Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a... Ray?

I would like to begin by acknowledging and sending love to those affected by the tragic events in Christchurch this past weekend. The news is shocking and overwhelmingly horrific. I would also like to thank each and every person that messaged me checking in to assure I was safe. I appreciate your love so much. Please, continue to keep those in Christchurch in your thoughts.  

After a decently chill week of classes, IFSA-Butler and our wonderful Student Services Coordinator took my study group on a weekend excursion to Picton. 15 of us rose before the sun and met up early Saturday morning to catch the ferry to the South Island! Shortly after arriving in Picton we dropped our bags at the sweetest little hostel called “The Villa” and booked it to the waterfront for our day of kayaking. We got our safety briefing, dressed ourselves in some chic spray skirts, and paddled around the bay until we made it to a little beach where we could eat and hang in the water. Such a sweet day that ended back in town for a feast at Cafe Cordato!

   

On Sunday, we spent the day at Lochmara Lodge and it was one of my favorite days I’ve had in New Zealand yet! The lodge is a beautiful location in Lochmara Bay that is only accessible by water taxi or 3-hour hike. We, being the classy group we are, took the water taxi from Picton. It came as no surprise when ride was absolutely beautiful.

As soon as we arrived at the lodge, we had time to explore the area and do virtually whatever we wanted. A few of us went for a walk and found what Lochmara called “Hammockville—" a patch of trees PERFECTLY spaced for multi-person hammocking. I plopped myself in one that hung just over a cliff along the water. Quickly hypnotized by the sound of waves lapping against the shore, I was in paradise; there were countless birds hanging out in the trees above me, and I fell in love with one whose song sounded just like a toy slide-whistle. These 30 minutes in the hammock were already more than I could ever ask for.

Soon after visiting Hammockville, we all met for stingray feeding and a walk through the underwater observatory. This was the COOLEST thing. Our guide had a bucket of fish and fishy water that she used to let the sting rays know they didn’t have to work for their lunch! She dumped a bit of the fishy water into the bay and handed dead fish to everyone in our group. With the fish held tightly in our fists beneath the water, we all waited for the stingrays to glide over our hands and suck the fish from them. I got some sweeeet GoPro footage!!!

We left the stingrays and all other marine life to go eat yet another phenomenal meal. After lunch we were given 5 hours of free time where we could do things like hiking/exploring, paddle boarding, kayaking, or hang on the beach. I did a bit of everything! My favorite part, hands down, was grabbing a kayak and paddling around the bay. Leaving my phone and GoPro behind, I set out to explore many little caves, nooks, and crannies along the stunning shoreline. It truly is amazing the things you can see with your eyes and mind, rather than through a digital screen. Pictures can never do a feeling justice, so I’m glad I left all of my devices on shore. Gliding beneath the New Zealand hills and cliffs, and seeing things from the same level as the water made me feel so small in comparison to the wonderful world surrounding me, and all of us everyday. After jumping out of my kayak to float in open water, I would paddle back toward the coastline searching for any kind of marine life willing to be seen. For a while, I saw nothing but crystal clear water and the sand below. Then, among many shadows that made it hard to see, I caught sight of a stingray! My mouth immediately dropped and I felt like I had to hold my breath to avoid disturbing such a beautiful animal in its home. My heart stopped in the exact way it would each time 7-year-old-Kait read the famous beginning lines in every Magic Tree House book: “The tree house started to spin. It spun faster and faster. Then everything was still. Absolutely still.” There is no better way to describe what this moment felt like as these lines would shake me to the core when I was little. I stared until the ray started moving. I followed it and we rode alongside one another in motorcycle sidecar fashion for what had to have been at least two minutes. This was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever experienced. It was just me, my kayak, and the stingray floating through the water listening to the slide-whistle-birds sing through the trees on shore.

Anyone that knows me knows that I never smoke or use drugs, and that instead, I just listen to “Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds” and am satisfied with the simulation of tripping via imaginative language. Needless to say, it’s moments like this one alongside the stingray, where the world seems absolutely surreal, that remind me why exactly I don’t use substance to create images or feelings of euphoria. The amazing combination of the world and the human brain can work wonders on their own; there is no better feeling than experiencing moments of such organic euphoria.

I digress.

Once returning to shore, it was time for my group and I to get ready to board the water taxi back to Picton so that we could catch the ferry to Wellington at 7:00 that evening. We waved goodbye to Lochmara and everything it had to offer us in the 8 hours we were there. In such classic fashion, I was riding at the front of the water taxi when the wind took my beloved Patagonia hat (legit the only hat I wear) right off my head and sent it overboard. CLASSIC KAIT MOVE. Seemingly everyone on the taxi saw and let out a devastated and synchronized “oh no!” Thankfully, the driver gave me a replacement hat with Lochmara written across the front; this was so kind.

After finding a seat within the covered part of the boat and mourning this loss with friends, one asked “did that hat have any special meaning to you?” Other than wearing this hat 6/7 days a week, it really didn’t. So no, that hat had no special significance at all, but my new Lochmara one does!

Thanks for reading and thank you to everyone who followed me on St. Mikes’ Instagram account, @knightlifevt, this week! Kia Ora!