I met a young guy on retreat whose first statement to me was Youre leaving it a bit late to find yourself. I certainly would have been late, but I went on retreat knowing myself for many years.
40 days and nights is a long time to go solo. It is six weeks. For me the solo component means that the time is not necessarily devoid of other people. On this retreat I met a number of people. I spent a day or two in a hut with some. With others I shared a camp site. Others were brief meetings on the journey. I found that each encounter had something to say to me, some of them quite profound, as I will share later on. So while solo did mean about 32 of the 40 days in complete solitude, meeting people never distracted me from the fact that I was on my own out of my normal surrounding facing many challenges with no one to turn to except my Lord and my own devices.
Going into the six weeks was daunting. I had about three weeks beforehand to prepare my mind and heart as much as I could. I was wary of the psychological side of things. Would I cope with the loneliness and isolation? I actually found it easy overall from a psychological perspective, spiritually refreshing, and tough physically. A retreat such as this is not something you can rush into, especially if you go bush.
Lake Hauroko
Lake Poteriteri
BUT THOSE WHO TRUST IN THE LORD WILL FIND NEW STRENGTH. THEY WILL SOAR HIGH ON WINGS LIKE EAGLES. THEY WILL RUN AND NOT GROW WEARY. THE WILL WALK AND NOT FAINT.
ISAIAH 40:31
As in 2004 I did my 40 day and night retreat on Lake Hauroko in south east Fiordland. It is isolated, a hidden gem. The S shaped lake is about 40 kilometers long and ranges from 3 kilometers to 800 metres wide. It is the deepest lake in New Zealand at 463 metres, with 306 of those meters below sea level. It is a dangerous lake for small craft with its sudden wind storms and katabatic down drafts caused by the surrounding topography of mountain ranges. Hauroko means "roaring wind."
