When living on the West coast of the South island of New Zealand, Mike met a man he describes as ‘truly remarkable’.  He had run out of gas on the West Coast and Mike gave him some chainsaw fuel to get him to the next petrol outlet.  Before he smoked off up the road he wrote on a card in beautiful calligraphy:

“Peter Beaven-Architect - if you ever need an architect give me a call.”

When Mike and Sue did need one he was good to his word and the next day drove for five hours to visit this site at Wanaka. He took a long look at the panorama from the present lodge site (he had taken a shorter look at the plans Mike had earlier drawn and just dropped them with the comment ‘you've really screwed this up’) and mused "This is a huge landscape, we shall do nothing mean here."

They didn't.

 His organic architecture still thrills Mike and Sue, and it will thrill you, with its soaring vaulted ceilings, warm timbers and organic connection to the land and the lakes and mountains that fill the landscape before you. Built from the native rock and timbers from the forests and mountains that surround it, Silverpine occupies a narrow neck of land separating Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea, nestling into its mountain site and spreading a dumbfounding vista of lakes and mountains before you, to greet you when you wake and to envelop you in their silence at night.