Kenton-on-Sea

Humans are weird. Whenever we’re in Kenton, they always insist on trudging through shrubs and trekking over hot dunes to get to Shelly Beach (a so called 'hush-hush' location).

I’m pretty sure visitors are spilling the beans; we always bump into fellow seekers of the secret spot (smooth and hairy). 

On a busy day it kinda feels like an amphitheater. Brother Bart usually has the ‘audience’ chuckling as he rides wave after wave. 

Yes, he is brave; but I’m the smart one.

During our visit we stayed over at Woodlands Cottages, close to the banks of the Bushmans River. As we arrived at this pet-friendly place, we were welcomed by a friendly pet named Jacob. Jacob followed us around everywhere, including to the river. 

I’m not surprised though…#squadgoals

One of the main attractions at Woodlands seems to be their outdoor bathrooms. Here we have Bart, staring at his human while bathing. 

Yes, he’s a bit of a creep.

The Adventure

Place: Kenton-on-Sea, Eastern Cape.

Map: link

Activities:

- Us: Surfing (or, getting rolled by) the waves; swimming in the river; playing with Jacob (the backpacker’s dog); staring at humans while bathing.

- Humans: Swimming in the ocean; laughing at Bart surfing; drinking G&T’s next to the river; and taking a long bath in the outdoor tub (while Bart stares at you creepily).

Bretton Beach, Port Alfred

Just look at that view! Not too shabby for a shaggy man like me (and him; the big, red bearded one).

Bretton Beach Crest offers these affordable, cosy cottages all along Bretton Beach in Port Alfred. And the best part: the owners allow small to medium dogs out of season. I'm secretly waiting for summer to end....

Some of the cottages are even closer to the beach, but the humans like to make it difficult to sneak off to the water. 

When they're feeling less selfish, they take us for swims and walks along the rugged shoreline. But instead of joining us in the nippy waves, they simply fling sticks into rock pools.

From the photos it may seem like Bart was winning, but I tend to give the little guy a head start (him being my little bro and all). 

I'm just nice like that.  

The Adventure

Place: Bretton Beach, Port Alfred, Eastern Cape.

Map: link

Activities:

- Me: Sneaking off to the beach; fetching sticks in the ocean; letting Bart win at said stick-fetching; bringing all the beach's sand back to the cottage.  

- Humans: Looking for the dogs; throwing sticks; sweeping beach sand out of the cottage; reading, braaiing and drinking sundowners on the stoep.

Hogsback part 2

Roughly a year after our first Hogsback trip, the humans finally decided to return to the quirky town in the Amatola Mountains.

A year. It took them a whole year to realise how much I desperately need to look at pine trees, smell pine trees and pee on pine trees. Lazy if you ask me.

On a higher note, I now own a lot of pine trees; and this time we didn't just stay in the cabin and drink red wine. Well, at least not only that.

We did The Bluff Scenic Walk at The Edge Mountain Retreat, which is situated at - wait for it - the edge of the mountain. 

As always, the tiny human's voice screeched to ultrasonic levels as I approached the cliff. This also happened on the hike to the top of Kettlespout falls.

We explored gravel roads to Cathcart and, on the way, I barked at some sheep in Happy Valley. This made me happy.

There isn't much in Cathcart, but if you are into antiques, you might want to stop at The Art Bus. My humans are rather thrifty; they even bought me second-hand.

At the end of the day, we all huddled around a venison stew simmering on the wood stove; aromas of smoke, meat and red wine filling the cabin.

I had dog pellets for dinner.   

The Adventure

Place: Hogsback, Eastern Cape.

Map: link

Activities:

- Me: Claiming pine trees, running, swimming, barking at sheep, guarding the     Starways cabin (from chickens and Samango monkeys) and begging for           venison stew. 

- Humans: Hiking, cycling, drinking red wine, chasing away Samango monkeys   and cooking the stew.

Battery Creek

This is me running off into the distance. I’m chasing after a 

troop of baboons.

All I remember is high pitched yelling (tiny human), 
heavy panting (big human) and one massive hiding.

This is me an hour earlier; it was a happier time.

 

We went for a small hike to Battery Creek Falls, 
just outside misty Kaapschehoop in Mpumalanga.

It’s doggy-breath-takingly beautiful, but be warned. 
Besides the baboons, there are also wild horses roaming 
free.  

Just another reason to get into trouble. Silly humans. 

The Adventure

Place: Battery Creek, Kaapschehoop, Mpumalanga

Map: Link

Activities

Me: Running through plantations, peeing on pine trees, 

chewing pine-cones, swimming, chasing baboons 
(followed by a hiding), chasing wild horses (also possibly 
followed by a hiding).   

Humans: Hiking, swimming, avoiding baboons and 
horses.

Southwell

The humans are always complaining about the price of petrol, so they are trying to be more inventive with our adventures. 

That’s the nice way of saying they’re being cheap. 

Instead of driving 60km “all the way” to the coast, we went looking for a picnic spot on the Southwell road. About 3km on the gravel road, which leads to Port Alfred, we found a place where the Kowie river flows over a weir (some barrier thing).

It’s perfect. 

Deep enough to cool down; shallow enough to stick by the humans’ side. They say it’s annoying if I can’t join them in deep water; maybe it’s the anxious barking? Who knows.

We saw some baboons and, as usual, the small human freaked out even before I could think of chasing them.  

A little bit further on the same road we found an abandoned church. It’s beautiful and I weed on it.

Now it's mine.

The Adventure 

Place: Southwell road, Eastern Cape

Map: Link 

Activities:

• Me: Swimming, looking cute while running, eyeing the baboons and fetching sticks (because apparently I break toys)

• Humans: Picnicking, reading and cooling down in the river.  

Kasouga

Beach toys, lagoon games, warm sand and ALL. THAT. WATER.  

The humans decided that the best way to spend a lazy Sunday is at Kasouga. Finally, they get it right!

It was a bit breezy, but we found a sheltered spot behind a small dune, right next to the lagoon. The lagoon’s water, filled up by the Kasouga river, is always a bit warmer than the ocean. 

The humans brought those beach tennis rackets and a spongy ball (also known as a chew toy).   

They tried really hard to keep me away from the fun. They soon realised it’s useless; it turned into a game of hit-and-fetch. 

After all the excitement - and resembling a wet mop - we drove to Port Alfred to have our picnic on the grassy banks of the Kowie.

Apparently, humans don’t like sand in their food. Silly humans. 

The Adventure 

Place: Kasouga, Eastern Cape

Map: Link

Activities:

• Me: Swimming in the lagoon, playing fetch, howling at other dogs, rolling in the sand.

• Humans: Swimming, tanning, lounging, playing beach games.

Rainy St Francis

This is going to be a short post. The weather was lousy.

The entire weekend we were in St Francis Bay it was raining cats and dogs. 

For the group of humans, this wasn’t all that bad. They stayed inside, drank loads of alcohol and played an endless amount of games; everything but fetch.

They played Uno, Charades, General Knowledge and Blind man’s bluff.  Their favourite game was something called Werewolf (also known as Mafia). 

In a nutshell: the storyteller moderates the game and chooses who will be the werewolf. The werewolf kills a member of the village each round and the villagers need to figure out who the werewolf is.

It seems like fun, but there’s a giant hole in the plot: the only one with a muzzle, four paws and fur wasn’t asked to play. 

Needless to say, I was bored. We will have to go back soon.

The Adventure  

Place: St Francis Bay, Eastern Cape

Map:Link

Activities:

• Me: Playing in the rain, sleeping, waiting to be the werewolf.

• Humans: Drinking, playing board games, going to the Penguin Rescue & Rehabilitation, visiting the lighthouse and checking where The Endless Summer was filmed. 

Hillsview hikes

We live in Hillsview; a suburb on the outskirts of Gtown.

No houses to the right and nothing behind us but muddy swamps, smelly plants and a tough terrain. It’s heaven (with a view of town).

We have a back gate leading to trails frequently used by other dogs. This is where I take my humans for a run.

When they’re feeling fit, we’ll jog all the way to Grey Dam for a quick swim.   

On lazy days I have to settle for short strolls, flower picking and posing in pink grass.

What can I say; hippies with cameras.

The Adventure

Place: Hillsview and Mountain road, Grahamstown

Map: link

Activities:

• Me:  Playing in mud, drinking gross water, running, posing for a camera

• Humans: Walking, hiking, running, flower picking, conning dogs into modelling.

The journey

The humans have this corny saying:

 “It’s not the destination that matters, but the journey”. 

They take this very seriously.

Sometimes they invite me along for drives to the 

Pick ‘n Pay. That’s it.

Yes, the 5 minutes of fresh air is glorious; 

but let’s not kid ourselves.

They gather new music, buy snacks and play games

in the car; convincing each other that getting there

is just as fun as being there.

Even when they’ve finally reached a destination

 - like the beach -  they will carry on walking, 

in search of a new one.

Silly humans. 

The Adventure 

Place: The open road

Map: Wherever you're going

Activities 

- Me:  Hanging out the window, enjoying the wind 

in my face, barking at cars, maneuvering my way to 

the driver’s seat.

- Humans: Keeping the car on the road, 

listening to music, playing Eye Spy or Car Cricket,

sending me to the back seat.

Grey Dam

Grey Dam; Grahamstown’s local watering hole.

On sunny afternoons (especially weekends and holidays) you will find drinking, braaiing and loud music oozing from “carbars”. 

This usually means there are yummy chicken bones lying around everywhere.  

I never actually get to eat them. The one human always sticks her hand in my mouth and flings them away. 

She’s gross. And a bit mean.

But, I do like it when she invites me along for walks and jogs to this dam. 

I don’t appreciate the photos of me looking like a wet towel though.

That’s why, when we get home, I like to jump on her clean bed and play dead.

The Adventure 

Place: Grey Dam, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape.

Map: link

Activities: 

• Me:  Running, barking, swimming, playing fetch, scrounging for bones.
• Humans: Walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, braaiing, picnics, stealing my chicken bones.   

Hogsback part 1

Hogsback: quaint, quirky, slightly crazy.  

Apparently the humans named this village after a

nearby peak which resembles a hog’s back. 

I don’t see it (like I said; crazy).

It is beautiful here and there is so much to do. 

You can cycle, hike and splash under waterfalls.

My humans did none of these.

Instead of keeping me entertained, they sat around 

a fireplace at Starways Art Centre, went to Butterfly
Bistro for pizza and partied at Away with the Fairies 

(leaving me to guard the cabin and car).

They did however take me to a labyrinth at The Edge.  

It was the strangest sight: the humans would stick to a 

narrow cement path and stroll around quietly.

I, on the other hand, ignored the path and broke the 

silence with my glorious voice. 

The Adventure

Place: Hogsback, Eastern Cape.

Map: link

Activities:

- Me:  Running, barking at monkeys, swimming, 

  chilling by the fireplace.

- Humans: Hiking, cycling, swimming, 

  chatting to eccentric locals, looking at artsy stuff,

  making the fire.