Valentine's Day

I had the best Valentine’s Day in the history of all my Valentine’s Days this year. Thursday, we woke up early, got our bags and went to the ferry. We packed so light, I was so proud of us. Just one backpack for clothes and toiletries, one bag with our sleeping bags and pillows, our tent, and a cooler with our food! We checked our bags (yes – there’s actually baggage checking and terminals, just like airplanes!) and got on the ferry. And it was a beautiful 3-hour ride. Man, the clarity of New Zealand water never ceases to amaze me. And the scenery is just so gorgeous. And one of our many presents for Valentine’s Day was a pod of dolphins. Not just 4 or 5 or even 20; there were at least 50! There were so many and they were swimming around the ship, jumping and playing. Probably one of the most incredible natural sights I’ve ever seen.

Then we landed in Picton! We had some time to grab lunch at a fish n’ chips place and then we sat out on the dock eating our lunch. I think harbors are so romantic – that crystal clear blue water, the countless sailboats bobbing in the water. There’s something so peaceful about it all and I feel at home there. Right as we were approaching, I saw that there was a massive school of red fish! And as we got closer, I saw that they weren’t fish at all. They looked like thousands of miniature lobsters, just a-swimmin’ around with their little behinds propelling them backwards. And then a lady told us that they were krill. Krill? You know, the little things that blue whales eat? I never understood how they could possibly get full off of the little creatures. I mean, blue whales are so BIG and krill – well, they’re smaller than shrimp! But now I understand – there were hundreds of thousands! Millions! The blue water was thick with them – turning red; you could see them moving in the current across the harbor. It was beautiful, in a way I never knew I could appreciate.

 

We had to say bye to the krill and got on our water taxi to get to our campsite – Mistletoe Bay. This beautiful little secluded bay. So sweet and quiet. As well jumped off on the dock, I couldn’t help but smile as I saw a group of little schoolboys learning how to sail in the teeniest little sailboats I’d ever seen. It was precious.

We checked in, set up our tent and went and lay out by the water. We napped, talked, watched sailboats, fed ducks, and swam all afternoon. And we ate dinner out of the chiller. Which consisted of pre-made sandwiches, fruit, chocolate (it was Valentine’s Day after all!), and wine – straight from the bottle because we didn’t think to bring wine glasses on a camping trip. Classy.

Then the sun went down and we had girl talk in the tent for a few hours until we decided to go out and look at the stars. Man, I’m gonna miss the New Zealand night sky. I don’t think there are stars like that anywhere else. And you are always guaranteed to see multiple falling/shooting stars. They happen about every 2 minutes if you keep your eyes open.

 

And then we went down to the dock because Hannah heard that there were some phosflorescents. Translation – you know that scene in Avatar where they are in the water and it all lights up when they touch it and swim in it? Yeah, that’s not an original idea. God totally thought of it first. It was incredible – like electricity bouncing across the water every time something even slightly touched it. And you could see fish darting around at incredible speeds underwater. And watching Rebekah and Hannah jump in was amazing. The water went crazy, lighting up and splashing light everywhere! I tried to get pictures, but the camera failed miserably. It is one of those life experiences where you just have to remember it in its full glory.

We woke up the next morning to the sounds of the campground preparing for a wedding! We had a lovely waterside breakfast and packed up our tent and stuff to get it out of the way and I spent a few hours with Jesus, reading, listening to music, and hiking around the mountains. One revelation I’ve had in the past couple of days, especially Valentine’s Day, is how I always expect God to romance me, but He desires for me to romance Him as well. How on earth do you romance the maker of the universe, the one who thought everything in to being, one who’s heard every praise and every love song and originality flows from Him and not ourselves? I guess I could begin by spending time with Him. Not just the habitual devotion time in the morning where I arrogantly expect Him to speak to me, but time aside where I speak to Him – constantly sharing my heart and desiring to know His heart as well.

Then we checked out and got on our water taxi and rode back to Picton! We sat on the grassy knoll above the harbor, under a tree, just taking in all the beauty and having major girl talk – you’d be surprised on how much time girls can spend talking about future baby names. And our ferry was running about an hour late, so we went looking for a place to eat. And we found a legit Irish pub. Beautiful. I tried my first beer here. Ew. I hate beer. I couldn’t even finish a pint. I barely even made a dent in it! I gave up and got a glass of chardonnay.

Hannah and I shared a delicious plate of fish n’ chips and we had more serious girl talk and then we left and got on the ferry and came back to Wellington, finally deboarding at 11 pm, where Hannah’s beautiful parents were waiting for us. So sweet – I love them dearly! And then we fell asleep to Gone With the Wind.

Thank you Jesus.