-free spot to take them down to the river. Andy and I had to settle for wading.

Higgs and Hoagie briefly shared a stick.

But Higgs grew tired of playing nice and did his best impression of a great white shark. Yikes.

No hard feelings, though.

He may not have gotten the stick in the end, but Higgs never turns down an opportunity to model.

After watering the dogs, we crossed the nearest bridge to the other side of the river. Notice the little shadow between us in this picture.

Although it wasn’t a full-on swing bridge, it still moved a little too much for Higgs’ liking, so he kept close to Andy’s side.

Seeds from the trees covered the path in summer snow as we headed back toward town and a relaxing night in.

The next day, Andy and I left the pups at home for a little bit and went down to the beach.

We enjoyed great views of Kapiti Island as we walked along the shore.

I wouldn’t mind having one of these houses…

Since we did have some canine buddies to get back to, we decided to cut back to the road and head towards the car. I managed to force some pictures out of Andy on the way back, though. He’s a good sport.

In true holiday style, we passed a blooming pohutukawa, New Zealand’s Christmas tree.

We had just enough time to stop for a coffee in town and enjoy the cafe’s lovely garden before returning to Higgsy and Hoagie.

Next time, Andy and I head north up the west coast to Taranaki for some exploring around that big ol’ beautiful mountain.