Lulu's life in Devonport

Lulu lounging around at our Devonport rental

Our little Lulu is really enjoying the life in New Zealand, although I'm sure she loved it back in the UK too!  Auckland is a very dog friendly place and strangers often stop to stroke and admire her.  She's never been one for very long walks (like our Poppy who we still miss very much) and prefers the shorter, but more frequent walks she gets here.  When we take her to the shops with us and tie her up outside, she gets lots of attention from passers by.  And, yes, we are confident that there are no dog kidnappings here - the crime rate is very low, especially as it's a city.

So here are a few piccies of Lulu in Devonport.  First off was one of our regular walks along the coastline.  You can go for miles when the tide is low and it feels like a bit of an adventure with some places having paving, but many others where you have to climb over rocks and boulders.

The walk along the coast to Cheltenham Beach, Devonport

Cheeky grin from Steve

One of the things I loved in Devonport were the dog hooks outside shops.  They are so darn cute and very creative too!

Waiting patiently outside Devonport Chocolates

Sitting pretty outside the Chateaubriant, a French patisserie

Another amazing thing about Devonport are the huge trees that line the coastal walk and dwarf Devonport Library.  I think they are called Morton Bay Fig trees.  Lulu loved to sniff around the massive roots on her daily morning walk.

Huge trees that line the coastal walk (yes, that is Lulu's bottom staring at you!)

Daily sniff at another huge tree in the garden of Devonport Library

Now I don't recall EVER seeing a dog wash before so I was amazed when we saw one outside a pet shop!  They are very common in Auckland and of course Steve had to give one a try.

Yes, it is as fun as it looks!  Lulu was very well behaved and obliging.  A lot of the pet shops also have an on-site vet and lots of babies animals - my favourite shops to visit!

Well I hope you enjoyed seeing a bit of Lulu's new life in Devonport.  As I mentioned in my last post, we've now bought our new home so I'll share a bit of that in my next post.  Ta ta for now!

Devonport's life on the water

One thing you can't miss in Devonport (and in most places in Auckland) is the life on the water so I thought I'd share a a bit of it with you.

A common view of all different types of boats on our daily walks

Auckland is known as the City of Sails - a lot of people here own boats and there are lots of marinas dotted around the coastline.  Being surrounded by water, it's an easy past time.  Many of my colleagues tell me that when they get home from work, they take the family out on the water and sail around for a couple of hours or stock up on food and drink on the weekend and sail around Auckland.  Something that we aspire to do one day too!

Devonport also has its own Yacht Club at Torpedo Bay.  There is always a whistling sound as you walk past it as the wind blows through the sails.  There are always people pottering around fixing up their boats or taking their boats out onto the water.

Our daily Lulu walks were most often walking along the coastline here where we regularly saw the huge containers going from the CBD wharf area out to the Hauraki Gulf.

Huge containers leaving Auckland CBD via the Hauraki Gulf

There is also the Devonport Naval Base, home of the NZ Royal Navy.  It's a bit weird seeing the massive ships sitting just outside this quaint village.

The Canterbury berthed at the Devonport Naval Base

If you have read my previous post, there is also the Devonport Ferry Terminal.  IMHO there is no better way to commute to work than the ferry, especially when you get the occasional peek of orcas and dolphins swimming beside the ferries - wonderful!

My view of Devonport Ferry Terminal from the ferry

We've now moved from Devonport to our new home (a new post on that soon!), but looking at these photos makes me feel a bit nostalgic for that lovely place!  But I've still got lots of photos to share on Devonport which I'll be sharing more of in my next post.  See you then!