It's hard not to think that Kobe, a Pyrenean Mountain dog from Lawson hit the jackpot when he ended up matched with his 'mum' Muriel Wang.
Wang recently penned the stunning coffee table book Hiking Mount Kobe: A Dog's Guide to the Blue Mountains - giving Kobe all the credit - about their 45 favourite dog-friendly sights and trails from Glenbrook to Lithgow.
Together they spent more than a year researching and exploring the Mountains to complete the book, following a move here 18 months ago.
With the national parks out of bounds for fur friends, Wang and Kobe have outlined plenty of walks with creeks, waterfalls and cliff faces.
"Although we mainly put this together to encourage folks from out of town to bring their dogs to visit and support our local businesses, I found that even many local residents don't realise there are so many places where dogs are allowed in the Mountains," she said.
"With all the travel restrictions in place for the foreseeable future, it's the perfect time to take our dogs exploring in our beautiful backyard," Wang added.
The walks are rated by distance, difficulty and the "muddy ratings metre". There are walks for lazy days and the most intrepid (like Mermaids Cave in the Megalong) and other waterfall walks in the Mid Mountains where the muddy metre skyrockets. There's even details on how to get to a rock formation known as The Three Brothers, not as famous or spectacular as the one in Katoomba but worth a visit with your canine friend.
Some are more difficult for a 50 kilogram mountains dog than smaller furry friends (they mention challenges along the way when they have to rely on a few tourists to get Kobe down off a difficult ledge). The book is up-to-date and also advises checking the council website for closures.
Another reason behind the book is she wanted to contribute to the bushfire recovery work in the community.
"Having just moved here from the city, going through the bushfires last year was terribly scary and although we were lucky not to be directly affected, we wanted to contribute somehow to the recovery and rebuilding efforts. We were fortunate to link up with the Blackheath Area Neighbourhood Centre (BANC), who work with the Upper Mountains communities that were most heavily affected by the bushfires. "
Five dollars from each book sold will go to BANC's important work.
Hiking Mount Kobe can be purchased from the website (https://kotesbykobe.com.au/product/hiking-mount-kobe/) or at Blue Mountains Visitors Information Centre in Glenbrook, The Turning Page Springwood, The Pet Health Hub in Lawson, Megalong Books Leura, The Little Lost Bookshop Katoomba or Gleebooks Blackheath.
