Coming to Your Senses - A 4 day / 3 night retreat to reawaken curiosity activate the sensual and begin a daily practice of creating tiny beautiful things.
No doubt you have an inkling or a glint of something something that speaks to you. That urge inside you that inspires you to create. It could be painting or drawing. Writing or poetry. Photography. Or just making time to move and be in the world in a way that encourages aliveness connection and a sense of something bigger.
Many of us feel the glimmer to create and yet find the scrum of daily life pushing these desires to the side. But creative practices don’t exist separately to daily life; they exist because of it and within it. Whatever your medium of choice the act of creating is generous generative and expressive. It is a practice of everyday alchemy where we take our lived experience and transform it; an offering to ourselves and to the world. It's a way of making sense of life an act of both thriving and surviving.
Our multi-day retreat is an adventure into your unique creative process. Each day embraced by the Sound feels like we've slipped into a time warp where the days pace slows down and we allow the stories to unfurl from our souls. Together we’ll play with movement adventures in nature storytelling creative art therapy photography writing and poetry as a means to reactivate the sensual expand our curiosity and together create tiny beautiful things as we investigate themes of connection place and intuition within the glorious elements we find ourselves immersed in.
This retreat is suitable for any interested human of all creative ages and stages as well as those with established practices looking for renewed inspiration guidance or support in a group of passionate and interested co-conspirators. Bring your notebooks cameras open minds curiosity & a sense of adventure. It is the perfect setting to stir the soul & truly experience a profound connection to yourself and the wildness that surrounds us.
What you’ll get
- 4 inspiring days & 3 nights with the support and guidance of both Kass & Jane
- Technical and creative sessions incorporating photography poetry and prose
- Support love and care to nurture your creative spark
- Access & Guided Activities in the incredible wilderness areas of Pelorus Sound
- Movement Meditation & Guided Visualisation Practices
- Accomodation at Waitata Bay / Bay View House
- Food & Drinks
- Water Taxi (Return trip to/from Havelock)
- Shuttle (Return trip to/from Nelson Airport)
When? 21st to 24th February 2025
GETTING THERE INFO / PLEASE READ:
Havelock Water Taxis is scheduled on the 21st February for 11 a.m. departure to Waitata Bay Lodge / Bay View House. Return trip from Waitata Bay to Havelock will be the 24th February at 1 p.m. Your return ticket for this water taxi is included in your package price.
All you need to do is get yourself to Nelson Airport for pickup by Nelson Shuttles at 8:30 a.m. at the departure gate at Nelson Airport on the 21st February. The shuttle will return you to Nelson Airport on the 24th February about 3/3:30 p.m. This shuttle trip / return is included in your ticket price.
If you are flying in to Nelson we suggest flying in on the 20th February and staying at an Airbnb close by. Please get in touch for our recommendations for close Airbnbs to the airport. Kassandra will be happy to assist you with this. Otherwise if you are flying in early or driving locally on the 21st February make sure you arrive in time for the shuttle pickup at 830 a.m at Nelson Airport.
If you are going to be arriving any other way please be advised that the shuttle from Picton to Havelock is more expensive & not included in your ticket price. If you are driving yourself please make sure you arrive and are ready to go at Havelock Marina by 1030 a.m. for 11 a.m. departure on the 21st February. There is plenty of parking that is paid/secured onsite at the Havelock Marina.
It is a very remote location but it's all about the adventure and it is 110% worth it we promise! If you are having any trouble organising accomodation or wondering about ideal flight times please don't hesitate to reach out and contact Kassandra via email at [email protected]. I'm happy to assist you to make this journey as smooth as possible.
Thank you!
Meet Jane:
Jane Pike is a writer poet and horsewoman from the South Island of New Zealand. Her work focuses on practices and understandings that increase vitality connection and wellbeing incorporating nervous system awareness to both mindset and movement. The methods she teaches explore physical and emotional patterns at their most foundational level- the brain and the nervous system- to facilitate the return to our most intuitive selves. Jane has featured and written for various magazines around the world and is a sought after international clinician and trainer through her business Confident Rider.
Jane’s passions and expertise also extend to how we can best live full and creative lives and develop the tenacity and courage to do so. Her deep appreciation for writing and the arts has also seen her skip down the garden path of how it is we can all find and allow for our own unique creative expression sharing her own writing and teaching retreats and workshops that focus on giving ourselves permission to and making the time for creative practices and following the things that we love.
You can read examples of her writing and poetry and join her creative conversations here:
Janepike.substack.com
Meet Kass:
Kassandra Lynne is a visual storyteller photographer nature guide scuba dive instructor free dive & all the things water enthusiast artist & intuitive coach that is inspired to help others rediscover their passion & purpose in life. She has an extensive background in movement mindfulness & embodiment practices such as yoga breathwork past life progression & meditation adding her own trauma informed twist to each of her offerings so that there is a sense of safety threaded throughout. A photographer by trade she’s found her soul purpose in holding space for women & couples for intimate portrait sessions. These sessions are more than just mere photos they are stories from the soul. The power of portrait photography allows one to be vulnerable yet safe & encourages the subject to express themselves authentically however that feels at the time.
Through many trainings courses & a well lived life experience she guides individuals gently along their own path. Cultivating a sense of curiosity & awareness through engagement of the five senses she helps you redefine what sensuality means to you and how it feels to you. Ultimately sensuality is about the sensory experience of life. She asks the questions & inspires you to find the answers for yourself. How can we move about our lives using our senses? How can we tap into how this moment makes us feel in more ways than one? How can you describe where emotions & memories sit in your body? How can we connect to those creative parts of us? How can we better understand how we move through this world how we interact with it? How can we forgive & accept ourselves? How can we embrace each moment as it is? And how can we shift the patterns beliefs and stories we’ve created over time & over lifetimes to better serve us?
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Waitata Bay Lodge, Nelson, New Zealand
