Adventures National Park New Zealand Sailing Videos Inspiring Encounters

A Sailor Built This Island Sanctuary

Nikki Wynn

Feb 13, 2022 — 1 min read

This is a story about a sailor who fell in love with an island.

And I’m not a scientist but I have significant evidence that shows the exploration of almost anything will make you fall in love with it. Or, at the very least, you will like it more.

Let me explain.

Some 25 years ago, a psychologist made two strangers fall in love in his laboratory by asking increasingly personal questions and staring into each other’s eyes for four minutes.

I call this exploration: curiosity + connection = love

I believe we can apply this method to almost anything. For example, I have personally experienced this with a baby humpback whale. I had never met a whale before sailing to French Polynesia.

We were swimming just outside the island lagoon in Moorea when I had my first encounter. It was a tiny newborn baby whale weighing just over a ton. We were both very curious about each other, becoming increasingly personal, and stared into each other’s eyes for at least four minutes.

I can confirm it was the eye-to-eye connection that sent Cupid’s arrow straight through my heart.

I fell hopelessly in love with that whale and subsequently, all whales. And while I can’t speak for the whale, I am fairly certain the feeling was mutual.

And this is but one example. I have had similar experiences with a stray kitten in Fiji, the island country of Niue, coffee, my sailing sister Kate and the list goes on.

So, when we found out that a fellow sailor had fallen in love with the Great Barrier and built a sanctuary on it…well, we must pay homage.

More About Glenfern Sanctuary: https://www.glenfern.org.nz/