The weather outlook for the day looked doubtful, but by the time lunchtime rolled around it was partly cloudy and quite warm and the leaders decided the trip would definitely proceed. One car load of five people left The Bracken at 1:30pm to meet up with the rest of the group at the start point, the Mangemangeroa Reserve carpark on Somerville Rd in Howick. After the usual intros and karakia we set out at 2:10pm to follow the track towards Shelly Park, dropping down through pasture before entering bush. We had views down to the Mangemangeroa Creek with the tide in. We came to a lookout near the loop track junction at 2:30pm where we could look up the valley towards the Whitford bridge and beyond. From there we turned around and retraced our footsteps back to the first junction on the track, and as we reached this Bruce and Evelyn joined us.  We carried on along the track alongside the Mangemangeroa Creek and soon came to a new track that goes under the Whitford Bridge and up towards Point View. After a short stop underneath the Whitford Bridge we carried on upstream through pasture and bush. At 3:10pm we had our afternoon tea break at the bottom of steps leading up out of the valley. CS read the day’s devotions from The Word For Today, about This is the day the Lord has made (Psalm 118:24) and maximising the day. God knows how many days we have; we have the choice as to how they are spent. Yesterday was for learning; tomorrow (which is never guaranteed) is a consequence of what we do today. Today we are to invest our time in the life God has given us. We need to tackle each obstacle with God’s help. We need to resist doubt and pessimisim and warm the world with a smile. We need to have strong faith, expect the best, be happy, see each task as honouring God, and leave His footprints on  the hearts of everyone we meet. Then came the big grunt - first the steps, then the driveway, then Hayley Lane up to Pont View Road. It seemed a rather long slog along Point View Rd to the Point View trig with the weather looking threatening with overcast conditions and rain on the west horizon. We finished our walk at 4pm at the trig carpark where two cars had been left to ferry the drivers back to the start point to pick up their cars and return to get their passengers.

A friend of Barbara’s who lived nearby invited us to visit for afternoon tea, a great way to cap off a lovely afternoon walk. DISTANCE WALKED:  5.6 km MAXIMUM SPEED:  7 km/h AVERAGE SPEED: 4.3 km/h BIG GRUNT:  80m over 0.7km COST: $3 travel from The Bracken