"She was just awesome - we got on immediately. She's always managed to be continuously loving. Other people change and move on but she's loving to everyone she ever met."
At 16 many teens are trying to fit in, but Lattimore "wasn't worried about that at all", Fletcher said.
"She was really alternative and outdoorsy. She liked to go to outdoor parties and stuff like that - she loved to be in nature."
Lattimore enjoyed the circus arts, using fire toys and was an expert hula hooper.
Originally from Christchurch, she had moved to Motueka, a small Nelson town known for its alternative scene.
The news that Lattimore had drowned brought "absolute devastation" to everyone who knew her, Fletcher said.
"Nobody ever expects that sort of thing - but no one expected such a bright light to dim so fast."
Breanna Lattimore, 24, was a free-spirited nature lover, friends say. Photo / Facebook
Another friend, Peter O'Leary, said Lattimore was "a beautiful girl and a beautiful soul".
"She had a smile that would bring happiness to any situation. She would float along with the wind, a free spirit that would never cause harm to anyone."
Lattimore had a "deep sense of the conscious connectedness of the universe", he said. "She lived outside of the norm, free from society's boundaries".
Pete described Lattimore as a "total music lover", having spent time with her at musical festivals over the last few summers. He was looking forward to catching up again this summer and said she would be "sorely missed" by her many friends.
"It is a dark cloud of sadness for the emerging summer festival scene."
