Our trip to Wellington

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Firstly, thank you very much for your lovely comments on my previous posts about a recent Paws N Music competition (this and this). I still can't believe that I won in the competition. But, reading your comments, I really felt that I had won indeed :-)

Well, today I am going to tell you about our trip to Porirua, Wellington, where the competition was held. Or more precisely, I will tell you about places where we stayed on the trip.

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Actually a year ago we didn't think that we were going to make the trip, as Wellington is far, far away from Takanini, Auckland, where we live, which means that it doesn't only take a long time to get there but also cost a lot. A year ago my humans thought who would spend so much money and time just for a dog dancing competition. Especially for my humans, who are freelancers, being away from home means no income for the period. However, after contemplating about it over and over, they decided to give it a go, because it was the only competition we were able to enter in the year after the last competition I entered a year ago.

The first thing we had to do was to find accommodation that allows dogs in the unit. Some of so-called dog friendly motels don't allow dogs in the unit. You may think that such motels shouldn't advertise themselves as "dog friendly," but as long as they allow dogs in their property no matter where they have to stay, such as in the car, they seems to be considered "dog friendly". So, my humans had to send email to every "dog friendly" accommodation that they have found in online accommodation directories, to ask if they allowed dogs in the unit. Because we made bookings well in advance, it was not as difficult to find places where we were able to stay inside as we thought it would. We booked three motels, one for the first night in Taumarunui, a small town near National Park halfway from Auckland to Wellington, one for the second and third nights in Wellington, and another for the last night of our trip in Taupo, a resort town by New Zealand's largest lake called the Lake Taupo.


On Friday, two days before the competition, we set out for the trip. Taumarunui, where we stayed on the first day of the trip, is a small town surrounded by mountains. Although dogs are banned in the town centre, there are many off-leash dog parks (See here for local dog exercise areas). One that a manager at the motel recommended was Cherry Cove, where dogs can enjoy walking and running along a river. We wanted to walk on the river bank, but Mum didn't let us, because she was not sure how we would react to other dogs running off leash there. Mum always worry about my reactivity too much!!

Another dog exercise area recommended by the same motel manager was a very little reserve at the end of Byars Avenue. It is very small, but you can enjoy a wonderful view of the whole township and surrounding mountains. One thing I found very strange about the reserve, though, is that there was a sign, something like "This is Electric fence," on the fence between the reserve and an adjacent paddock. Actually I had to ask Mum what the sign was for, as I can't read. I don't think there are many dogs who can read. An electric fence on the border of a very small dog exercise area. It's very dangerous, isn't it? Some dogs might touch the fence without knowing the fence is electric!

The next day we arrived in Porirua. Our motel in Porirua was very conveniently located for dogs and their owners. There were sport grounds nearby and you can even enjoy walking along an inlet with a marina.

After staying in Porirua for two nights (Our competition was on the second night, which coincided with the Rugby World Cup final!!), we headed for Taupo. In Taupo we stayed in a motel by the Lake Taupo, so we had pleasant walks at the beach.

But, look at this!

Mint was such a coward that he cringed every time gentle waves came in. Because he was so frightened of the waves, I couldn't enjoy sniffing interesting smells that I found at the water edge! Mint, you are a boy. You must become braver!

Well, that's the end of our trip. We had a great time visiting new places and sniffing new smells!