A vignette in the life of the Raumati "Stream"

Christine from Paraparaumu

I was at the Raumati stream estuary at high tide on Thursday after a Cuppa.I have never seen the stream so full, and the waves from the ocean were high and splashing angrily against the stopbank, then sweeping with a lot of force & speed up the rivermouth. I heard a "yelp" and my eyes were drawn to a wee golden coloured dog running at full speed across the sand, on the other side of the stream. It was being chased by a huge wave and I watched in horror as it lost the race. It was caught by the full force of the water and was knocked against a log at the side of the stream, then was swept away under the bridge,. From there it disappeared around the bend in the river, out of my sight. I had noticed its owner wandering around the point on the north side of the estuary, heading away from the stream. While I was still wondering what to do & who to contact for help (there was nobody around just then) I saw the water bring the wee dog back toward the mouth, on the other side of the stream, in imminent danger of being swept out to sea. It hit the log again and it somehow managed to grab (with claws?) onto the log & hang on long enough for the water level to drop. It then stumbled onto the sand, shook itself off & started off with another couple of yelps, after the woman, who came back around the point, said something to the dog & together they wandered off. As it trotted off quite happily with her, I realised she had no idea what an adventurous and traumatic 2-3 minutes the wee dog has just gone through.