A wet morning did not deter 16 people from coming along to walk the Milford to Takapuna walkway and part of the Lake Pupuke foreshore; the rain stopped by the middle of the day and the weather remained dry for the rest of the day. One carload left The Bracken at 1:30pm to meet up with the rest of us at the end of Milford Rd. After the intros and karakia we set out at 2:10pm, walking along to the south end of Milford Beach and onto the coastal walkway. We passed an enclosed tidal swimming pool which was empty as the tide was low, and the prominent Giant’s Chair. A little further on we stopped to look at fresh water that had flowed underground from Lake Pupuke come out on the rocky foreshore. We left the walkway at Brett Ave and roadbashed to Henderson Park and went down to the edge of the mirror-smooth Lake Pupuke to follow the coastal track to Sylvan Park for a quick break. There were plenty of small yachts on the water, and we saw five of them being towed by a rescue boat across the lake to the landing. The walkway carried on to the end of Fenwick Ave where we saw some people treat the swans and ducks to an afternoon tea of bread. We could see God’s promise never to flood the world again on the far side of the lake.

We finished our walk at the Milford shopping mall shortly before 4pm, and enjoyed a coffee before heading home thankful to God that we missed the showers that had wetted the streets of central Auckland. DISTANCE WALKED:  5.25 km MAXIMUM SPEED:  10.4 km/h AVERAGE SPEED: 4.2 km/h COST: $3 travel from The Bracken