Goolwa Beach

We visited Goolwa Beach last Sunday afternoon. It was going somewhere different for us and the poodles, and a break from our normal walking routines. We entered the sand dunes near where the Goolwa Barrages go across the River Murray to keep out the incoming sea water, and it was only a short walk through the sandhills to the beach.

Suzanne + Ari
Suzanne + Ari

It’s an interesting region, but we’d forgotten that cars are allowed to drive along this beach to the mouth. The speed limit on the beach is 40 kilometres per hour. I have no idea why the Alexandrina Council allows this. How does that access to 10 kilometres along the Sir Richard Peninsula protect the unique and diverse coastline featuring open beaches, reefs and sand dunes, especially when people drive their vehicles on the sand dunes? The 4WD’s sure don’t “tread lightly”.

Unfortunately for us Kayla, our youngest standard poodle, ate a dead fish whilst on the beach. She vomited all that night and had to undergo an operation to remove the bones from her stomach and those that had stuck in, and were in the process of perforating, her small intestine. She is still on a drip at the local veterinary clinic but improving. Our fingers are crossed.