Wednesday Walkers

Last week we started out from the car park behind the Great Lake Centre and walked towards the lake. The playground apparatus on the Tongariro South Domain has been completely cleared so the area can be redeveloped. For several of the Wednesday walkers this playground held cherished memories of children and grandchildren. It is easy to think of play apparatus as just a series of colourful objects, but for the children flying on the swings or clambering between the plastic spheres or bubbles, it was a place of vitality, laughter and magic. Ye, there will be replacements which may give future generations an even better time, but for many people the removal of the “bubble park” resonates deeply. Our walk then looped along through the marina which is always interesting with people buzzing around the boats and large fishing rigs. Especially notable are the three antique wooden boats which echo designs of the 1930s. We continued over the control gates and up the steep path which joins Norman Smith St and Mohi Place. After climbing further, we crossed Wairakei Drive back to the Rangatira Park lookout and moved on through the woods, thick with the last leaves of autumn. Soon we were down at the river which we followed back to our starting point. Just two days after the winter solstice, all this was completed in sparkling sunshine. It all brings to mind a common exclamation: “All this, and heaven, too.”