Today we took advantage of one of the last days of the COVID-19 Level 4 lockdown to circumnavigate the Pāuatahanui inlet. The road between Paremata and Pāuatahanui (State Highway 58) that winds its way alongside the inlet is a reasonably busy road with a speed limit of 80km/hr. So a Sunday morning during the lockdown was about as safe as it could get to walk the road. Some parts of the road get fairly narrow, and for the most-part, the few motorists were respectful of both us and the many cyclists also out enjoying the quietness.
The morning was a stunner - clearing clouds and very still. Ideal conditions for a both a walk and taking photos. So there were plenty of micro-pauses during the walk. Luna was so excited to be out for a decent walk and she was really well behaved beside the road - heeling very well. She's been well conditioned to road noises for a while now - makes the walk easier.
There's a DOC sanctuary at Pāuatahanui which prohibits dogs so we followed the road around, joining back up at Grays Road. The walkway along Grays Road, Te Ara Piko Walkway, is really nice and there were quite a few people out and about. Everyone was respectful about social distancing. At Motukaraka Point we took the time to give Luna a swim. Quite a few ball tosses = very happy dog. (BTW, there's an off-lead dog exercise area a Motukaraka Point - between number 33 and the toilets). The Te Ara Piko Walkway doesn't (yet) meet up with the Camborne Walkway so there's a little more walking on the edge of the road.
The Camborne Walkway is familiar territory. Luna was excited again and had another swim. We even coaxed her into swimming across one of the bays with a decent ball throw. Past the boat sheds, down to Dolly Varden Reserve, across the Paremata Bridge, around Ivey Bay and we are home.
10/10
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