Great time to em-bark on a trip
It really is the dog’s life for our four-legged children at the moment, with many more options when taking your pooch on holiday, writes Siobhan Downes.
They’ve ticked off icons such as Tekapo’s Church of the Good Shepherd and Paeroa’s giant L&P bottle. They’ve visited mountains, rivers and waterfalls, explored walking tracks, and cooled off with swims at the beach, and relaxed at vineyards.
Closed borders have led to some unexpected travel perks for dogs around New Zealand, with many pooches getting to join their owners on domestic holidays.
Air New Zealand carried a record 8100 pets on its domestic network last year, up from 6800 the previous year. December alone saw 2200 pets checked in.
‘‘With minimal international travel at the moment, there has been strong domestic demand, and more customers have been taking their pets with them on holiday around New Zealand,’’ Air New Zealand group general manager of airports, Chloe Surridge, said.
‘‘In December alone, we saw a 69 per cent increase in passengers bringing their pets away with them.’’
Seasoned traveller Ernie the corgi, of Auckland, was among those flying with Air New Zealand last month.
‘‘He travels a lot,’’ said owner Will Maisey. ‘‘We take him pretty much wherever we go.’’ This summer, Ernie joined his human parents in heeding Tourism New Zealand’s call to ‘‘do something new’’, travelling to Akaroa and Lake Tekapo in the South Island, visiting attractions such as the Church of the Good Shepherd and the New Zealand Alpine Lavender Farm.
‘‘It was cool because he got to come and do the new stuff with us as well.’’
Other pups enjoyed a classic Kiwi road trip, such as Henry the cavoodle, who made it to the East Cape, Gisborne, Napier, and Hastings, after his Auckland-based owners planned a last-minute trip around the east coast of the North Island.
The lucky pup posed in front of the L&P bottle in Paeroa, went glamping in Gisborne, and watched the sunset on New Year’s Eve from Te Mata Peak in the Hawke’s Bay.
‘‘We’ve been trying to travel around a bit more locally – there’s quite a bit of the country we haven’t seen,’’ said Callum Mcleod.
‘‘So we thought, let’s go exploring. We invested in a backpack so we could carry him if he got tired.’’
Griffon brothers Jackson and Juke are also on an epic adventure this summer, joining their owners on a 12-week campervan trip around New Zealand, which has involved plenty of new experiences.
‘‘We’ve never taken them to the South Island before, so it was their first time on the ferry,’’ said Marisa Gregory. ‘‘They’re enjoying all the beaches and being able to run around. They love bathwater, but they have not been in the sea that much.’’
This year was also a bit different for Zita the Hungarian vizsla and Chloe the weimaraner from Te Awamutu, who would normally be spending their summer holiday in a kennel while their owners were overseas.
‘‘Our children have been overseas for years, so usually our holidays were spent visiting them,’’ owner Karen Budden said.
‘‘But this year we found some dog-friendly places and went away in the campervan.’’
They did trips to Whangamata¯ in the Coromandel and Whakaipo Bay in Taupo¯ , which was ‘‘amazing’’ for dogs, Budden said.
‘‘It’s a big DOC reserve for self-contained vehicles.
‘‘It’s all dog-friendly . . . both dogs just loved it.’’ Taupo¯ is a popular spot among dog-loving holidaymakers, with Hetha Smith-Cassin, of Auckland, taking five of her four-legged friends down there.
‘‘This is the first time we’ve tried Taupo¯ , and we just loved it,’’ she said.
‘‘Everywhere you went it was dog-friendly – there’s so much for them to do. They’re our family, so I wanted them to have a really good time and they did. It was the perfect place.’’
Highlights included the Spa Thermal Park, the Tongariro River Trail, Omori Beach and Kinloch, with the dogs even enjoying a stop at a vineyard.
‘‘We got to eat pizzas and drink wine, and they just sat there in the shade.’’
Ted the cavoodle, from Hawke’s Bay, also enjoyed his first family holiday in Taupo¯ , though the car ride there took some getting used to.
‘‘He’s a terrible car traveller,’’ said owner Petra Cawood.
But after he arrived he made the most of the experience, going on lots of boat rides and even visiting the Huka Honey Hive.
Fellow cavoodle owner Mcleod acknowledged that taking a dog on holiday could be ‘‘a bit limiting’’, with the added challenge of finding petfriendly accommodation and activities.
‘‘It’s a different kind of trip,’’ he said. ‘‘There’s a lot of things you’d normally do that you can’t, like you can’t go into a museum; [and] you stop at a lot of beaches and go for a run around with a ball.
‘‘But I think travelling with a dog is quite nice – it’s relaxing. There’s not so much pressure.’’