Visiting Silverstream

Good friends, Marrisa, Michael and Bethany moved to Silverstream, in the Hutt Valley, set in beautiful rural surrounds. It’s another stage in their new life in New Zealand and today we visited them. It was so wonderful to see them making their new home their own. All their belongings have arrived from the UK and seeing their wonderful photographs and homely touches reminded me of our journey here in 1999. Unfortunately our visit was cut a little short as poor Charlotte took a tumble for the worse on the stepping stones and cut her top lip. I had to drive the girls back to Wellington, where we spent an afternoon at A&E. Thankfully, there was no lasting damage and she was very brave. The wind and showers have set in today; but a pleasant break from the humidity of the past few days.

We look forward to more, less eventful, visits to Silverstream in the future. The last time we went up there was just before Sophie was born, to see the steam engines! The drive up there reminded me of our walking days before the girls and inspired me to get going again, especially now the girls are getting a little older. One of my favourite walking spots near Silverstream is the Belmont Regional Park – with beautiful rural, hill-top walks overlooking the sweeping Kapiti coast.

The other week, shortly before Marrisa’s move, we met up at Khandallah outdoor pool and enjoyed a beautiful couple of hours in the sunshine.

Surrounded in bush, with a clear stream winding down from Mt Kau Kau, it is an idyllic setting. Another perfect way to spend a summer’s day.

It’s always lovely to have friends on our doorstep; but it’s also special when they move into areas we don’t visit so often – prompting us to get out and explore a little further afield.