C&W's Love Story: The Karamea River Wedding Rings
Some landscapes become special because of their beauty. Others become special because of what happened there. For C and W, a remote valley in New Zealand’s South Island holds something much more precious: it is where their story began.
When C and W were just 15 and 16, they both joined a week-long Scout hike along the Leslie-Karamea Track. For W, it was his first ever hike. Several days into the journey, they arrived at Venus Hut, nestled in a remote valley surrounded by lush rainforest, with the Karamea River flowing alongside it.
It was here that they first noticed each other.
“It was as if Cupid’s bow struck us both at that exact location.”
They later discovered that Venus is the goddess of love, making the name of the hut feel wonderfully significant. Looking back, it seems almost as though they were meant to be there, at that particular place and at that particular moment.
A place suspended in time
The Leslie-Karamea Track is a beautiful and wild corner of New Zealand. C and W remember arriving at Venus Hut after a long summer’s day of hiking in the sunshine. Like Scottish bothies, New Zealand’s backcountry huts offer a simple refuge in remote landscapes, and that evening they played cards by candlelight before taking a midnight swim in the Karamea River beneath the stars.
Although the landscape itself is extraordinary, it is the memories attached to it that make the place so important to them.
“This wee spot was where it all began,” they explain. “When we were there we were young and had no idea what the future held, but we knew that we were at the beginning of something special.”
The place represents nostalgia, magic and possibility - a moment before they could know everything that was to come.
Remarkably, they have never returned to Venus Hut since that first meeting. The remoteness of the track, combined with challenging winter conditions and a current road closure affecting access, makes the journey difficult. But they hope that one day, when the time is right, they will make the journey back.
In some ways, the fact that they haven't returned has made the place even more special. It remains a memory preserved in time: the landscape exactly as they remember it, and the beginning of a story that has continued for many years.
Turning a landscape into their wedding rings
Hiking and travelling have always been an important part of C and W’s relationship. They have explored much of New Zealand together, travelled around the world and now live in Scotland, where they are hoping to eventually complete all of the Munros.
For W, who works as a GIS consultant, maps are also a part of everyday life. So when it came to choosing how to represent their relationship through their wedding rings, a contour map felt like a natural fit.
The rings were designed around the landscape surrounding Venus Hut and the Karamea River, transforming the contours of this meaningful place into something they could carry with them every day.
The choice of gemstones was equally personal. Pink and green have always been “their colours” - colours they both love and which sit beautifully alongside one another. Their engagement ring already contains an emerald representing W and a pink sapphire representing C, so they wanted to continue this story through their wedding rings.
What particularly drew them to the contour map design was its ability to make the rings completely unique to them.
“These rings really feel like ‘us’,” they say. “That’s a testament to you really understanding our story.”
The organic edges of the rings were especially important. Following the contours of the landscape, they create an almost topographical silhouette, while viewed from the side they resemble mountain ridges.
“There’s something about them that feels very natural and organic and that speaks to us.”
A piece of New Zealand to carry with them
For C and W, these rings are more than wedding bands. They are a physical reminder of where their story began and of the landscape that has remained quietly at its heart.
They plan to wear them “every moment for the rest of our lives”.
Having this place immortalised in gold means they will never forget the beginning of their journey together. Although they now live in Scotland, and don’t yet know where in the world they will eventually grow old, New Zealand is where they grew up together and where their roots remain.
“A piece of our hearts will always be in the New Zealand hills,” they say, describing the South Island as the most beautiful place in the world.
And perhaps that is what makes a landscape meaningful: not simply the mountains, rivers and contours themselves, but the memories that become inseparable from them.
Every time C and W look at their rings, they will see a little piece of the Karamea landscape - and be reminded of two teenagers arriving at a remote hut, a midnight swim beneath the stars, and the moment when, quite unexpectedly, their story began.