A total of 19 people showed up to do the Waharau Ridge Loop, a 2 hour loop tramp in the Waharau Regional Park north of Kaiaua. Three people met at The Bracken at 9am, and the others met at the park headquarters at 10am. As we set out at 10:35am we had to spray and clean our boots to help prevent the spread of kauri dieback. We had a steady climb on a well-formed bush track to come to a lookout one hour later. After a short break we carried on uphill and soon came to the junction with the track to Adams Lookout. We followed the Waharau Ridge track, a vehicle track, and arrived at a viewpoint at 12:30pm. This was a good place to have our lunch, with a view of the Coromandel Ranges and Firth of Thames. Carole read Psalm 121 and described the Holy Spirit as our security blanket in many ways. God wants us to fix our eyes on Him and allow Him to show us His will for our lives. The storms, challenges and bad times in our lives make us stronger and wiser as we trust God in our life’s journey. John 3:16 gives the promise of eternal life to all who believe and trust in Jesus Christ. Carole closed the devotions with a prayer. We were back on our feet at 1pm. It was now a steady downhill through bush, and after crossing a stream we came out to the carpark at 2:10pm. Again we needed to clean and spray our boots and walking poles.

The famous fish and chips eatery at Kaiaua made for a welcome sit-down afterwards. A few people went on to the Miranda hot pools, but most of us were keen to be back in Auckland in plenty of time for the evening’s rugby. PETROL COST: $18. TOTAL DISTANCE:  10.0 km MAXIMUM SPEED:  8.1 km/h AVERAGE SPEED:  3.9 km/h