Butterfly Creek walk

How about that? It was the middle of winter and I was debating coating the children in sunscreen. You’ve got to make the most of cloudless, windless days in Wellington and we were looking forward to spending this one on the Butterfly Creek walk in the East Harbour Regional Park. The meeting spot on Kowhai Street, Eastbourne had a large grass lawn on the roadside complete with tree for the kids to play on while they waited for all the hikers to arrive. Once everyone was there we started up the hill on the well-formed track to the ridgeline.

Our party contained children with ages ranging from under one to early teens and as result of this and the steepness of the track the group soon started to spread out. Some of the parents with younger children laboured onwards and upwards despite protests and the weight of infant carriers on their backs. The effort was well worth it though. At several spots the track opened up and there were panoramic views across a pond-like Wellington harbour to the West, framed by native bush.

After the ridgeline, the bush was different and the temperature changed from pleasantly warm to refreshingly cool. As we descended to the picnic area the sounds of some of the older, faster children drifted up the valley from below. The picnic area itself was forested with beech trees and came complete with picnic tables plus a bridge and stream for the kids to play in. Unfortunately, there were no butterflies to be seen. This spot would also make a good campsite and as we talked and played another group set up ready for spending the night there.

Once the children had enjoyed playing and the snacks had all been shared, we started back towards the original road end. Some had headed off early hoping to get back in time for movies etc. Travelling uphill back towards Eastbourne slowed us down a little and I was able to appreciate the bush better. It was great to see the many different species of trees in that part of the forest including some very young nikau palms. The views of the harbour coming down seemed even better than the ones going up.

While we waited for the last families to return to the road end and before the obligatory ice cream, some children enjoyed rolling down the grass incline on a side street covering their clothes in grass clippings as souvenirs of their big day out in Butterfly Creek.