Putting the fang on a vet

The night was a little disturbed with Tammie being very restless.  And that was before a herd of possums stampeded across the roof at 2am!  When we got up she kept shaking her ears in a half-hearted fashion and was not interested in food.  I thought I could see an arthropod well down her ear so it was off to the vet.

The vet was very thorough and said that he couldn’t see a tick in the ear but she did have a lot of wax down there which was sufficiently impacted to have started a little bit of inflammation.  So he gave (in the sense of ‘provided’ not ‘donated’) me a bottle of stuff to put in her ears for the next couple of mornings.  In the course of this he probed her ears quite deeply and she repaid his professional with a lightning snap.   When I apologised he said something like ‘It was just a warning shot.” and she didn’t break skin at all, but I was very embarrassed.

On getting home the first set of drops were administered with some difficulty, but ultimate success.  As herself seemed to be feeling better we thought we’d take her for a stroll along the other dog beach to the North of the town centre (after checking out the lighthouse). 

The lighthouse is on the most Easterly point in Australia.  As such it is one of Byron’s claims to fame.  Of course this makes it very popular and the jobsworths have to step in to control matters.  So when we got to the road going up there we were greeted by: a sign saying we had to pay $7 to go in there; another sign saying “no dogs”; and, when got to the lighthouse - a dweet in a NPWS uniform about to enforce both those rules and tell us there was nowhere to park anyway.  (It is nicely ironic that they wear brown shirts: now, if NSW trains ran on time….).  This is the first encounter we have had with such officialdom on this trip.  It would be a lot better if they devoted their energy to defending the Parks against real threats: did anyone mention coal-seam gas?

So we headed off to Belongil Beach and had a very pleasant walk of about 3km.  At one point I counted 13 dogs visible in the 1.5km exercise area, ranging in size from Tammie up to large Labrador.  All having a lovely time, as were the owners.  We didn’t see any whales or dolphins but a large school of fish were evident just off shore, providing food for the seagulls and interest for the humans.

The next part of the plan was to drive around the Arts and Industrial area to check the place out and possibly to get a burger at the Big Top Café. 

Many of the places were shut but the BTC was open and a burger was acquired.  It was OK: I’d rate it about 0.6 Yass Road Takeaway points (a Big Mac comes in at around 0.1 YRT). 

Frances checked a few places out and many were shut.  Eco Furniture wasn’t, and earnt points by welcoming Tammie inside.  They sold us a cheeseboard and some wood conditioner!

On the way back we swung by the BBBGTT (Byron Bay Brewery and General Tourist Trap).  It does have a small brewery as well as a day spa ( blleccch- this term made me vomit in New York), a cinema and the Budda restaurant.  I suspect the later is more to do with Chris Handy than Gautama.  They don’t sell bottles but they can be acquired at bottle shops around town!  This was done the next afternoon and the brew - only one of their products appears to be bottled, which is a nuisance - rated as very acceptable.

I then went for a run along Tallow Beach. About 7km (very honest kms as well).  Even without a dog it was nice to see the hordes enjoying themselves.