Some experiences are almost impossible to put into words. Yesterday was one of them. ❤️
I don’t post much on Facebook these days, but this was such an incredible experience that I wanted to share it, and hopefully encourage anyone who has ever considered visiting Sable Island to go.
Yesterday morning, I left Halifax by helicopter with Kattuk Expeditions and headed out over the Atlantic to Sable Island.
Sable Island is one of those places I remember seeing documentaries about as a kid. I watched the wild horses running along the beaches and thought how incredible it would be to go someday, while knowing that unless you were a researcher, getting there was nearly impossible.
Yesterday, that childhood dream came true.
There is no way to adequately describe what it feels like to be there.
As you fly over the vast Atlantic Ocean, suddenly this tiny sliver of land appears, with turquoise water, miles of pristine beaches, horses, and dunes covered in marram grass.
And then you step off the helicopter, grab your pack and start experiencing it up close. Wild horses living entirely on their own terms. Foals running beside their mothers. Stallions squaring off. Herds interacting in ways that make you realize you are simply a visitor in their world.
Then there are the seals - playing in the water like children and along the shore, not wanting us to get too close, but also incredibly curious.
But something else stayed with me.
On Wednesday, I had an Indigenous Elder come speak to my team about the Medicine Wheel and the connection to nature as one of our guiding principles when we need to recalibrate. And I truly found myself thinking about that conversation yesterday.
As we were getting ready to leave the island, I laid back on the sand with my head on my backpack. The ocean in front of me, the sun above me, the seals and horses living exactly as they have for generations, and I just stayed there in that moment.
No phone. No notifications. No emails. No noise.
We spend so much of our lives connected to technology and caught up in the busyness of everything. Sable Island was a beautiful reminder of what exists when we disconnect from all of that and simply pay attention to the natural world.
It’s a place with almost no evidence that humans have been there at all.
It was a privilege to witness it.
While Sable Island isn’t easy to get to, it is absolutely worth it. If you ever get the chance, go.
And if you do, I can’t recommend Kattuk Expeditions enough. Fred, our guide, was truly exceptional. You would be hard-pressed to find someone more kind, knowledgeable and generous with his time and his love for this incredible, mystical place.
