LEISURE WALKERS HEAD OUT AGAIN
What: Leisure walk
When: Saturday 30 May 2009
Where: Maraetai, East Auckland
Why: Just for fun, some exercise and to enjoy the beauty of what's on our doorstep
Who: Fereni, Lupi, Vai, Helen, Yahnee, Diana, Mr & Mrs Massari and Tootsie
How: By car and on foot
On Saturday we went to Maraetai Beach for our third leisure walk. We left school at around 9am and drove off to the beach, approximately 30 minutes from Otahuhu. When we got there we could smell the fresh, salty sea and see the suns' rays dancing on the water, as well as two famous landmarks of Auckland, Rangitoto and the Sky Tower. The views were spectacular!
It was such fun having Tootsie, Mrs Massari's dog, with us, we were lucky we each got to hold the leash and walk her, which meant we had to keep up with Mrs Massari, as Tootsie kept trotting behind her.
Walking along the path to the beach was fun and all we could hear and feel was the crunching of the shells under our feet.
When we reached the beach we ran along the sand, onto the wharf and down the stairs, we had to be really careful as it was a little slippery from the water, in fact when we went down the stairs we all ended up with wet shoes and socks from the waves splashing over the platform.
With squishy sneakers we went back to the beach and exploring, spotting the odd starfish and generally having fun, throwing shells into the sea, trying to see if they'd skid along the water, like they do in the movies.
After about an hour we reached a huge tree, a Pohutukawa, hanging over the beach, in fact it was blocking our path, but that didn't worry us, we decided to climb it and sit along the large branch so Mrs Massari could take a few photos of us. Jumping down onto the sand below after the photos were taken was a little scary, but we all managed it.
As we'd walked for over an hour, we thought it best to turn back and find a spot on our return to the car, to have our morning tea. When we reached the park at the picnic area we stopped, had a bite to eat, and enjoyed ourselves on the swings, the monkey bars and flying fox. Unfortunately we couldn't stay for long as we needed to head back to school where our parents would be waiting for us.
What a fabulous day out...we really enjoyed being so close to nature, it's so beautiful, so peaceful, unlike the noisy city. Do you think our footprints are still there?
HELEN, FERENI, YAHNEE, DIANA, VAI AND LUPI