My new home, Brisbane, is a “river city”, not a “harbour city” like Auckland, and so although it is near the edge of Australia, it is not right beside the sea and so there aren’t many beaches that are close by.
Back in Auckland, my humans could take me to a beach in just 10mins from our home in the car machine and most beaches there are dog-friendly…
Running on the beach at Mission Bay, Auckland...
…but here, although there are some beaches close to Brisbane, they don’t allow dogs to run free on them 
and so my humans have been looking to find a good dog beach for me.
They heard that there are some beaches which allow doggies to run free on the Sunshine Coast - so 2 weeks ago, when they had not started their Work thing yet, they took me to try and find a beach there for me to run and stretch my legs.
We had to drive for a long time in the car machine until we reached a place called Caloundra which is a little town beside the sea. It was lunch time when we got there and my humans were hoping to take me to an outdoor cafe for lunch. But the cafes were all very busy with LOTS of people and there was not much space around the tables for a giant doggie like me…see, you can’t really tuck me under a chair or a table, like you can with many other doggies! 
So then my humans decided to get some ‘fish & chips’ and maybe have a picnic with me on a beach…but even though the name of that place is the “Sunshine Coast”, it was not sunny at all! 
It was very rainy and grey and windy – so my humans just sat and had their fish & chips in the car machine…
It smelled really yummy and when they finished, I got to have some leftovers…mmm, potato wedges and deep-fried garlic prawns and calamari! YUM! 
Then we started looking for a beach…but all the beaches around Caloundra did not allow dogs to run free on them or only after 4pm (and it was still only 2:30pm!) - so my humans decided to drive up north more. On the way, we saw some more beaches but they all only allowed dogs after 4pm…and then finally, as we passed an area called Buddina (on Pacific Boulevard), we found this!
YAY! At last! A proper dog beach!
It didn’t look very welcoming though…the waves were very strong and big and it was still quite grey and windy…
But anyway it was so nice to have all the freedom and space!
(*My humans have fiddled with the computer machine software to make the photos in this post look warmer and brighter – it was actually a very GREY day!)
And guess what? The first dog I met on the beach was another Great Dane!
He was a bit stiff and unfriendly, though…and then suddenly, he got grumpy and lunged at me, showing his teeth!
And then he stuck out his tongue at me! How rude! 
Ho! I’m not going to take that lying down, you rude doggie! Didn’t your human teach you any manners? …Take THAT! I gave him a good bash on the head with my paws. Thhhhhft! Tongue back to you!
Then Hsin-Yi got mad and told me off for being rude to another doggie and called me away. Not fair! He was rude to me first! 
The other Dane’s human explained that he was not very good with other dogs and didn’t know how to play with them…but anyway, it was just a lot of noise and nobody got hurt.
So we continued walking down the beach, to see if we could find friendlier doggies. There were not many doggies about and the next dog we met was a bit strange – he was completely obsessed with one thing: DIGGING!
He just kept digging and barking and digging and barking non-stop. I tried to go over to say hello but just got a big gump of sand in my face so I gave up! His human told us that every day when she brings him to the beach, that is all he wants to do – just keep digging holes, until he wears himself out!
Well, since there were no doggies to play with me, my humans decided to let me play my FAVOURITE game in the whole wide world: Chase the Tennis Ball!
The sand was different from the sand I was used to on the beaches back in Auckland (which is a black, ‘volcanic’ sand) – this was a yellow, soft, fluffy kind of sand which was very difficult to run in…and it goes flying everywhere, all over your face!
But that’s OK – I was enjoying myself so much, I didn’t care! 
Before we left the beach, Hsin-Yi found a good place to do a ‘self-timer’ family photo…
After that, we went for a small walk in some trees beside the beach…
…and then my humans drove to another town further north called Mooloolaba. My humans said it had much nicer “atmosphere” than Caloundra and there was a street with lots of shops & cafes, all facing a bit of park and the sea…
We went for a walk beside the shops and cafes…Hsin-Yi really liked it because it was much more dog-friendly, especially for big doggies: the pavement was very wide, with lots of space for giant doggies like me, and the cafe tables were all spaced apart, with lots of room between them…
…and then we smelled something delicious…mmm…waffles! Hsin-Yi wanted to get some waffles and ice-cream – because she likes naughty but yummy snacks - whereas Paul is very good and healthy and always has fruit salads & nuts & natural yoghurt, etc. (Hsin-Yi says he will live longer but have a more boring life! )
Well, which camp do you think I decided to follow?
An extra large waffle to go, please...
.
Of course, polite doggies always have to wait for their humans to eat first…
You'll save some for me? Promise?
I got lots of leftover waffles and strawberry ice-cream (not the chocolate, because chocolate is poisonous to us doggies, of course) and then my humans even bought a rapsberry sorbet just for me! For some reason, lots of humans always like to stop and stare – and even take photos – when I’m eating ice-cream…
.
After that, we had a nice rest…ooh, it was good to lie down after all that walking and running on the beach!
Well, it was getting late and time to go home. It was a very long drive back and sadly, my humans decided that it was not very ‘practical’ to drive so far to take me to this dog beach every week…so we will have to just keep looking for another dog beach closer to Brisbane.
Here is a last picture of me and Hsin-Yi, with a sign that she thought was funny:
(*For my American friends, a ‘loo’ is a toilet!)
For more information about off-leash dog exercise areas (incl beaches) on the Sunshine Coast, go to: http://www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/addfiles/documents/animals/fs_offleash_areas.pdf
By the way, my humans were amazed that I didn’t have an upset tummy after all the junk I ate on that day! I had: potato wedges, deep-fried garlic prawns, calamari, some dog treats, waffles, strawberry ice-cream, raspberry sorbet and a bit of sea water!
I know some of you are staring at this list and thinking, “What about your healthy raw diet??” Well, Hsin-Yi is quite relaxed about diets and she thinks that as long as your normal diet is healthy, it’s OK to have a bit of junk food sometimes, even if you get a bit of an upset tummy – as long as it is not seriously harmful to us doggies. It is like Human Pups getting to taste jellies and lollies and sweets at parties – she says life is for living and she likes me to have lots of different experiences of different things!
But I am lucky also because I am such a big doggie and have such a huge stomach that unless I eat TONS of something, it’s not really enough to affect me. And maybe having a bit of junk food from time to time, ever since I was a puppy, means that I don’t have such a sensitive stomach anymore! 
Anyway, I was not sick and I did not have runny poo or gas or anything – I just had a VERY BIG SLEEP when I got home!!!!!
Oh, Honey!
I’m so glad you finally found a nice place, for a while there I thought you’d gone to a mysterious, topsy-turvy land!
I’m glad you said Mooloolabah is a nice place -- my Grand(hu)ma lives just across the river from there, and my human says we are going to drive there from Melbourne later this year to visit her.
She says it will take us about three days to get there -- I’m not sure how I will cope with having to sleep all day in the car, I’m only used to sleeping all day on the couch.
And now I know there will be a nice beach to run on when we get there!
Puppy kisses
Sasha
What a great find!
I know Mango will love your sandy face shot!
Mom started drooling ovFUR all your yummy foods!
We grinned at the people taking pikhs of woo -- I wonder if they know how really famous woo are!
Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra
I’m so glad that you got to go and stretch your long legs at the beach Honey!!
Thats so good of your humans to drive all that way to find you a beach!!
My person has been to Mooloolaba, she has friends that live there, it is a beautiful place!
Hopefully they find a beach closer to Brisbane that you can stretch your legs on!
Licks,
Lexi
Ohhh Honey!!! We scrolled up and down so many times. Now you’re hot hot HOT Brisbane and enjoy beautiful summer. Life over there looks great and we enjoy seeing everyone’s smile. We notice lots of people were taking your photo.
Ahhh our friend is a super star! 
Thanks for telling us what loo means. So can you view while p…….?!?!?
Oh yes, -2C is not so bad considering it’s mid january. hahaha…
Our mom and brudder had a very nice visit to Ombre and his humans yesterday. We couldn’t get a chance to meet them but heard they are doing well.
Momo & Pinot
Hiya Honey,
We’re so glad you found a beach at last, what a shame that first Dane isn’t used to doggies yet. We have the same problem sometimes, other doggies are rude to us first, we stand our ground and then get told off by FH for behaving badly -- sigh!! It’s SO not fair…!
By the way, thanks for your e-mail, FH wants to take some time to reply, but in the meantime she wanted us to say Max -- white and JD -- blue. We have no idea what that means but we’ve been assured Hsin-Yi will!
Gorgeous photos in this blog Honey -- we loved the one that showed all those other folks taking your picture too, he he he! You’re a superstar!
Schnauzer snuggles -- JD and Max.
(Whoops -- we keep on calling Max ‘Maxtr’ -- that’s not right!!!)
Hi Honey!
Its always hard moving to a new place when you’ve been so settled somewhere else, I’m sure that in time you’ll find heaps of places that you love going to that are just as good if not better than the places you left behind in Auckland. And it looks to me like you had a really nice day with your humans.
Licklick
Pepper
PS Oh boy, that waffle looked drool-a-licious!!
Honey -
Did you try digging in the sand? My dog beach here on Lake Michigan in Chicago has the same kind of sand as your new beach… it is FUNNNN!!!!! The dog beach is the only place my mom allows me to dig (mean!) and I just LOVE it!
And what about the water? Did you go in it? My beach has fresh water, so I like to drink out of it (even though mom says it’s probably polluted, she can’t stop me!), but I think your beach is probably salt water (ick!).
I hope you find a new beach close to home because I think that the beach is just the greatest place in the world. Even during Chicago winters when it’s 10 degrees and covered in snow. That’s actually my FAVORiTE time to go to the beach! I love to play in the snow and usually when it’s so cold out the bad doggies and bad doggie owners stay at home, so it’s only nice and socialized dogs who play well, like me! In the summers at my beach it gets a little too crowded. If I can’t spot my mom at all times I get a little nervous, and I don’t like it when the grumpy doggies come out to play. They ruin all the fun!
I am jealous you got to eat all that yummy food… I have a VERYYYY sensitive tummy, so my mommy doesn’t give me too much table food. I did get to have some of her chicken breast tonight, and it was DEEEELICIOUS!
I went to doggie daycare yesterday and I am still worn out, so I’m going to bed now! Have a good weekend sweet Honey girl!
Love,
Elle Woods
1) Off leash! we are so jealous ;p
2) Scary Dane + dig-obsess-barking dog.
3) Sand faced! Great family photo!
4) Junk food and no runny poo?!
AWESOME
What fun!
My favorite photos were the ones where people were taking photos of YOU in the background (are you a famous celebrity in Australia already?) and the one of the “Loo with a View”. That made me laugh! The sand face photo was great too.
How nice to have such dog friendly places.
What a great trip up the coast to find a doggie beach! You met some new dogs, saw lots of new places, and got to eat yummy food! I love all those photos -- especially the one of your face covered in sand! Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
Hi Honey -- wow, you are on lucky dog that your humans drove so far to find the perfect beach for you!!!! I too love running on the beach since I’m still a puppy -- know what I mean? Sometimes you just have to run a bit and really exercise your legs, right? My humans love the water very much and encourage me to swim. And I too love to chase balls -- after all, I am a labrador retriever! It’s what we do
I was drooling a bit on my human Diane’s shoulder, seeing the pictures of the yummy treats you got to try. My alpha human Dave lets me try things too -- sometimes pieces of chicken or beef. I try not to beg for food -- but sometimes I just REALLY want some of their human food and I can’t help myself.
I’m glad you had such a nice time -- hugs and tummy rubs to you
From Indy in Baltimore Maryland
wow what a great place !! I would have loved to run along the beach with you -- I wouldn’t show no teeth nor would I dig !!
)
Honey I love you!!
Bundy The Bold and Handsome
coool
so we dont go at the beach.
yeah we need to drive at lese 6 hours
But we have a place named “saraha” it’s like the real one lol
it a big forest and a very very big pond with lots lots of sand
El’bow has the same probleme, if we go in town of a ice cream everybody who doesnt know el’bow ask us for photos , films us ,…
but el’bow doenst mind
kissslobbers
El’bow & Hauwii
Oh Honey!
)
How YUMMMY! How I do love food, and fish and chips and waffles
I wanna go on the beach to play too, but mummy says I’m too small. sob sob.
You’re lucky to be so big. If I were you, I’d be gobbling down those waffles and ice cream before my owners could even eat it.
Kisses from Princess Eva
Hi Honey,
I’m glad to see that you and your hoomans are enjoying your new land. So how far did you have to ride in the big machine to get to the dog beach? Mom was just wondering. The picture of your face with all the sand was great!
We get the same reactions from people wanting to take pictures of me when I go out as well…what’s with them?? Have they never seen a great dane before?
Speaking of Great Danes…have you seen the movie trailer for Marmaduke yet??? That doggie looks like you in the movie…I can’t wait for it to come out this summer…maybe they will let me into the theater…Ha Roo…
AARF Kasha the Dainty Great Dane
Hi Honey,
That beach looks like fun, but those other doggies were not very friendly, huh? Maybe they were jealous of how big & beautiful you are. A loo is a toilet, really? That’s weird and by the way your hoomans inside car wheel is on the wrong side of th car…. What a strange place you live in. People stare at me when I eat ice cream too. Oh, and I love the photo of you with the sand face.
woof -- Tucker
Honey what a fun day! I can’t remember my humans ever giving me that fun food, I need to have a talk with them. I hope that you find a closer beach and that there are more friendly doggies there.
toodles
Bella
Honey, I think your Hsin-Yi is very smart! Since she has you on a healthy diet regularly, you can have those “guilty pleasures” every now and then. Sounds like she does the same for herself!!
My goodness what a long day you all had. We are glad there was a beach for you after all that, we are just sorry it is so far away. We will purr for a beach to be found closer to home.
All those yummies you got to snack on!!! WOW!! Our tummies would be giving us trouble!
We know why humans like to stop and visit with you and take
pictures of you….its because you are so cute!
Your humans making a point to find a beach for you to run free on shows just how much they love you, Honey!
My favorite pictures are the ones where your face is covered with sand and the one where other people are taking your picture while you eat ice cream.
I rarely let my little dogs eat human food. They’re both quite small so they don’t need much. That waffel and ice cream looked wonderful!
That’s too bad the great dane wasn’t very friendly. I try to take my dogs out to socialize them but they like to bark a lot so that doesn’t happen as much as I would like it to.
I’m like your mom with diet… life is for living. Mainly Wild Dingo pups eat raw and healthy but when we go have fun, it’s all OUT. when we have parties at our home, we will not feed the dogs any treats that day and instead they get left over party food, which is usually good stuff like shrimp, veggies, cheeses, beef, and some cake or cookies (not chocolate of course!)
Of course people would LOVE to take pix of you. You’re gorgeous!
And as far as doggies learning to play nice, sigh. well, they all got to learn somewhere i suppose. but no matter how rude a doggie is to you, your mom is 100% correct, it’s no reason to be rude back! instead, it’s better to teach the rude doggie through a play bow. but sometimes its hard to resist the smack down, i get it. I’d want to smack him down to if it were me and I’m a HUMAN! Loki was a rude player in the beginning, now he runs up fast but will go straight for the play bow when he gets to the doggie right away instead of body slamming or play biting (like he used to do). He’s learning that invitations are the best way to establish friendships! I think it has just taken some practice ON LEASH and praising him for calm behavior when meeting dogs and now he’s taken it to his off leash behaviors. He makes me proud. And thankfully, he’s learned to come to me when doggies are “more than rude” but downright NAUGHTY. makes me proud when he does that and he gets lots of treats and good boys when he walks away from naughty dogs.
Your mom is a GREAT mom. we’d love to play with you Honey!
wags-n-wiggles,
wild dingo
pee ess: when we move to Switzerland, we’re going to be giving up our 10 minute drive to a beach too. I’m hoping beautiful country and lake geneva will make up for it!
Wow! Looks like you guys had TONS of fun!! I’m jealous. My mom never takes me anywhere! Well in the summer she takes me fishing and to the park. And she is always taking me to my grandparent’s house. And sometimes she takes me to the vet, but never anyplace as fun as the beach!! I love the family portrait picture on the beach and your sandy face picture.
Jackal
P.S. Mom said when Chrome is old enough I can go with her when she goes on horseback rides!! I can’t wait. She also told me to mention it’s a good thing it will be three years before Chrome can be ridden so she can work on my recalls. Whatever mom!
Wowzers! What a great adventure! That beach looks like great fun!
Did you and the other Dane become friends eventually? I met a black Great Dane at the Vet’s today! He was a real nice guy. Let me know if you’d like me to set you up. Ha roo roo roo!
Play bows,
Zim
BOL -- we love your sandy face photo:) We hope you can find a beach that is dog-friendly that is closer to your home, Honey. We know how much you love the beach. But it was such a nice trip and we so enjoyed following along.
Happy Friday, Phantom and Thunder
w00f,s hee hee, me likes all dat sand on ur faceie…lots of fun..me sorry u meeted that not so nice doggy..me wishes me cood b free at the park me goes to, but me cant..mama and daddy sneak and lemme when we go down in the woods..me stays right b them..
b safe,
~rocky~
I have never seen a sign that actually said dogs were allowed off leash at all times, what a beautiful thing! Seems odd to find an unfriendly dane no? His human looked pretty unconcerned that his dog who does not like dogs was meeting another dog…
All of that food sounds most delicious! I think you left sand off the list of things you ate though. Moose has a tough tummy too but when he drinks seawater it is not such a good thing! The troubles are short lived at least.
Hope you find a closer beach soon! We live on an island that is probably 3 or 4 miles wide but it is not beachy at all and even so you can’t get to the water because it is all owned by someone or still mangroves. The nearest public beaches are 20 + miles away and still don’t allow doggies
hello honey its dennis the vizsla dog hay wow wot an adventcher!!! i hav never gawn on eeven haff sutch an oddasee!!! but yoo fownd a dog beetch and yoo got to eet yummee foodabuls so it wuz wurth spending all that time in the car wuznt it??? ok bye
I hear it is crazy hot where you live. Glad you found a nice beach to cool off at. You are a good girl to listen to mom when she tells you to walk away from a fight.
Slobbers,
Mango
My Mom and I would have joined you on the waffles. Dad likes to talk the talk of eating healthy but he would have given in too.
He is healthier than me and Mom though just like Paul. Glad you finally found a beach…I LOVE the sandy face picture…cute! Too bad more beaches aren’t dog friendly there but maybe you can find some other cool spots.
Nala
Hi Honey,
I am SO glad that you’ve found a dog friendly beach at last!!
You are a star wherever you go! I can see a few people taking photos of you when you were enjoying your share of icecream. Actually, I am so jealous of you eating icecream, as I have never had icecream before. Was it good?
Love,
Cinnamon
Hi, Honey!
Well… at least nobody is going to tell you how is like to be there, right?
I am sure they are going to find nice places to take you and have fun!
That Dane sure was rude and you gave him what he deserved! Haaa!
My mom loves waffles too! And that one looked delicious!
I have “junk food” sometimes on weekends. Everyone is relaxed here in my house so I get what I want more easily!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza
Hi Honeygirl. Thanks for sharing your adventure. I can see that you didn’t mind getting sand all over your face. For a glamour girl like you, that’s pretty impressive. I just love that picture.
I think you’ll eventually find a dog-friendly beach closer to home. It takes time to get to know a new city. Mooloolaba looks like a great find, though.
We’re with your mom about the food. We live by that rule too in our house. We eat really well every day but we love to enjoy some junk once in a while. My favourite junk is french fries. Once in a blue, blue, blue moon, Mama will give me one or two, I once at a smoked meat sandwich which I stole from someone’s desk in Papa’s office! But at home, candy and chocolate and stuff like that is hidden from me.
Bye for now. ♥
Chef
Hi Honey! I just loved your pictures. Lucky you that you got to go to the beach. It’s winter here in Canada and VERY cold. Mom takes me to the park everyday if it’s not too cold though and I love digging in the sand too, just like that other dog you wrote about. I’m good and never dig at home
Mom says even though we’ll probably get arrested, when summer comes we’re gonna find a beach for me too. ((We don’t have any special places here for dogs, not even in the whole province Mom says)) Mom’s bad like that hee hee.
I’m glad you’re having a great time and lots of new experiences. See you soon! Luke
hello Honey!
Great to see your family are all settling well in Brisbane. We loved the pictures of all of you at the beach and strolling about exploring the towns.
You’re real lucky u get to taste all those yummy human food. We sometimes get some too -- but not as much as we’d like ‘em to be!
Licks and wags
The Dog Woods Pack
Hi Honey,
Your day at the beach looked a lot of fun. We have to travel about an hour and a half to get to our closest beach. We love going, it has been too cold here lately but as soon as it warms up a bit we shall be off to the seaside for the day like you.
We hope you find a nice dog friendly beach closer so you can go more. Beach and sea play is such great fun for us pups and the humans.
hehe.,… we loved how you were photographed eating your sorbet.
That loo with a view sign is funny!
We hope you have had a great weekend.
Honey, what an amazing time you must have had! I live very close to a river and Momma says if I could actually fit in her kayak, it (the river) would take me to the Pacific Ocean (like a 400k float). Nice that yyou got to meet some other doggies. I am only half way through my puppy shots so Momma only let’s me play with her friend Mocha and the pups at school. Mid-March? Par-taa!!
Your USA friend,
Juneau
p.s. I love to dig holes.
Hey honey,
I moved to Brisbane 3 years ago and we adopted a dog from the RSPCA in December 09 -- he’s a Kelpie X and tiny compared to you. We have been looking all over for a good dog beach that’s not too far away and one of our favourites is Wellington Point -- it’s a doggy area all hours from Monday to Fridays (so no weekends or public holidays : ( ) but it’s not a real beach as it’s in a bay. Nudgee is another dog area but it’s more mud flat than beach -- still though, it’s a great place and not so far from Brisbane.
Also, Queensland is pretty uptight on their dog laws but NSW is much better. Tweed Heads and Kings Cliff down south are great beaches for humans and dogs alike. Also, Byron Bay but that’s quite a drive.
Btw, I love Caloundra -- Moffat Beach is the best beach there I think. It’s quieter and I believe it’s an offleash area as well.
Enjoy Brissy,
Naomi
Whoa! What a great day! I love hearing about your adventures! The pics are awesome too! I am glad you were able to find a dog friendly beach at last! Love, Dino
Hi Honey
My mum complains about how far the dog beaches are from Brisbane compared to her where she grew up in Perth. My parents take me to the Spit and Currumbin beach (Gold Coast) every second or third weekend. I love to run and play with other dogs and I always meet a couple of other Danes. Nudgee beach is good for an explore at low tide but not so much for the swimming (not that I mind -- I cant swim yet)
Maybe I’ll see you at the beach one day, I’m the big blue boy
Slobbers
Lupe
Welcome to Australia, love reading your adventures Honey. You must venture to the Gold Coast next time (approx an hours drive from Sth Brisbane), and go to ‘The Spit’ -- follow the signs to Seaworld, drive past Seaworld to the end of the road & there is a huge dog beach -- and you never know you might meet Luna the Great Dane there, or my dog, Seamus the Irish Setter. Will look out for you!
Try Red Beach on Bribie Island. Leash free!! As far as I know the nearest dog friendly beach from Brisbane.
Hmm, I think you were well within your rights to whack that rude doggie. What a great reward to have all of those fun treats!