The day started with lots of rain early in the morning and some of us were unsure whether or not to stay home where it was warm and dry! However, as often happens in Auckland during the spring, the afternoon was splendidly sunny. A group of 32 people met at the end of Thorps Quarry Road for a strenuous, muddy 45 minute climb up to the lookout where we were rewarded with a beautiful view – the Manukau Harbour in one direction, the Hauraki Gulf in the other, the top of Rangitoto, even The Camel on the Coromandel Peninsula. We had afternoon tea here and Kim lead us in devotions. She spoke about the passage in Lamentations 3:21 But there’s one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope where we are reminded that positive self-talk in the face of challenges helps us to overcome, in God, difficulties we may be facing through changing the way we view those difficulties. Packs back on, and sticks in hand, we carried on our loop track with a downhill section which was, again, very muddy. We passed through a grove of beautiful kauri and even saw a fat kereru perched in a tree closer to the beginning of the scenic reserve. A short detour along the way took us through some developing native wetland to a pretty waterfall in the historic Thorps Quarry.