Wednesday, July 6, 2011

A winter walk and memories.

On Sunday, I went to a place I've never been before. I went with My Cushion because My Typist had a lot of house-cleaning to do [or so she said, though she was on the couch watching telly when we got home].

The place was near where my humans used to live, far far away and over our famous bridge.
I was very good in the car and didn't cry [much] or try to drive.

Finally, we got there.
It was much bigger than the parks in my neighbourhood and, frankly, quite scary.
A long, long time ago, my humans would do this walk every week with Mr Piglet and Mr Thumper. Mr P and Mr T were very young then, and would run into the bushes and jump down the rocks and splash in the dirty creeks. Even Mr T, because this was way before his legs got bad.

Back then, my humans always had to keep an eye out in case another dog came down the path. They would walk in an elephant line. My Cushion, followed by Mr T, followed by Mr P, followed by My Typist, just so Mr T couldn't suddenly dash out to grab say hello to a poor unsuspecting, approaching dog.

Although it's hard to believe, Mr T was A Naughty and Irascible Dog back when he was young.

I think my humans got a bit sad thinking about those days.

My Cushion says the place hasn't changed much in 9 years. He took a lot of pictures but they were mostly bad. Here are a few, even though they're bad. 
Can you see me here?

There were a lot of signs everywhere. Some of the signs were interesting and said stuff even My super-smart Typist didn't know.

"OOooo...poo. I think someone forgot to scoop. I hope I don't get infected."

Some of the signs got me worried and made me wonder why My Cushion had brought me to this dangerous place.
Lucky for me, My Cushion turned us around, and we went back to where dogs were allowed and wouldn't get sick.

Other than this close shave with death and danger, it was a beautiful morning. We walked and walked for the longest time and only met 1 dog.
He didn't want to play.

But that's okay. I wasn't really in the mood either. It was just as much fun to explore.
I think I may be all grown up.




HOW TO GET THERE:


http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks/parkhome.aspx?id=N0076

http://www.wildwalks.com/bushwalking-and-hiking-in-nsw/garigal-national-park/two-creeks-track.html



NOTE: As with all national parks, most areas of Garigal are NOT dog-friendly but is a wonderful place for human-bushwalking.

24 comments:

Jan said...

It looks beautiful but it would be a very long trek for us to get there. Isn't it nice that beautiful places like this don't change much?

melfr said...

Oh Georgia. What a lovely day! Although, I must say those signs were pretty hilarious (although, maybe not to a dog - who wants to have to worry about foxes anyways?). Personally, I think The Cushion took some great photos, especially of you in "stalk mode". I thought for sure we would see a picture of you charging headlong into that other dog. Maybe you ARE growing up. Just don't grow up too much. I like you the way you are. :)

Kolchak Puggle said...

oh Georgia, it's oh so funny to think that it is winter at your house. it's just barely summer here! What a nice place to take a walk!

Jean B said...

That title took me by surprise, as I swelter in finally-hot weather here - until I realized it was from down under! I'm glad you had a nice outing on a winter's day - the park looks lovely, and it was nice of your Cushion to take you there for such a long, grown-up stroll. (But even though you are all grown up, don't forget to let your Inner Pup out to play every now and then!)

chandra said...

'Stralia has the best dog-poop-related signs of anywhere in the world. Now, I've not made it a practice to study dog-poop-related signs around the world but I feel confident that 'Stralia does indeed have the best.

I don't think you were quite as scared as you thought you were, GLP, because you were trotting ahead pretty far in some of those shots! Perhaps you felt Mr. T and Mr. P keeping an eye on you.

Thinking of Mr. T picking up dogs in his mouth makes me happy. That doesn't sound quite right but hopefully your typist knows what I mean.

-c at ddy.

booahboo said...

I keep seeing no dogs allowed no dogs allowed sign everywhere... where are the doggies supposed to walk.

Love the signages... interesting... some of the stuffs SHE don't know too. But my cow is not too bright you see.

Glad that your Cushion and you had a great outing. It is nice to remember the ones that passed through that way once upon a time ago.

woofs n licks,
DOmmy + sometimes his cow

georgia little pea said...

sorry. i think it's too late. I've metamorphosed [strikeout] metamorphed [strikeout] metamorphized [strikeout] ???
...grown up and am now a serious young lady.

yes, Ms C, My Typist knows exactly what you mean.

Lavinia said...

That wilderness looked really fun. I'm glad you had fun and explored the place. I haven't heard of all those things dog poo does, but other dogs can get parasites from it. Nasty stuff!

Growing up is a melancholic time. And it happens so fast for dogs...

Also, thanks for the nice words! If you still want to enter the contest, please do. I activated the mobile templates (should be all text), but if you have any problems, e-mail me and I'll post the entry for you.

Anonymous said...

That looks like such a nice place for a walk. And the photos aren't that bad, Georgia, I think you're just being picky.
Yes, you are a big girl now, so no silly behaviours from now on, OK?

Kristine said...

Just beautiful. You have some gorgeous spots in your city, Georgia! How lucky you are to get to visit. I don't think the photos are bad at all, though they may not do the beauty justice.

And those signs are hilarious! I love the creativity. Certainly more interesting than the boring ones here that just say the same things over and over again. They don't even have pictures!

Thanks for sharing your hike with the Cushion! You are definitely looking more adult by the minute.

georgia little pea said...

My Typist just found out that I wasn't really allowed to run around like that on the track. she's awful mad. i think i could be in trouble. shhhh please. i don't want to go back to the gulag.

Anonymous said...

What a fun day! We have teh same experience with our Chick that you used to have with T -- he is not great with off-leash dogs who approach us while hiking, so we usually have humans on all sides to protect him/the other dogs from any misunderstandings. It's stressful, but we make it work!

houndstooth said...

Oh Georgia, I love a good hike! It's one of my favorite things to do! I wish I could join you, because I'm certain that we'd have all sorts of fun together.

Bunny

P.S. I'm not sure what happened to your comment yesterday, but don't worry about it. Lots of people and pups don't stop by every day, and I don't generally keep track unless I notice that somebody hasn't been around in a long time.

Carly @GreenDogLove said...

Looks like a beautiful place to go on a walk! I love all of the pictures your Cushion took, very pretty!

Elizabeth Keene said...

Icky poo, foxes and strange dogs, oh my! Nice to see you alive and well today, GLP. :)

That looks like a fun place to walk (reminds me of a place nearby that - one day - I will get around to posting about).

And, you just don't know how lucky you are to have someone in your government who thinks poo signs should have a sense of humor. :)

Anonymous said...

That looks like a nice place even if it was dangerous and you weren't allowed in a lot of places.

Although with so much poison out and about-it might be good to not be allowed in there!

At least they try to be funny to get people to pick up the dog poo.

Amy said...

I love the scoop the poop signs - very unique! And I'm sorry that even though the signs were creative someone still chose to leave the poop behind. It looks like you had a lovely walk!

Peggy Frezon said...

Thanks for the great tour. Those poo signs are great! But I don't like the danger sign. Glad you can read and turned around!

Greyhounds CAN Sit said...

Wow, that looks like an awesome hike, Georgia. I love the poop signs, very original. And the photos are very good. Were you supposed to be on lead? I love going places where the kids can be off lead, although Frankie can tend to disappear, he's not all grown up like you are now:) But the best places don't allow free ranging dogs!

georgia little pea said...

@GreyhoundsCANsit - trust an aussie to know :p

yes, we did A Bad Thing letting Georgia off-leash. the peripheral area of Garigal where G was [2 creeks track] allows dogs on-lead.

Garigal used to be our neighbourhood dog walking area. we went there every week and never once saw a dog on lead. awful I know. there used to be quite a few locals walking their dogs there and I'm sure there still are though we only met one. it's such a shame really, when there are all those wonderful tracks, and rocks to clamber, and creeks to get dirty in. if only they'd open a small section to our 4-legged family members!

Ahhh well. Australia is not a very dog-friendly place at all :(

Sage said...

Well, I think you had a very nice memory walk with your Cushion. I loved the signs, except the scary one about the poison bait traps. I didn't see any mud though. What's winter without mud?

What Remains Now said...

What a lovely Sunday AND time alone with Your Cushion!

Pup Fan said...

Those poo signs are funny! Looks like you had a great day. :)

simon pender said...

Hahaha. That one gave me a laugh. Ooh, pooh.