A walk taken in remembrance
It wasn’t a big field that set off to walk around Lake Ngatu on Saturday, but Far North Hospice wasn’t complaining.
It was the annual Remembrance Walk, which in the past had been part of Te Houtewa Challenge on 90 Mile Beach, events co-ordinator Margaret Tolladay said, and for the first time was being staged as a standalone event.
“We’re putting our toe in the water to see how it goes,” she said.
“The numbers don’t matter. It’s a start.”
The generations were well represented. Those who registered for what Margaret promised would be “a gentle stroll around the lake in the cool of the morning” ranged from children at one end of the spectrum, and Hospice trust chairman Eric Shackleton at the other.
Vanessa Sucich-Coupland, who might well have circumnavigated the lake more often than most, was there once again, albeit this time without her dog, who had shown signs of losing interest last time he accompanied her on an SPCA walk.
Most who walked made a contribution to Hospice funds, preschoolers and dogs free, while the local Rapid Response Team was there, handing out free sunblock and encouragement, and a St John ambulance was on standby just in case.