It takes a lot to get us out of the house these days, George and I have both fallen into being home bodys but with Mum's birthday on the horizon, I thought it was the perfect time to book another adventure and this time we'd have company.
I've always thought fondly of our last trip to Foxton Beach, and knowing it wasn't a long drive from home, thought it was the perfect spot to book an extended weekend away. I looked up where we last stayed, and connected with the lovely Nadine to discover it was available for the dates I wanted. This little bach is the ideal weekend getaway and being dog-friendly, with awesome walk options nearby, it gets an automatic tick from us. You can read all about the accomodation HERE from our previous stay.
Accomodation booked, it was time to plan our adventure. Having three days meant we could explore some new spots along the way and on the way home, but also have a whole day to fill around Foxton. Adventure planned, it was now a few months to wait till we actually got in the car and headed south. Watching the weather report all week was rather tense....more to come on that later!
Day One
Friday of our holiday weekend finally rolls around and we head to Mums to pick up our travel companions. Not only was Mum joining us, but so was her dog Maisy. If you've been following the blog for a while, you will have seen Maisy mentioned a few times. Affectionately known as weasel, but more fitting...crazy Maisy.
As always, we have to start with a walk near home. There's no way the ride to our next destination would be a quiet one without letting George get out within at least the first ten minutes on the road, so we headed to one of our favourites Matekai Park in Oakura, which you can read about HERE. Mandatory walk done, it was in the car to officially start our adventure.
Otamatea Reserve (Dog Park) - Whanganui
Off-lead
Location for Google Maps: 74-72 Virginia Road, Otamatea
Google Maps was having an off day, or I put the wrong dot on the map, but driving into Whanganui, it took us around in circles trying to find this place. We passed it at least once, but after finally parking up with all the other doggie cars...we wondered how we both didn't see it! To be fair to Google Maps, there is a second entry to this park on the main road it was trying to point me to, but if you've never visited before, it can be a bit confusing so I would recommend coming via the Virginia Road entry.
There is plenty of parking here and for a Friday mid-afternoon it was packed with fellow dog owners. There is a small fenced area at the front of the park for those that can't be trusted off-lead to have a run around. Alternatively you can follow a concrete track around the park itself. George and Maisy introduced themselves to all the local dogs, had a good stretch of the legs and Mum and I both agreed it was a great little park that we would happily stop at again. I think this one might become a regular when we're driving through Whanganui. The local dog training club is also based at this park, so I am sure there are certain times you might want to avoid it when training is happening. There were plenty of poo bins and water fountains for the dogs but no public toilets.
Foxton Beach
As we set off from home around lunchtime, we pulled into Foxton Beach just before 5pm, and being the end of August, things were getting dark around 6ish. Having stayed here before, I knew exactly the places I wanted to revisit and show Mum and Maisy why I loved it so much.
We dropped our gear at the bach, and put the dogs back in the car to head to our final walk for the day and seek out some dinner. Our evening walk took us to Ferry Reserve, a cool little forest walk that links Foxton Beach Road and Palmer Road. I've already documented our walks in Foxton Beach from our previous visit, so you can find more information on these HERE.
Day Two
Having followed the weather report all week, I knew we were in for rain on Saturday. But thankfully, according to all reports it wasn't going to hit us till early evening. So we planned to spend most of the day out and about, ready to hunker down around dinner time.
Our first walk was again revisiting a favourite in Foxton Beach, another forest walk - Cousins Reserve. More info HERE. As it had been a reasonably early start, we headed back to the bach to enjoy a coffee and breakfast before setting off for a trip down to Levin to explore some of the doggie areas I had marked there. We had no plan, so we drove through Levin and out and the other side, before realising at some point we should probably make a turn back somewhere. I realised a dog walk I had marked was nearby, so it was really by chance we ended up here.
Kimberley Reserve - Levin
Off-lead in the exercise area, on-lead in the bush and campground areas
Location for Google Maps: 442 - 350 Kimberley Road
Ok well this time, it was definitely Google Maps. The pin for Kimberley Reserve that is set on the maps, is nowhere near the entrance to the reserve. There isn't a sign to mark it either, but you'll spot what looks to be a long driveway at the address I have noted above.
What I didn't realise is that this is actually a camp spot. Being outside the peak period, there was only one other couple and their dog here when we arrived. On arrival there are toilets, picnic benches and wide open, park like spaces. The toilet is only open during summer hours and the bins were already overflowing. There isn't much parking when the gate to the camping area is closed, but its unlikely to be the sort of place that gets super busy as its away from town.
The sign says to follow the arrows and dog signs to the dog exercise area. We followed the driveway, looking out for the signs and eventually came to what is called the Dog Exercise Area. Ultimately it just ended up being the end of the large field, there was no defined area. Levin and the lower north had flooding in the week prior to us visiting, so the ground was very wet and the nearby Ohau River that flows through the grounds, was sitting high and flowing fast. I imagine in nicer times, it would be a great spot for a doggie swim, as there are a few areas that looked easy to enter. Reaching the end of the field, there was a muddy path that looked to keep going, but as it was so muddy, I didn't venture down it to see where it went, although George tried. It's possible there is a bit of a bush walk here at the end.
Returning back to where we parked, we decided to just have a nosey through a couple of the little bush pathways that border the driveway. These would be great during summer to get out of the heat, but do require your dog to be on-lead as they are laying baits in the bush.
There is a maximum three day stay when using the campgrounds.
Kowhai Park - Levin
Off-lead
Location for Google Maps: 173-189 Queen Street West, Levin
By random we stumbled across this park. I had marked it on the map, but we just happened to end up on this road after aimlessly driving around town trying to work out our plan for the rest of the afternoon.
What an absolute gem this place ended up being, I am so glad we randomly stumbled upon it. A must to visit when you're in Levin. Just like Whanganui, it was teaming with fellow dog owners enjoying what was at that time, nice weather. We met a lovely little puppy who was learning not to jump up...almost impossible of course for her when everything was so exciting and we didn't mind. There were big open spaces for the dogs to run and play, mixed in with little bush pathways to explore.
It's not a large park, but one you could easily spend a decent amount of time in, zig zagging the tracks or chucking a ball around. One thing that really impressed me with this park, is how setup for dogs it is. Poo bags and bins were scattered throughout the park, although it seems lazy owners are everywhere!
It was getting into the late afternoon, so we decided to head back to Foxton Beach and start to settle in for the night.
Night Two
The one where we struggled to sleep....
Eugh, now we knew to expect rain, but earlier in the day when I checked the forecast, it had updated to a severe thunderstorm watch. It was a warning for the entire North Island so we knew it was going to be bad.
George is a sook when it comes to thunderstorms. It's not the thunder that upsets him though, it's the lightning. Crazy Maisy on the other hand, lives up to her name when it comes to storms, because she chooses to bark at them...an ear piercing bark.
We decided to take the dogs for a short walk before it got dark, just down the road from our accomodation. It's a walk that borders the Manawatu River and dogs can be off lead here. You'll find it at the end of Linklater Avenue. I didn't take any photos of this little spot.
After our short walk, it was time to hunker down and prepare for the night ahead. Mum and I attempted a game of scrabble, stressful enough, but then add faint rumbles of thunder and two stressed doggies and we rushed to end it. It was only about 8.30pm, but we decided since the worst was meant to hit us around midnight, we would try and get a few hours sleep before it arrived and Maisy started her barking.
I woke up about 11.30pm as the dogs were restless and checked my cameras back home here in Taranaki...geez louise, it was hectic! The lightning was going off every few seconds. It actually ended up being a blessing being away from home. We did get heavy rain and a bit of thunder and lightning, which kept us up till about 2am, but in the end we got off lightly compared to home.
Day Three
After a sleepless night, the dogs woke early needing to go outside. We decided to pack up and not worry about breakfast, thinking we would get something on the way home instead. Originally we had planned a walk along Foxton Beach to kick start our morning, but after the night before, the waves were big and the beach was covered in foam. Instead I decided to try somewhere else I had marked about 20mins up the road.
Ellison Reserve - Tangimoana
On-lead
Location for Google Maps: 1 Anga Street, Tangimoana
I couldn't find much information about Ellison Reserve, so its always a bit of a gamble heading to somewhere unknown, especially when it can be out of the way.
This morning was incredibly windy and despite Google saying it was only 20mins away, going down back country roads, always feels like you're going miles to get anywhere. We arrived to Tangimoana, which looks to be a small camping and fishing spot and made our way to Ellison Reserve. There are a couple of entrances but I had marked Anga Street as our spot and being a little cul-de-sac, it was easy to park up.
It was blowing a gale when we arrived, so it wasn't a long walk but we ventured in and followed one of the many bush tracks. There looks to be quite a few bush tracks you could take in here and the odd sign tells you where to head to get to the road etc. We discovered a small track at one point that had a beach access sign. We climbed the small hill to find a grassy track leading the way to the beach in the far distance. It is referenced as the Tangimoana Walkway and said 1.5 hours, I couldn't find an official map of the route but there is rough guide of the start on the sign I took a photo of.
We made our way back down into the bush and popped out at the large grassy field that borders the road. Here you'll find a pretty decent kids playground and a public toilet. Not bad for what feels like somewhere that is well hidden away! Back to the car via the bush tracks and onto the mission of finding a strong coffee and breakfast.
William Birch Pool - Pākaraka
On-lead?
Location for Google Maps: 1786 State Highway 3 (or choose the landmark)
After a short stop in Bulls for breakfast and a quick detour through Whanganui, we headed for our last stop before home, William Birch Pool.
This spot had me intrigued, every time I have driven past I have thought about stopping to check it out, and today was going to be the day. Reading up on the history, it sounds like it used to be an awesome spot to swim back in the day, but now the pools are no longer maintained, it's just become a spot to stretch the legs.
The dogs were happy to jump out and explore. I couldn't find definite leash rules for here, but as we were the only ones here, once we got away from the highway, I let George off for a sniff around.
There is just a small grassy area and a few picnic tables so not a place to get a decent walk in, but thanks to the pretty decent public toilet, it makes a great rest stop on a long trip. I wouldn't go out of my way to visit again, but its settled my curiosity and let me know theres a spot to stop on our next long drive.
Back in the car and onto home. Another great adventure with great company. We'll definitely be back to Foxton Beach again and highly recommend a visit and a stay at the bach.
Places visited:
Matekai Park - Oakura
Otamatea Reserve - Whanganui
Ferry Reserve - Foxton Beach
Cousins Reserve - Foxton Beach
Kimberley Reserve - Levin
Kowhai Park - Levin
Ellison Reserve - Tangimoana
William Birch Pool - Pākaraka
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