Bella Playa OBX Corolla Rental

10/25/2024

Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas from Corolla!!
See you again in 80.000 years!!

10/19/2024

SpaceX Starlink launch over Corolla, truly amazing!
WOW!
🚀

07/29/2024

Heartbreaking and absolutely avoidable! 💔

At 11:30pm on Friday, July 26 we received a 911 call that a horse who had been standing on the beach was struck by a vehicle. The incident was witnessed and reported by a visitor who had been surf fishing at the time. No other horses were injured. The driver of the vehicle was arrested.

The horse that was hit was 10-year-old stallion Bullwinkle, and the injuries he sustained were as follows:

-Significant skin trauma over the right side and back.

-Broken right hind leg with fracture of the lower femur.

-Left hind trauma and lateral destabilization of the hock with collateral ligament injuries, allowing the leg to bow outwards.

-Pendulous abdomen when standing and once euthanized fluid-filled abdomen confirmed with a fluid wave of manipulation, likely due to significant internal trauma and blood within the abdomen.

Bullwinkle’s injuries were severe and ultimately fatal. Our veterinarian arrived on the scene early Saturday morning to humanely euthanize him.

On Thursday, we posted a video of two stallions fighting and told the story of how the challenging stallion had been vying for the other stallion’s mares for several weeks. The challenging stallion was Bullwinkle. He was in the prime of his life, and went from being a symbol of what it means to be wild and free to a tragic example of how irresponsible, reckless human behavior can cause pain, suffering, and irreparable damage to the herd in an instant. Bullwinkle will never produce any foals. His genetics are gone from the herd forever and with such a small, endangered population the ramifications of that will last for generations.

Bullwinkle died as wild as he lived; at no point did he welcome our intervention and he remained wary and defensive even as he laid on the dune unable to stand anymore. The fight drive that he was always known for never left him, right up to the end. He was exactly what a wild Banker stallion is supposed to be, and we are glad that he at least never had to leave the beach - he was never meant to. He was buried at the edge of the meadow where the video from Thursday was filmed. There is not much comfort that can be found in anything about this tragic incident, but we are at least grateful that we could help him pass without further suffering and provide him with the respectful and dignified burial he deserved.

We’d like to thank everyone who helped us Friday night and Saturday morning, especially the visitor who called 911. Otherwise there would have been no consequences for the driver, we would have never known what happened, and Bullwinkle may have suffered for longer than he did. Thank you to our community who came together to help us that night and into the day on Saturday, to the Currituck County sheriff’s department for their quick response and on-going support, and to our staff and veterinarian for their unending dedication to always doing what’s best for the horses.

www.corollawildhorses.org

06/14/2024

‼️ SPECIAL PRICING ‼️ - June 22-29.
+ complementary heated pool!! ❤️🏖️

PM or Book now through Carolinadesigns.com #18080 yards to the beachPet friendly6 Bedrooms (4 masters)Large heated poolall smart TVs + Sound systemEV chargerUpdated living & dining room furniture

06/12/2024

WOW!! 🌊🎣

On Monday, Captain Rom Whitaker reeled in the most valuable catch of his entire career.

06/12/2024

‼️ SPECIAL PRICING ‼️
Only one week available - June 22-29.
Reduced pricing + complementary heated pool!! ❤️🏖️

Book now through Carolinadesigns.com #18080 yards to the beachPet friendly6 Bedrooms (4 masters)Large heated poolall smart TVs + Sound systemEV chargerUpdated living & dining room furniture

06/05/2024

For those who are fans, Outer Banks season 4 coming soon!!
And no, you still cannot take a ferry from Outer Banks to Chapel Hill... ⛴️

06/05/2024

Heartbreaking but informative update from the Corolla Wild Horse Fund regarding Elsa, born Sunday morning. We are grateful compassionate and diligent care and everything that CWHF does. ❤️🐴

Late this afternoon we made the sad but necessary decision to humanely euthanize the herd’s newest foal, a filly born Sunday morning named Elsa.

On Sunday when Elsa was first seen, besides being on the small side she seemed to be in decent health. She was observed nursing and was seen multiple times yesterday as well. However, this morning when one of our staff came across Elsa’s mother and two-year-old sister, she was not with them. After a quick search the foal was located out on the beach with a different harem about a half mile away. She was with a mare who was being very protective and even letting her try to nurse, but obviously Elsa was not getting any nourishment and could not be left with her.

After touching base with our vet, we decided to try and grab Elsa and take her back over to her mother to see if they could be successfully reunited. We were able to catch her and get her into the truck, but once we had our hands on her we could tell she was in very bad shape. After another conversation with the vet, and also after learning that her mother had been seen kicking at her on Sunday, we decided to forego trying to reunite them and brought Elsa directly to the farm so she could be seen by the vet.

Blood tests revealed that Elsa did not receive any colostrum, so either her mother was not producing it or Elsa was not successfully nursing. She also had pneumonia, was severely dehydrated, and while we don't think she was truly premature she was definitely dysmature. She was very sick. It became clear why Elsa’s mother had rejected her - she most likely sensed that Elsa was not going to survive.

Elsa was already fading quickly by that point so we made the decision to help her pass quietly and with no further suffering. She has been buried at the farm next to the other foals we’ve lost over the years. They are just outside the mares’ pasture so they always have a big herd of their “aunts” watching over them.

We’d like to thank our staff and volunteers who helped get Elsa to safety today. It’s difficult any time there’s a medical emergency with one of the horses, but going through this kind of thing with a foal is exceedingly hard. Our staff and volunteers always rise to the occasion and always put the horse’s needs above their own emotions, and that is not something we take for granted. We are incredibly grateful for each and every one of you.

Rest easy, Elsa.

www.corollawildhorses.org

**Media outlets have permission to share the information in this post, along with the photograph. Credit to Corolla Wild Horse Fund. At this time we have no further comments or additional information to share.

06/01/2024

Eight foals so far in 2024!!
😍🐴

05/26/2024

In OBX, furry friends are always welcome on the beach! 🏖️ 🐕

However, each town does have regulations to keep everyone on the beach safe and relaxed on vacation. If you plan on bringing your dog on vacation, check the post below for details on each town's policies! ✅

Click here 👇🏻

https://www.carolinadesigns.com/obx-guide/pets

05/20/2024

One of our favorite places to visit, with amazing history and spectacular sunsets!!

1928 -Aerial view of Currituck Lighhouse taken by plane of 2nd Bomber Group while on maneuvers on May 14, 1928 - Also shown is the Whalehead Club building, completed about 3 years prior to this photo -
Natnl Archives

05/17/2024

WOW

🐋 We're only halfway through the week and still finding fascinating discoveries on the beaches of Cape Hatteras. Take a look at this large portion of a Humpback whale skull on Hatteras Island.

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) have specialized skull structures to support their unique feeding behaviors. Their skulls are relatively flexible, especially around the jaw joints, which enables them to open their mouths wide to consume large volumes of water and prey. The also have mandibles (lower jaws) that are not fused to their skulls.

The Outer Banks of North Carolina, known for history, hurricanes, and shipwrecks also happens to be a hotspot for marine mammal activity. At any given time, a wide arrangement of marine mammals move-about and feed very close to Cape Hatteras beaches, influenced by the southern Gulf Stream and the northern Labrador Current colliding off our coast. Given its location on the Outer Banks, the barrier island chains extend into the Atlantic Ocean and come in very close proximity to the continental shelf, and for this reason a large number of strandings occur within park boundaries.

Any marine mammal strandings OR sea turtle activity sightings should be reported to the Cape Hatteras Stranding Hotline: 252-216-6892.

📸 NPS | E. Dlutkowski

05/16/2024

Updated June rates + complementary heated pool!!

Book now through Carolinadesigns.com #18080 yards to the beachPet friendly6 Bedrooms (4 masters)Large heated poolall smart TVs + Sound systemEV chargerUpdated living & dining room furniture

05/11/2024

NORTHERN LIGHTS IN NC UPDATE✨🌌 The latest forecast from University Alaska Fairbanks is calling for the highest Kp index and best viewing between 2-5 AM Saturday morning in NC. Stay tuned for updates!
✨No telescope needed
✨Look north in a dark area

05/10/2024

04/15/2024

Spectacular!! Definitely one of our favorite road trips from Bella Playa!!