I'm sure vacation photos aren't normally super exciting for others to go through so I'd thought I'd keep things simple and show some highlights from a trip I recently took over to the island of Shackleford Banks.
Shackleford Banks is special in that it is home to more than 110 wild horses. Only accessible via boat, you are free to explore the 9-mile long on foot in search of a glimpse of these feral beauties. When you finally lay eyes on one, it is pretty magical - almost like you have discovered a real, live unicorn.
Of course, there are other amazing creatures that call Shackleford Banks home and, honestly, it may be easier to find a few of them. Heck, we even stumbled upon a naked man hiking across the island (sorry, no pics)! To give him credit, it was pretty hot in the sun but I sure hope he had bug spray in his backpack - the mosquitoes out there were huge!!! Aside from the random naked dude, it is a wonderful place to visit!
I don't know of many things more magical than a wild horse walking down a deserted beach. Simply amazing...
If you ever make the trip to Shackleford Banks, I highly recommend using the ferry service from Island Ferry Adventures. Also, be sure to pack food, water, bug spray and sun screen! And, most importantly, remember the horses are wild so give them space!!!
As soon as we arrived, we climbed over the first dune in front of us. Sure enough, off in the distance, a couple wild horses were grazing on the grass. This was already exceeding my expectations!
As we explored the island, we discovered more and more horses. We got as close as we *respectfully* felt comfortable and quickly realized the horses were barely taller than me - they looked more like ponies. They had gorgeous wispy hair and beautiful coloring. I especially liked these two...
Not only did we start the day off with seeing the wild horses, we also got to enjoy a little picnic on the beach. During the off-season, not many people were visiting and it felt like we had the entire island to ourselves.
We were graced with the presence of a wild horse taking a stroll along the beach. He walked right past us. How cool is that?!?
Back at the house, we gave the dogs a chance to explore the beach. This was Sadie's first visit so she had to stay pretty close to us...
The cooler temps didn't stop Eva from going for a dip in the water.
The next couple pics were taken with my iPhone. We had a wicked storm come through on the second day but the clouds parted just before sundown. Foam lined the beach and a gorgeous double rainbow filled the sky.
