Karen writes: Lovely run

It was a perfect evening for a run and I went to work early so I could come home a bit earlier especially to take advantage of the lovely weather.  I started by running alongside Maraetai beach, there were children playing on the sand, people walking and talking and enjoying the weak warmth from the sun at the end of this beautiful winter day in Auckland.

I ran a bit further to where there is a picture-perfect crescent shaped bay fringed with massive palm trees.  In the distance I could see at the apex of the bay two people, both seated on chairs.  As I got closer I could hear strains of music, and see that one had a keyboard instrument of some sort, the other brass.  Their sheet music was arranged on a stand in front of them, they were facing out to sea as though they were playing to an invisible audience.  My heart lifted with pleasure at the strange sight, and with the anticipation of beautiful music.

Sadly it wasn’t, but I kept running and in the next bay there was a screaming child being chased by a parent down the beach, and a dog came running up to me on the road.  The owner yelled at the dog, and it went and danced around someone lying on the sand.  The owner apologised to her, I wondered what was different about the dog bouncing me and bouncing the beach-lounger?

Further on there was a child standing at the edge of the water holding onto one end of a fishing net. The child was wearing so many clothes I couldn’t decide if it was a boy or girl, but mum was in the water up to her chest at the other end of the net. The sea was so perfectly flat that I could see the drops of water fall from her arms and making rings on the sea surface as she manoeuvred the net.   She stopped and stood still and seemed content to wait for long moments with the now orange light of the sun in her face.   I thought she must be bl**dy freezing!

I ran and ran and eventually turned around after saying hi to a man taking a bucket of water for a walk along the road.  On the way back the fishers were still there, but the child had now taken off most of the layers of clothing and joined mum in the water.  The dog and the owner and the child and parent and the lounger and the visually rather than aurally appealing musicians had gone.   It was a lovely run.