Wednesday, September 13, 2017

COROLLA NORTH CAROLINA TRIP - THIRD DAY - PART 1 - SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2017

Sunday, September 3rd, 2017
Third Day - Beach and Wild Mustangs


We started the day off by having a lovely walk along the beach.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect for a Labor Day Weekend.  Hurricane Irma was on everyone's mind and the weather channel was on for a lot of the time when we were all back at the house.


Even for a holiday weekend there weren't a lot of people on this particular beach.  Most of the crowds have gone home now that school has started.  It was like this all week.




A selfie taken with the sun behind us, and outstretched arms holding camera showing in the reflection of the sunglasses.  I wish I could say this was my artsy shot but not really.


The photo below shows the top of the house that Gregg's sister and her husband rented for the week.  It was very pretty inside.  I will share some of the nicknack photos I took in a future post.


I was told the grasses growing on the top of the dunes were called Sea Oats.  



The night before our brother-in-law's brother and his wife asked us if we would like to go with them on a tour to see the wild mustangs which are famous in this area.  We happily accepted their invitation.


The next day we drove to the tour company where we hopped onto a multi-seated hummer, which drives along the beach as well as on a few sandy, non-paved residential roads, anywhere the horses tend to go.  


You could not drive in the reserve without a four-wheel drive and those big, wide tires.


To get to our seats which were at the back, and after climbing up a step ladder to actually get on the hummer, on our side we had to climb over three rows of seats, which included that of the driver.  Thankfully they had been laid flat.  I wish someone had been filming us, or maybe not.  It would have fitted well into a comedy routine.


We drove towards the reserve and eventually found ourselves on the beach with other Labor Day beach goers, all parked in the middle of the wide sand.




Four-legged beach goers too.


We were hoping to see some horses on the beach but they were probably hiding from all the tourists.


We eventually found a few of them in the residential areas.


 Through DNA testing these beautiful animals have been proven to be the descendents of the Spanish mustangs brought to the New World by explorers and colonists, as long ago as the early 1500s.  There were also many shipwrecks along this coast and it is thought that when those ships hit the rocks, many horses were able to swim to shore.  You can read about one shipwreck in an article here, which I found very interesting.


Several horses were happily munching grasses in people's gardens.  The driver told us that they also like to rest in the shade of car ports... 


and constant companions seemed to be the cattle egrets.


I will have another post in the near future.  I took a load of photos, too many to share today.


We had a fun time driving back along the beach again.  In this short video you will see a hummer nearer the waves.  This was from the same company and identical to the vehicle we were riding in.  If the video doesn't show, you can see it on YouTube here.


 

 At the end of our ride and just before we exited the reserve, we saw this lovely sight.


Pelican Grand Central


 I can highly recommend Wild Horse Adventure Tours.  Our guide was a wealth of knowledge not only about the horses but about the area also.  I am having trouble remembering his name but Gregg thinks it was Charlie.  He only did the tours part-time and he was a grandpa.  Charlie was great but if you look on Yelp you will see that there are many positive reviews about the tour guides.   They have a Facebook page which you can see here.  There are very nice aerial views at the top of their page.  It gives you a great feel of what you will experience if you are in the area.



In the evening we went to the celebration I mentioned in my first post, and this little cutie was one of the guests.  More on that next time.


39 comments:

  1. What an awesome and gorgeous post!!! I love the beautiful closeup of the horse's face. Seems like they are getting more and more tame as they go in people's yards and car ports. The beach is beautiful, and the house is perfection. Your third picture, the couple with the dogs...did you notice their gorgeous reflections in the sand? What a wonderful picture!! I also love your picture of the house with the beach in front. Your picture of the Hummer tracks on the beach is very cool, And I love the egret in Cattle Heaven!!

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    1. Thank you Ginny, the horses were very special to see. People are always warned that they are wild and will kick if they get too close. I did notice the reflections, they fascinated me. So glad you enjoyed all my photos.

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  2. Lovely shots of the beach! What a gorgeous place for a holiday. And how lovely to see the horses everywhere.

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    1. Thank you LadyFi, it was an incredibly enjoyable experience.

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  3. What a lovely, lovely outing. And isn't it marvellous when beaches aren't crowded.

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  4. Wow what an adventure. It is a beautiful beach and a lovely house to stay in.

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  5. Lovely captures, Denise. As photographers go you're up there with the best of them. The first four are first prize material.

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    1. How sweet of you to say so Valerie, thank you bunches and bunches :)

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  6. Hello, Denise! I would enjoy this place on the beach. The tour to see the wild horses looks fun. I love the horse, egrets and pelicans. The dogs are all cute too. Great photos. Happy Thursday, enjoy your day!

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  7. We have plans to see the wild horses, as well, on our trip to OBX later this month. One of our fellow vacationers has a 4WD vehicle and has volunteered to take us out on the beach. It will be the first time in four OBX vacations that we will go to see the wild horses. As the day of our vacation draws nearer, the more excited I become!

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    1. Great about your friend having the 4WD and offering to take you out there. I am excited for you. I would go back at the drop of a hat. Love that area!

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  8. Looks wonderful Denise. Beautiful beaches. Our beaches are deserted now that schools are back. I have just spoken to my brother who avoided visiting due to us being busy during the summer with grandchildren. He is visiting next week. The horses look beautiful and the Pelicans amused me. We get egrets now, they were just summer visitors but we have several pairs nesting locally in fact I expected to see some on our latest walk.
    Love to you both XXX Don

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    1. Thanks Don and how lovely your brother is visiting. Always great to see the family. I hope you get to see the Egrets, such a beautiful looking bird. Love to you both too xxx Denise :)

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  9. The beach looks gorgeous, and that's a great selfie. Beautiful horses too.

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  10. I can understand why you would want to go and see the horses but it is a crying shame to have the beach pounded so much by those awful vehicles. Obviously a whole lot of habitat for wildlife is rendered useless, the very habitat that is in shortest supply due to the conflict between humans and wildlife for sandy beaches. As humans we really don't have a whole lot of regard for other life forms, do we?

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    1. You make excellent points David, food for thought.

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  11. What a great spot and house to enjoy for a vacation. Love the pelican shot. Interesting to see wild horses in this environment.

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    1. It was a lovely area and the horses were amazing.

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  12. Wonderful mustangs and beautiful beach shots, and such a sweetie pie in that last shot!

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  13. I like your haircut a lot. Nice photos of the horses.

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  14. Hello Denise!
    It's good to see you and Mr. Greg enjoying friendships and nature with such a happy smile.
    About the mustangs, if you have not seen it, I advise you to watch the movie "Hidalgo" with actors Viggo Mortensen, Omar Sharif and Zuleikha Robinson, among others.
    For me it's a great movie.
    Continuation of a good stay in Corolla and good trip on the return home.
    Little kisses.

    Manuel

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    1. Hello Manuel, thank you for the movie recommendation. I will look for it. Little kisses, Denise

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  15. Wonderful beach photos! Love the horses... interesting about the DNA.

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  16. So wonderful to see the horses, birds and glorious views, Denise!

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  17. Horses are my favourite domestic animal. Looks a nice spot. Diane

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  18. Wow... like that silhouette shot at the beach.

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  19. Oh the beach looks glorious, I love all of your photographs here.
    Pelican Grand Central looks rather special too.

    All the best Jan

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    1. I could happily stay on that beach for hours and hours :)

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