I have just returned from a walk on Mount Main Beach. The high tide had swept right up to the edge of the dunes leaving the sand flat and firm. I walked between the glutinous white sludge deposited near the water's edge and the widespread stretch of the many evenly distributed seaweed clumps extending up towards the dunes.
About 20 yards in front of me was a couple walking with a big dog. A bit further on, the dog stopped and proceeded to generously discharge itself on a bed of fresh seaweed salad.
I called out to the lady who had glanced behind.
'Eh lady, your dog is off loading.” She saw the last dollop exit as it fell ungraciously to join up with the other two big dollops. I asked her: 'You do have a plastic bag with you, don't you?” She replied: 'Yes”. Her partner walked back to join her, but neither seemed eager to do clean it up. Then I asked her partner: 'You do have a plastic bag, don't you?”
The partner said: 'Well no, but I will get one from the car later and deal to it then.” The car park being about 150 yards behind us.
I shook my head gently from side to side and forced a strained smile, and we all continued to walk further on in the same direction.
I was travelling faster than they were, as their dog was playing about. After about five minutes or so I stopped to appreciate an extensive vista of the surging surf.
It was then, that I noticed the couple and their dog were much further from the car park and the incident, and I wondered for a moment how the dog's owner was going to find and collect their dog's waste in all that sea weed to be deposited in an appropriate receptacle.

D Wilson, Tauranga