Today's outing to Rooi Els Estuary...by Heathcliff

The estuary at Rooi Els looking towards the Klein-Hangklip mountain which dominates the little village.

Here I am in the Rooi Els estuary...

Today was just the best!  After we'd had our breakfast this morning, we were told to 'HUP,' the command we know means we're going out in our bakkie.  'HUP' lets us know we need to trot up our ramp, seat ourselves nicely on our mattress in the loading bay, and wait for the ramp to be folded and packed away, and the tailgate to be firmly shut.
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Most days this means we're going to our field, where we can run and play and chase the tennis balls our favourite person hits for us with his tennis racquet.  We always have a great time and return home, ready for a cooling off swim and more ball play in the pool.

Looking towards the Kogelberg mountains from the estuary at Rooi Els

Today, there was a different excitement in the air.  We canines are pros at detecting any nuances of mood and tone that differ from the norm, so we were already extra alert and expecting a SURPRISE.  

Have you ever seen such white sand? 

When we turned up at our usual field, I must admit to an initial feeling of disappointment, but, true to form, recovered quickly and set about having a great time as usual...charging helter-skelter after the balls, trying to beat Toby to them; thoroughly checking each mound and tree stump for evidence of other visitors, then dutifully leaving my mark to remind all and sundry whose territory this really is!  I like to make a big show when I do this.  I've perfected kicking up a most impressive dust storm, with all four paws, just to ensure any observers know I'm around and mean business!

We drove a long way on the Clarence Drive coastal road that starts at Gordon's Bay and ends at Kleinmond.

Toby, Bonny and I ran all the way up and down on this stretch of sand and bounded in and out of the water in the estuary...what fun it was!

Anyway, back to today. After we'd ended our walk earlier than usual, and I was just about to lodge a complaint, we found ourselves being driven to a brand new spot.  There were so many new sights to see on the way...huge boulders, a large troop of Chacma baboons with their babies and teenagers, great big mountains and the biggest swimming pool we'd ever seen.  We seemed to be driving for ages and ages and I was starting to get a bit restless, but then, we were there... 

All three of us playing fetch on the sand...that's me in front with the ball!

What an exciting place.  It is called Rooiels and we were at the estuary.  There was lots and lots of white sand, a little river full of tiny fish, seaweed, algae and even the odd shell. 

 

So many new smells to discover...

The new smells were ever so interesting, none of us could decide which was the nicest, as we rushed about all over trying to take them all in. 

The water was too shallow to swim in most places, but we had a great time splashing about and fetching our balls!

That's me swimming in a deeper spot...

We ran in and out of the water and, where it was deep enough, I swam.  Even the deepest places were a bit too shallow for Bonny and Toby to swim, but they had such a lot of fun prancing about and splashing like crazy, chasing me, each other, our tennis balls and their tails. 

Bonny running after Toby...

Bonny got the ball first that time...

Toby doing his drowned rat immitation...he's still a puppy at just over 10 months old, so has lots to learn!

Gottcha!  These balls aren't easy to locate with all the splashing...

We saw a hawk hovering above, as it scanned the bushes for mice and there were plenty of other smaller birds flying about.  I saw swallows and gulls and a big dragonfly.  

Oh, what fun we had, running up and down on the sea-sand, as fast as we could, chasing after our balls.

Oops!  It's a little deep for me here...better just check it out before I leap for the ball!

Here I am, teaching Toby to be patient.  Wait until I say you can take the ball, Toby!

Bonny - we all love her so much.  She has such a gentle nature!

There we are, looking like drowned rats again.  We had a good bath when we got home to wash all the sand from our coats.

It was quite windy - you can see Bonny's hair blowing.  Toby & I have short coats, so the wind doesn't bother us!

Bonny is 10, but she still absolutely loves to take part in everything!

I think I was feeling a bit pooped at this point...

Isn't that just the best place?  Sea, river, sand, sky, mountains...

We played and played and played and when we started to tire, we all returned to our bakkie for a cool drink of water, then all clambered up the ramp and came back home for another swim in the pool.  This afternoon, we were all shampooed, bathed and towelled down (our favourite part!) and now, we're waiting for our supper.  I sure know who's going to sleep soundly tonight!