Parents and tamariki from St Tom’s Wellington South enjoyed a wonderful time in the hills of the Remutaka Forest Park over the weekend.

The group of twenty-six, left the Catchpool valley carpark and tramped into Turere Lodge to experience creation and grow closer together.

Rev. Chris Silvester, had tamariki aged three and six on the tramp and said, “We so loved having an extended time with other families and watching how the tamariki support each other.

“Nature is a beautiful setting for us to grow our little people, test their resilience and grow their sense of belonging in faith and a church community.”

A delightful ‘River Church’ service was held on Sunday morning’s return walk. On the stony bank of the Orongorongo river, the group built a cairn with stones of gratitude. It was precious to hear tamariki and adults reflect their gratitude as they contributed their stone to the larger formation. They then heard a reflection on how God creates ‘waypoints’ for us to mark our path ahead.

Saturday night’s adventures included a walk to the river for dam-making and a walk back in the dark.  As the group walked in the night darkness, they heard the calls of nearby Kiwi and spotted pesky possum’s high in the trees. Then it was time for games of spotlight!