A group of 19 people had a lovely time exploring the tracks alongside the Tamaki River from Glendowie Sansdspit to Panmure. We set out at 9:10am from the Point England carpark after our intros, and went across the fields of Point England Reserve to follow the Omaru Creek down to the coastline. From there we went on to the Tahuna Torea Nature Reserve and walked out to the Glendowie Sandspit. We returned along the upper track, then along the coastal path back to the carpark. On the way we saw Brian Ford who was doing the walk in the other direction with his Pathways group. We had our lunch beside the convenience block out of the strong wind. Our club president Barbara, recovering from a knee injury, came to join us for lunch and devotions.

Kim shared how she had dealt with the strict Covid-19 lockdowns. This was a time that made us rethink about our lives. We can no longer take essential workers such as doctors and nurses for granted. Because we are social, we learned different ways of connecting with people such as through Zoom. Lockdown was an opportunity to deal with all the unnecessary clutter in the house and in our lives. It was nice and quiet when going on walks, we noticed more birds for example. Lockdown has taught us valuable lessons and helped us to be mindful and know that through God's love we can love and share with others. Some of the group left to go on to other commitments, while the rest of us did the return walk along the pathway/cycleway to the Panmure yacht club landing. We were finished back at the carpark by 2pm.

Cost: travel from The Bracken $2 Distance 14.3km, maximum speed 6km/h, average speed 3km/h.