by John New
What a fabulous walk for the first one of the year, thanks to one of our Sydney Sniffers who enjoys finding new outings for her dogs. This walk had a little bit of everything.
About 22 people and 17 beagles met at the dog-friendly Sandy Beach, Clontarf, on a beautiful summer day. Those who arrived early were able to let their dogs in for a swim before the walk started. Some of the dogs enjoyed just digging, sniffing, and rolling in the sand.
After everyone had arrived, we set off along a winding, up-and-down bush track following the coastline from Sandy Bay to Spit Bridge. The track comes out just near the bridge, and at that point we walked under the bridge, up some steps, and then crossed over the bridge toward Beauty Point.
Spit Bridge is one of the few bridges in Sydney that opens periodically to let tall craft through, and we were hoping we wouldn't have to wait 15 minutes while that happened: fortunately we didn't. Some of the beagles, however, didn't like the metal area of the bridge that opened, possibly because of the extra vibrations, and one had to be very gently persuaded to walk over.
On the other side, we walked through a wide open park, finally meeting a paved path that led to Beauty Point, and another spot where we could let our dogs off-lead for a swim. They had a wonderful time, running and splashing through the water or the surrounding bush, and the time to return came all too quickly.
On the way back, one beagle had to be carried over that scary bridge, but after crossing, her spirits revived and she managed to make her back with the others to our starting point.
A particularly enjoyable walk, which we'll certainly do again. Hope to see you at the next one.
Thanks to Brad and Alison Wyper for these photos.