20 people were grateful that the rain that fell in the morning gave way to brilliant sunshine so they could enjoy a walk on the new track around Lake Wainamu. We met at the Lake Wainamu carpark near Bethells, and set out at 2:30pm after the usual intros and karakia. First of all we walked up an ankle-deep stream alongside a large sand dune, wading on the sand bed in places. In one place we saw a group of people sliding down on sleds. 45 minutes later we came to the beginning of the lake. The track climbed up to a viewpoint where we could see groups of people playing on the lake’s foreshore. We carried on towards the waterfall, and shortly before the falls we saw a Canadian goose in the distance. We arrived at the waterfall at 3:40pm and had our break. Geoff presented the devotions, reading part of a poem The Hound of Heaven. This poem was written by Francis Thompson about how he rebelled against God for many years, yet God pursued him in His divine mercy all the way to the point where Thompson surrendered and came to Christ. There are heaps of people who identify with Thompson today - God's love never gives up. If we are God's child we are eternally secure. We can end up in bad and frightening places, but He will still be there for us. God makes everything right for us in the end. At 4:05pm we carried on around the lake. In one place we saw a baby stoat on the ground. We came to the end of the new track and walked across a large area of open sand, to finish the walk at 5pm.