 |
| One seriously big dog in small town Tirau, New Zealand’s geothermal highway, Southern part of North Island. |
It’s not often guidebooks direct you to a statue of a collie dog (click here to see the Tekapo New Zealandcollie dog statue and read about it). In New Zealand they do, and it’s on equal billing with the brilliantly turquoise-blue Lake Tekapo (watch for a future post on Lake Tekapo).
In this sheepish country (click here for New Zealand’s sheepish statistics), there is much gratitude to the faithful, hardworking four-legged fuzzy friends who round up the herds (“without the help of which the grazing of this mountain country would be impossible”).
How do Kiwis show their doggy devotion, besides the statue?
 |
| The perfect outfit for a night out on the town with Fido; from Arthur’s Emporium in Whangarei, New Zealand. |
These pictures tell the tale….
 |
| Of course, the 24-hour dog wash is there anytime to make sure Fido smell “sweet as.” New Plymouth, New Zealand’s North Island. |
 |
| Doggie toyland, complete with a pink flamingo, Warehouse end cap, New Zealand. |
 |
| Possumman “Butcher fresh to your pet” Possum, rabbit, hare carcasses wanted (and venison, too). Whangarei, New Zealand. |
 |
| Enough to quench the thirst of all the Town Basin dogs, Whangarei, New Zealand. |
 |
| Who says drinking fountains are just for people? Not Whangarei! Hatea River Walk loop. |
 |
| Whangerei makes it easy for pet owners perusing the river walk to be responsible. |
 |
| Billboard for doggy day care, New Plymouth, New ZealandI missed snapping a pix of the “Doggie Motel” sign we whizzed past in our travels. |
 |
This pet bed is far more sumptuous than most human’s beds! Whangarei, New Zealand. |
If you believe in reincarnation, and find yourself returning as a dog, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better place to live and be loved than New Zealand. I consider it dog-gone heaven!
 |
| Whangarei’s Saturday morn Grower’s Market says no-go to dogs. As well, many songbird-protected areas also prohibit dogs, though some allow them kept leashed. |
Location Location
After our near month long road trip blitzing New Zealand from Northlands to its Southernmost mainland tip, at Bluff, South Island, we’re back. Currently we’re in Whangarei’s Riverside Marina (S35.43.674 E174.20.17), doing some much needed boat work before we resume cruising, when we’re not running around town for boat work errands or enjoying the novelty of an apartment with a spacious kitchen with a microwave and proper stand-up fridge-freezer, hot, leisurely showers. and – miracle of miracles – a queen-sized bed.
 |
Journey, not yet hauled out, at Riverside Marina’s engine bay, Whangarei. |
Sailing by the Numbers
Last year, between December 2014 and November 2015 we sailed from Florida USA to New Zealand, over 10,000 miles (visiting USA, Cuba, Colombia, Panama, Galapagos [Ecuador], French Polynesia, Cook Islands, American Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand). We will resume serious cruising when cyclone season ends in ~April 2016. We have not yet decided whether to sail to Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu then Australia (~4,000 miles), or just to Australia (~1,500 miles).
