Eight people turned up to enjoy another social day out, this time at Ngatea on the Hauraki Plains. This
included a visit to the watergardens, a gemstone factory, plenty of retail therapy and the hot springs
at Miranda.
We left The Bracken as usual at 8am, and were at the Copper Kettle tearooms at 9:30am
for our brunch.
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A time of retail therapying at the local antique shop, garden centre and craft shop followed.
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Then on to the Ngatea Watergardens and our walk for the day - an interesting concoction of ponds,
water lilies, birds, gardens and jokes of all shapes and sizes!
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We set joking aside during our walk to think over some references to water in the Bible in a devotional
time led by Linda. Psalm 63:1 My soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you in a dry and weary land,
where there is no water. This refers to thirsting for water in the spiritual sense, the living water
of God. Isaiah 41:17-20 The poor and needy seek water, and there is none. Their tongue fails for thirst.
I, God, will answer them, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and springs in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land
springs of water. I will put cedar, acacia, myrtle, and oil trees in the wilderness. I will set fir trees,
pine, and box trees together in the desert, that they may see, know, consider, and understand together,
that the hand of God has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it. We can see the reality
of this in the physical water around us. John 4:14 Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will
never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up
to eternal life. As physical water brings earthly life, so does spiritual water brings eternal life.
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Afterwards we went to Wilderness Gems to have a look at their large selection of gem stones, rocks
and minerals. The most interesting exhibit was a geode, a hollow rock whose interior is lined with exquisite
crystals in shades of purple. There was also a 5-minute self-service presentation of how certain rocks
and minerals give a fluorescent glow of various bright colours when exposed to ultraviolet light.
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We spent the rest of the hot sunny afternoon at the Miranda Hot Springs, followed by fish and chips
from the famous eatery at Kaiaua on the Firth of Thames foreshore.
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