by John New
About 8 people and 5 beagles gathered at the St Lukes Park car park, Canada Bay, for our walk to Cabarita and back. It was a small group, perhaps because the day was cloudy, with signs of rain. Fortunately it stayed dry for the whole walk although it was windy throughout.
We crossed a footbridge near the car park to the lead-free Cintra Park, walking over some netball courts and freshly mown grass. Lots of interesting smells there. No-one let their dogs off, probably a wise decision since the park was unfenced and close to a main road.
We crossed over Lyons Road to a concrete path running along a canal leading into Canada Bay itself. From here the walk was very straightforward. We simply followed the paths next to the canal and Canada Bay to our halfway point. There were very few people around, which was good because the beagles of course went from side to side as they sniffed. Only a few cyclists and walkers.
We stopped at a couple of timber wharfs, which seemed a little scary for one or two nervous beagles. One wharf extended a fair way into the bay and the nervous beagles crawled along very carefully to get to the end. Of course, they were absolutely safe.
The last time we did this walk, about 7 years ago, the golf course was open to dogs and so we had a short walk along the course. This time, however, the council had changed the rules. No dogs allowed on the course, meaning that the route we had to take was a little different. At our half-way point, interestingly, we noticed a very strong coffee smell and realised that it was coming from a factory across the bay, blown in the strong wind.
We walked back the same way, except for the last few hundred metres, which was along the Millenium Walkway instead of Cintra Park.
A very enjoyable and easy walk, finishing with some tired but happy beagles.
by John New
About 20 people and 14 beagles gathered at the St Lukes Park car park, Canada Bay, for our walk to Cabarita and back. The day was a little cloudy, with a few signs of rain, when we started, but fortunately stayed dry for the whole walk. Amazingly, it began to rain soon after we finished.
We started off by crossing over a footbridge, and then walked along the lead-free Cintra Park where a few beagles were let off lead to enjoy a short romp. There were a few moments of excitement when two large white fluffy dogs appeared to join in the fun, and were swamped by a swarm of beagles sniffing furiously.
We crossed over Lyons Road to a concrete path running along a canal leading into Canada Bay itself. This was very pleasant, The path was wide, it's always nice walking next to water, and it was very interesting to look at the attractive houses on the waterfront.
At Canada Bay, we continued along the path to the Bayview point and jetty, where we had a short break, then around Exile Bay to Prince Edward Park at Cabarita, where we had a longer break at the half-way point of the walk. On the way, we were passed by numerous people, including some guests at a wedding party, who were fascinated by the large number of dogs that all "looked alike". Naturally, we spent some time dodging cyclists.
We started our return journey, not by walking back the way we had just come, but by continuing to walk in the original direction. A little like "Alice Through the Looking Glass", or driving in Canberra, where you get to your destination by starting off the wrong way. So after a very tricky loopy section through the Massey Park Public Golf Course we eventually ended up on the original path at Exile Bay heading back toward the start of the walk at the car park.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable walk. Flat and easy, with a lot of interest for humans and plenty of sniffing for our beagles. Certainly a walk we'll do again in the future. Thanks must go to Kim Kearnan and Bob Moore for checking out and leading the walk. Many of our walks appear on our calendar through word of mouth where club members recommend a walk they've done, maybe in their local area, that they think our beagles will enjoy as well. Hope to see you at our next outing.