22/12/24

Amazingly, they remembered to take me out today. I was plonked in the back seat on a far too low cushion to see out the window. The Mistress's running commentary of where we were was a help, but I would rather see for myself. The seat belt around me was no help either. 

She announced that I had to be safe, and the humans, too, wear seat belts.

Yeah, I am on an outing with my humans.

Where are we going? Port Chalmers from His Lordship. Gee, I have never heard of this place. I could see the lush green hills from my low point in the back seat. Jeepers, it was a very windy, curving, tortuous, and twisty road. 

Finally, we got to our destination. We passed Port Chalmers and are now on to Aramoana. The road was very narrow, and the Mistress was holding on tight. She told her darling that she was hugging the banks. In other words, he was far too close, but she could see that if traffic came towards us, where would we go? Not over the other bank, please. There were rocks and water. There were probably sharks, too!

When arriving at Aramoana, there were many homes and holiday homes; according to The Mistress, some needed a tidy-up. 

We all exited the car and walked around the beach area before taking a rather large walk. They call it The Mole. The Mistress says we are off down to the end, where a rather large pole stood, presumedly for the large boats to get their bearings.

I like this place.

The start of our long walk.

Luckily, the Mistress carried me to the far end, as my little legs would not get that far. The humans reckon I would have to walk one and a half kilometers each way, dodging those puddles and heaps of mud. 

We saw Sea Lions, too. They were mostly asleep, but she advised me not to get too close, as they could start running after us. Hang on, they have no feet. She's telling lies. How can they possibly run after us? She dared me to get too close and to find out for myself. No, I think I am safer in The Mistress's arms. She called me a chicken. Humans have some hilarious ways of talking. I am yet to understand why they do this. Again, I am informed to read my books to discover why.

Sea Lions

We stopped at many points along the way. Parts of the old wharf from hundreds of years ago were still there. 

The old Wharf

I do wonder how old these pieces are. His Lordship wanted to place me on that piece of wood, but no way, not me. What if a gust of wind took me into the water, never to be seen again. Those sea lions would be after me, that is for sure. They eat a lot of fish in a day, and one gobble and I would be a gone burger. 

There was a lot of bird life here, too. There were seagulls, of course, and the Mistress thought she saw an albatross. Some white birds with blackheads and very long beaks were rather cute. She doesn't know their names and cannot find them on Google. 

We went to the end with more Sealions and saw people fishing. Even a Gnome could see too much weed in the water where they were trying to fish. 

We made it to the pole, and the waves crashed around, causing a stir among the bird life. The Sealions just slept all through the noise. The Mistress says they are used to this. 

We made it to the Pole.

The Mistress said her mother spoke to her. What, she is in a grave? She said, "Fancy, taking a Gnome down here," and laughed her head off.  She enjoyed hearing from her mum on the other side.

We returned to the car, and the rain started just before we got there. The humans had muddy shoes in the brand-new vehicle. Do not worry; it will dry and be easy to clean.

Returning to Mosgiel was a hoot. The Mistress was hanging on with white knuckles as she was on the seaside this time. The road is just too narrow for her nervous system. What about mine. I do not want to be eaten by sharks or sea lions. She said, what about stopping at that little pub we passed earlier to settle her nerves. Good idea from His Lordship. Of course, I went in too. 

It is called Carey's Bay, Historic Hotel and Cafe. She gave me a swig of her Corona, too. A lovely young lady came to talk to us and wondered why a Gnome. She was interested in the discussion and gave this lady a card to find us on the blog. 

She shared this with me.

A chap came and lit the candles.

A chap came and lit the candles for these love birds. Ambiance, she says. I rather liked sitting up there and didn't want to leave.

Ancient pictures were on the wall, and the cute barman asked if we had swum in the sea. He does this every lunch hour. What about the sharks, I wondered. He introduced himself to me and held my book. I thought he would take it away, so I held on tight. 

Last night, I thought I had seen everything. The Mistress took me to the bathroom. I protested that I was allergic to water and to take me away. No, she showed me what she was about to do. She filled this considerable spa bath with water and bubble bath for both. What, take me back to the living room; I do not want to see them in this bath!