We met at Sunnynook Park carpark, Sunnynook Road, Sunnynook, at 2pm. The weather was sunny and hot, with
a slight refreshing wind. After a short prayer and explanation of the route, we departed at 2.10pm. After
skirting Sunnynook Park, we headed up Tonkin Drive and Lyford Crescent into Lyford Reserve. This is a
well-established patch of native bush and pines, which contains a loop track having various exits, and
is looked up by volunteers. We encountered tuis and wood pigeons. After completing the loop, we emerged
onto the grounds of Sunnynook Primary School, where we stopped for a drinks break and devotions.
The devotion was from Bear Grylls' book "Soul Fuel", and was entitled "Words of Life". It featured the
life-changing effects that the Word of God can have on our lives, as set out in Psalm 19. It pulls our
lives together, points out the right road, shows the way to joy, and warns us of danger (vv. 7,8,11).
It is essential to maintain a "point of contact" with God and His word, like a river makes contact with
the earth, so that the water can flow over you, carve you, and shape you into His likeness.
We
continued on the path up to Sunnynook Road, and into Morton Avenue, Woodstock Road, Manutara Avenue and
Rosemary Place before winding up through the small William Souter Reserve to William Souter Street. Here
three people left us to walk back to Sunnynook Park. We then climbed up the hill to Forrest Hill Road,
and traversed Greville Reserve (where the Forrest Hill Reservoir is sited) before crossing East Coast
Road and entering Centennnal Park. We traversed bush tracks following the lower perimeter of Pupuke Golf
Course , passing two World War 2 pill-boxes, before emerging onto Centennial Place and Park Rise. At
the top of Park Rise we skirted the middle of the Golf Course (treeline) to the clubhouse, emerging onto
East Coast Road and on to Sunnynook Road. Here some under time constraints left us to go down Sunnynook
Road to the start, while six of us carried on along East Coast Road to a walkway which went back down
into Lyford Reserve, which took us back to Tonkin Drive and thence to Sunnynook Park. The walking time
was approximately 2 hours and the distance covered was 7.5 kilometres. By that stage most cafes had
closed so the group decided to flag refreshments and head home.
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